Unmasked

by Paul Holes

A true-crime book written by a veteran investigator with a strong background in forensic, Unmasked details the parallel tracks of Holes’ career as an investigator in California and his personal life.  This book is honest about the incredible toll taken by Holes’ dedication to his field on his family and on his own psyche.  The tenacity and drive that made him a successful investigator of cold cases, especially the Golden State Killer case, cost him his first marriage and placed enormous burdens on his second and his relationships with his kids.

Likes: Holes shines when explaining complicated forensic techniques, like various forms of DNA analysis, in terms a layperson can understand.  He describes a life totally unlike what we see on tv series or in movies about investigations – doing a dirty, exhausting, at times disgusting and demoralizing job day in and day out, with very few people around him who can empathize with his drive to solve cold cases.  He doesn’t shy away from talking about his own struggles with mental health issues and alcohol abuse.

Dislikes: At times the narrative felt disjointed, as though Holes really wanted to include a description of a particular case whether it worked in the flow of the story or not.  The book is written in a very basic “just the facts, ma’am” style that’s sometimes a little clunky – not surprising, since Holes isn’t a professional writer, but he did have the help of veteran journalist Robin Gaby Fisher. Some of the grossest details felt necessary to the story Holes is telling, but a few times they just felt egregious.

FYI: EVERY possible trigger you can imagine is in here.  Holes puts himself in the place of the perpetrator and of the victim of multiple different violent crimes.  Even if you regularly read true crime, you need a strong stomach for this one, as there are very detailed descriptions of bodies post-mortem.