Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

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

9 reviews

mahmabaer's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

This was the longest audiobook I have listened to up to date, and it was also the most challenging.  Paul Holes knows his job and he does it well, and he doesn't shy away from some of the more graphic aspects of his work.  There were several times I almost stopped listening because I didn't know if I could stomach the information.  Hearing about

rapes, abuse, dead bodies, murdered children and brutal crime scenes

is not for the faint of heart or the middle of the night.  I found that most times, if I stopped, put on a funny video and gave myself a break, I could get back to the story and make it through the darkness and onto the next chapter.  Though the thing that has been the most unsettling was a brief, passing comment that had no merit in the story, and it hasn't left me since I heard it (

when the marriage councilor told him that most people's spouses dont want to hear about a baby being put in boiling water

), which I assume is a crime scene he had to attend that I hope to God never ever ever happened, and yet, I know it did.

While, surprisingly, I found the scientific and legalistic aspects of Paul's story fascinating and compelling, I struggled a bit with the personal aspects of Paul's story.  I haven't decided if I find Paul to be a man who recognizes his faults and accepts them, specifically when it comes to his family and marriages, or whether I am turned off by the bravado and arrogance that comes through at times in respect to his job and the satisfaction he gets from being so good at it.  I have never met the man, but I suspect the truth falls somewhere in the middle -- that he's just a guy who is another imperfect human, like the rest of us, trying to make up for those imperfections the best way he knows how.  He makes mistakes and tries to fix them, and in doing so, he either fixes things or makes more mistakes.  In short, he puts his pants on one leg at a time like any other man -- his pants just happen to be plastic coveralls, to protect him from the crime scene evidence he has to handle.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Torture, Murder, Mental illness, Gore, Child death, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Suicide, Rape, Sexual violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Blood, Physical abuse, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Child abuse

Minor: Alcoholism

danimacuk's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Gun violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Rape, Blood, Murder, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Stalking, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Confinement, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, and Cursing

Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Body shaming, Cancer, and Animal cruelty

wanna_read's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Alcohol, Torture, Suicide, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Violence, Medical trauma, Child death, Murder, Stalking, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Rape, Gore, Drug use, Death, and Blood

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

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

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

geekywoman14's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

2.5

It's not a bad book, but it is a sad and heavy book, which is a strange though somehow appropriate mix of an autobiography and unsolved or cold cases accounting but just an overview of mostly the trauma. Definitely not for the faint of heart or someone wanting a deep dive into an individual story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Hate crime, Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Gore, Murder, Child death, Child abuse, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Sexual violence

motleybooksandtea's review against another edition

dark emotional informative medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Child abuse, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Body horror

Minor: Eating disorder

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Violence, Confinement, and Death