I was awarded an ARC of "Unmasked, My life-solving America's Cold Cases" from Bookishfirst in exchange for a review in my honest opinion. The novel is pretty intense. Filled with behind the scene facts about crimes we've all heard of- the discovery of Lacy Peters and her unborn son, Conner. The day they found Jaycee Dugard, a missing girl held captive for 18 years by a couple just 170 miles from home and forced to live in a make-shift world in their backyard, eventually gave birth to two children. Paul's novel reveals many facts to these cases and other crimes, too, revealing an up close and personal view with the families who experienced them.
I lived in California during the 70s and can still remember the nightly news- stories that didn't seem real. Frightening names like the Hillside Strangler, and the Night Stalker. Horrific tales of burglary, rape, and violence too brutal to believe possible. Women were advised to keep their doors locked at all times, to be watchful of laundry rooms and secluded places. It wasn't until Paul Holes actually laid out the politics involved to pursue cold cases that I began to understand what goes into solving forgotten crimes. Paul and a handful of others following his intuition and determination helped uncover the identity of the one most elusive. The man who'd avoided capture for over forty years.
Paul Holes crossed state lines to convince the hierarchy of officials the necessity of bringing closure to the victims. He knew the costs and time involved in pursuing such a task and willingly made sacrifices, too. At night when he should have been home with his family, Paul was in a cold office huddled on the floor beneath a jacket, open folders at his side. He'd been unable to enjoy the warmth of home and hearth without the latest crime scene flooding his mind. "Unmasked" reveals how forgotten crimes continued to seep into his every thought. Paul's high was to dissect each tiny morsel in hopes of discovering the thread to solving the case. He noticed one small victim wearing identical shoes as his young son, another victim's age the same as his daughter. It was a if everything he discovered somehow managed to find its way into his life, his home. Hours easily turned into days, weeks, and then years chasing the last feed.
Weeks before Paul's retirement he received the ultimate gold watch. Thanks to progress made with DNA, at last the East Area Rapist, coined Golden State Killer or GSK had a name. Joseph DeAngelo. The seventy-two-year-old, overweight man with sagging jowls and hollow eyes was apprehended, his DNA match due to ancestral tracing. Joseph DeAngelo tormented his victims even after the crimes with taunting phone calls and letters. This book exposes his twisted personality. The world watched as the aging boogeyman was led into the courtroom void of all expression as if he couldn't believe it was actually happening. Finally his sentence was passed down and the life he'd come to enjoy was over. He would spend his remaining days locked up like the dangerous animal he is.
Because of Paul's obsession many victims are now able to live without looking over their shoulder knowing their monster is at last where he belongs. Unmasked and in a cell.
Maybe Paul's retirement will at last bring a slow, more peaceful time. Hopefully, he's able to ignore the huge stack of manila files kept in a forgotten corner and will instead pick up a grandchild or the hand of his wife to walk off into the sunset. Like the last page of a book, he can sigh knowing this closure in his career was hard-won and well deserved.