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bound4travel 's review for:
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
In Submerged, investigative reporter Hillel Levin reviews the murder case for Rayna Rison, a high schooler from Northwest Indiana. This is a case that remained unsolved for 20 years before a trial would take place that resulted in the conviction of a friend of Rayna Rison. Following a deep dive into the case, Levin is convinced that the person convicted (Jason Tibbs) is innocent and the true murderer is much closer to home. Since I live in the general area of the crime, this was a book I knew I had to pick up. Levin presents evidence that Rayna's brother in law, Ray McCarty, may be more likely to have been the killer. McCarty was Rayna's older brother in law, who molested Rayna when she was twelve years old, resulting in a pregnancy. He was found guilty of this crime and was a prime suspect in the murder four years later, even indicting him for the crime while the case was still "hot". A change in the prosecutor's office resulted in the charges being dropped, and Tibbs was arrested as the cold case continued to be investigated years later. Submerged is very in depth, providing verbatim transcripts from the interviews and court cases. While it is obvious that Levin's analysis of the case and evidence has led him to have a definite bias on who he thinks has done it, he surely doesn't cut corners in presenting that information to us. A mountain of information is shared with us and I feel most readers could not walk away from this book without agreeing with Levin's analysis. He definitely thoroughly builds his case - at times, all the information shared can become overwhelming. I appreciated Levin's ability to treat the victim with the respect she deserved and to avoid sliding into writing a lurid account, which is a delicate balance considering the family dynamics surrounding this case. Ultimately, none of us can know for sure who the true killer is, but Levin does lay out a strong case that is very thought provoking and well-researched.