Holy (insert bad word of choice)โฆ Never leaving the house again. Nope. Nope. Nope.
โฐ ๐๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ: Paul Holes tells terrifying true tales of his life and work as a criminologist in California on some of his most prolific cases – namely the Golden State Killer, but also Jaycee Dugard and Lacy Peterson.
๐ก๐๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ: This taut, suspenseful what-the-whaaaaa book reads like fiction until you pause to remind yourself: THIS. IS. REAL. 100% REAL, and thatโs why the heeby-jeeby factor runs high. ๐ณ And along with this smack-me-in-the-face reality comes crushing sympathy for the families and friends who lost loved ones in truly terrible ways. How they pick up those pieces is a testament to the human spirit.
Holes reminds me a bit of the ID Channelโs Joe Kenda with his encyclopedic, detailed knowledge of his cases and his dedicated, tenacious work ethic that we wish everyone in law enforcement held. What affected me immensely was how Holes personalizes these cases. To outsiders, these are โstoriesโ – we view them showcased on tv, read fictionalized murder in novels (and are intrigued by them), and are thrilled in entertaining ways by these terrors, and Holes makes it clear – THIS IS REAL, and a certain amount of respect grows within the reader for the reality of the work and life of a relentless, driven criminologist who cares and made a difference.
๐๐น๐น ๐บ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐.๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฝ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
๐๐๐๐ง๐ซ๐: True Crime/Non-fiction
๐๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ: Mystery readers will appreciate how real this and how it reads like a novel and true crime fans will swoon.
๐ โโ๏ธ ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ: Heavy on grit and gore so avoid if thatโs not your โthang.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Celadon Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my always-honest review and for giving me mad respect for forensic & detective work.
