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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
Listened to the audiobook. Well-researched and well-written book that illuminates the human side of this sad story.
dark
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Murder
A true crime study of an unsolved serial murder case which expands (more successfully) into a sobering look at the changing face of commercial sex. The book's minimalist maps and the lack of pictures seem to press the reader to obsess elsewhere, online and in print. There is a sadness in every page here that connects these young women just like the social networking websites on which they advertised.
Dark & sad but soooo good. As it says on the cover, it's the story of a series of unsolved murders, so don't expect an ending where the bad guy gets locked up and the cops & lawyers go out for drinks. Much more than a recounting of the steps in an investigation, this book is about the stories of the people involved. What their lives were like, the circumstances that led to the victims all being sex workers. And not just the lives of the victims, but their families, and the people in their lives, and how all the people on the periphery of these women came together after the bodies were discovered. The profiles of the law enforcement people take up minimal, almost liminal space in this story, as it should be. Because they fucked up, and they are bad, and continue to be bad. What matters is the women, and their stories. It's messy and sad and difficult, but it's also a welcome change from the murder/clues/gavel bang of L&O and CSI.
Because the killings are still unsolved, the author took the chance to write in depth about the lives of the victims of this Long Island serial killer. It was refreshing that he took the time and care to present them as real people instead of just writing them off as the detritus of society (they were all prostitutes). Don't expect it to be impartial though. I can't even believe how he managed to get these women's families to open up to him so much only to savage some of them. I highly doubt some of the family members interviewed will ever have anything to do with the writer again. It did seem odd to me that he could be so fair to the victims but so judgemental about the mothers in particular
dark
Intriguing, sad, informative, and well-reported. I've been on a journalist-written kick lately and as with most investigative nonfiction there was a LOT of information here, but I enjoyed it. Cold cases are so frustrating for me because I want justice!
my new favorite "true crime" book, but this is really something much more. a loving and honest portrait of five women making their way through the world, the families left behind to put the pieces together and carry on their stories, and the external systems that rendered them invisible and failed to find justice for them. this is a fantastic book about sex work -- many times sex work is spun as either this awful thing to condemn, or on the other end, as this fantastic thing that needs to be exalted since it's under attack everywhere else. this is in a great middle ground. kolker speaks eloquently about sex work here, always making it clear that it is legitimate work, that the five women found on gilgo beach engaged in it on their own terms coming from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of motives, and that the real tragedy is that america turned its back on them just because of their chosen professions, not chosen simply because of - but rather as part of - their economic realities, realities that clash harshly against the lives of those living in this long island community in which they were all united. i appreciated the extent to which the text was critical of law enforcement instead of being overly reliant on police work or police narratives (a major pitfall of much true crime), never making you forget that the police didn't care about these women until they were found by accident on a routine k9 stop. it's a book with heart that never pulls a punch or compromises. a fantastic read teeming with empathy. huge recommendation from me.
Well researched and informative but I didn't like the cadence, the short sentences made the story "distant" and clipped. I listened to the audiobook and probably would have felt more connected to a book with pictures to tie you to the victims.
Honestly, this book was difficult to read. The amount of characters introduced was overwhelming and hard to follow. However, the most engrossing part came when the bodies were found and the investigation started rolling. I’m glad this book exists, if only to shed light on how the system fails us all — again and again.