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A review by loriluo
Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases by Paul Holes
4.0
In "Unmasked", Paul Holes gives us a look into his life and career working as a criminologist and cold case investigator in Contra Costa County, California - and despite its relatively short length, this book covers a lot of ground.
Holes spends the bulk of the pages writing about the cases he's worked on - including ones that weren't successful, to cases he eventually helped solve after building up experience and confidence, to his long-standing work identifying the Golden State Killer. There wasn't much about this serial killer that I knew about beforehand, but he was known as EAR (East Area Rapist) and ONS (Original Night Stalker) before the realization that they were the one and the same. Holes details how GSK's (Joseph James DeAngelo's) crimes grew increasingly daring and violent, as well as the countless red herrings he came across before trying to use DNA and the increasing rise of ancestry repositories and sites to pinpoint the final criminal - and his eventual capture and sentencing was one of the most rewarding parts of the book.
Paul Holes also covers the impact his career had on his personal life, from his first marriage that ended in divorce, to his second marriage that continued to be strained, even though he and Sherrie (his second wife) shared a similar career path and work. There's not only the gruesomeness and cruelty that he comes face-to-face with on a regular basis, but the amount of time poring over case files, investigating crime scenes, and working with different officials, scientists, and lawyers - it's clearly a draining, exhausting, and all-consuming job. Holes doesn't shy away from the difficulties he encountered, but even in "retirement" still tries to help where he can in the countless cold cases that still exist, noting that each one is a life, a family, and other loved ones who need help.
This is a fascinating look into the span of Holes' career and a chance to see what goes on behind-the-scenes of criminal investigations.
Holes spends the bulk of the pages writing about the cases he's worked on - including ones that weren't successful, to cases he eventually helped solve after building up experience and confidence, to his long-standing work identifying the Golden State Killer. There wasn't much about this serial killer that I knew about beforehand, but he was known as EAR (East Area Rapist) and ONS (Original Night Stalker) before the realization that they were the one and the same. Holes details how GSK's (Joseph James DeAngelo's) crimes grew increasingly daring and violent, as well as the countless red herrings he came across before trying to use DNA and the increasing rise of ancestry repositories and sites to pinpoint the final criminal - and his eventual capture and sentencing was one of the most rewarding parts of the book.
Paul Holes also covers the impact his career had on his personal life, from his first marriage that ended in divorce, to his second marriage that continued to be strained, even though he and Sherrie (his second wife) shared a similar career path and work. There's not only the gruesomeness and cruelty that he comes face-to-face with on a regular basis, but the amount of time poring over case files, investigating crime scenes, and working with different officials, scientists, and lawyers - it's clearly a draining, exhausting, and all-consuming job. Holes doesn't shy away from the difficulties he encountered, but even in "retirement" still tries to help where he can in the countless cold cases that still exist, noting that each one is a life, a family, and other loved ones who need help.
This is a fascinating look into the span of Holes' career and a chance to see what goes on behind-the-scenes of criminal investigations.