Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Unmasked: Crime Scenes, Cold Cases and My Hunt for the Golden State Killer by Paul Holes

58 reviews

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative mysterious fast-paced

4.5

Having read Michelle McNamara's perspective on the investigation, it was interesting to read about the search for the Golden State killer from the perspective of another working on the case in a more traditional investigative capacity. Paul Holes is a characteristic writer, and every loss faced by him and the others who's stories he tells are deeply impactful. His work on cold cases gives me hope that others who have suffered without knowing the fate of their loved ones will find closure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Murder, Stalking, Confinement, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Physical abuse

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative slow-paced

3.0

 This book is about Paul Holes' career as a forensic investigator. and how he helped catch the Golden State Killer. As well as his life, mostly the adult part during his career, and how it affected his life. 

The topic was interesting but the author's writing was a bit repetitive and I zoned out a lot while reading it. Part of that was my messed up sleep and part of it was the writing. It just seemed to drone on a lot. The author was a great narrator. He has a podcast I listen to, but I prefer his co-host's books to his. 

​I listen to a lot of true crime podcasts and at least one true crime book a month, so it's not a new type of content for me. Though I don't read many memoirs, so maybe that's what I didn't like about it. ​ 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Violence, Murder, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Child death, Stalking, Sexual violence, and Trafficking

Moderate: Pedophilia

Minor: Domestic abuse and Drug abuse

elisabethshelby's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

This book is the perfect read for anyone who loves Dateline or solving cold cases.  Paul takes the reader behind the scenes to really understand what goes on when law enforcement reviews old cold cases.  The details are specific, and sometimes even reading what goes on can be a bit jarring to realize.  Hey, let's look at this face covered in maggots to try to determine a time of death.  Oh....ok.

Paul's book mostly looks at his career-long hunt for the Golden State Killer, and his work towards finally tracking down the correct person.  Between his hunt, he looks at other memorable cases he helped with, including Jaycee Duggard, Laci and Connor Petersen, and more.  The stories are well told, and only in a handful of places does the narrative seem to slow down a little too much.  For the most part, this is a well written story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Death, Drug abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Child death

e_asw_97's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Alcoholism

alliemikennareads's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

3.5

This book brings an interesting view into true crime from the perspective of a cold case investigator. Equal parts memoir and investigative / procedural. I enjoyed the methodical view presented in an interesting way. I didn’t love that several parts felt repetitive and it was a little less engaging than some other true crime I’ve read. Overall, it’s an interesting read for true crime fans! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, and Gore

gimmiiie's review against another edition

dark informative sad fast-paced

5.0

"Healing is subjective, but the scars never fade, and the pain is always a breath away" P.3

This is a heavy, real, and informative book. Paul Holes is honest, real, and personable. I have been a fan of Paul Holes and his work to bring justice to victims. Reading his experiences and struggles with mental illness. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Violence, Body horror, Grief, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Medical content, Torture, Suicide, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

morr_books's review against another edition

dark emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, and Violence

gcreed13's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, and Violence

sky_maris's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Grief, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Kidnapping, Child death, Violence, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Stalking

micasreads's review against another edition

4.0

Paul Holes is one of America's most celebrated Criminologists responsible for solving some of the most famous cold cases in modern times. As a young Criminologist, Holes comes across the files for the East Area Rapist(EAR), a man who struck fear into the heart of Sacramento as people wondered when he would attack next.

 

Paul has worked on this case on and off throughout his career. He revisits crime scenes, talks to victims, and has pieces of evidence DNA tested. It is thanks to this DNA testing that it becomes known that Sacramento was not this rapist's only area of attack. During his time working on what will become known as The Golden State Killer case, Holes not only loses himself to the case; he loses his first wife and the chance to bond with his children. He comes to regret not giving his family more attention.

 

Twenty-four years go by and Holes retires with his second wife and children. One week into his retirement, his colleagues collect DNA from the main suspect in the GSK case. When tests come back as a match, Paul returns to his office to finally cast his eyes on the man he has spent his life looking for...Joseph J. DeAngelo Jr, an old man who was once a police officer and used his training to keep himself from being caught.

I knew that when this book came out that I would be reading it. I am a huge true crime fan and found myself reading everything I could about the Golden State Killer. Holes worked with Michelle McNamara on her investigation for the book I'll Be Gone in the Dark and developed a true friendship with her. If there were anything I could change about this audiobook it would be not having Holes narrate simply because he has a habit of over-enunciating his letter t sounds and it made my eye twitch every time I heard it. All in all, this was a book well worth my reading time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Cursing, Sexual content, Torture, and Rape