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Hunting the Golden State Killer

On Paul Holes, "Unmasked":


 One standard rule in the world of memoirs is that the writer must expose a Divided Self; we're all waging inner wars, and when we see someone candidly describing internal conflicts, we (often) make a connection. 


The detective Paul Holes knows this well -- or at least his ghost-writer knows the drill.

Holes is the cold-case expert who tracked down the Golden State Killer. This alone is a great story. It involves linking the East Area Rapist to the Original Night Stalker, forming an alliance with Patton Oswalt et al, fighting over the ethics of genealogy research, and trailing sketchy people who turn out to be innocent. Holes describes apprehending the GSK; this guy murmured about "a force that made me do it," and he sat immobile, fully immobile, under watch, for at least an hour. (During assaults, the GSK would often become silent for long, long stretches; the victims would then think they were alone, and suddenly the GSK would clear his throat).

Holes hasn't just hunted the GSK. He describes another serial killer whose hands trembled as he fastened a locket for a friend; the hands were trembling because of the temptation to perform a strangulation. Holes recalls a case where a man and his son were murdered; the spouse seemed a little too chipper, and she profited, financially, from the deaths. But some dots just can't be connected.

Holes has another story of a man who seems to have committed suicide -- but, clearly, a third party was involved (a helper). If we let the helper sail off into the sunset, aren't we letting a murderer go free?

Because of his savviness (or his ghost-writer's savviness), Holes frequently describes the toll his work takes on his marriage. Here's the Divided Self. Holes can appreciate that his work turns him into a difficult romantic partner -- but, also, he can't stop returning to the office. How can he let injustice flourish? His private wars are relatable -- and (relatably) unresolved.

I loved this book.


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