Unmasked

Oh my goodness, where do I even start with this book??

As I was reading through, I kept saying, “I know this case,” “I remember this case,” and “wow, I have been following this case for years!”

Part of the blurb reads: I order another bourbon, neat. This is the drink that will flip the switch. I don't even know how I got here, to this place, to this point. Something is happening to me lately. I'm drinking too much. My sheets are soaking wet when I wake up from nightmares of decaying corpses. I order another drink and swig it, trying to forget about the latest case I can't shake.

As I read it, and as I dove into the book, I could feel the obsession that drove Paul Holes through his many years. I wanted to dive into the evidence locker and look for long-lost cases. I was completed drawn into this book, unable to set it down, wanting to continue reading, and couldn't wait to turn the page and see what happened. It got to the point that I even got the audio version, so that I could listen while I was cooking dinner, taking a shower, or going through my work day.

Paul Holes goes through the ins and outs of the cases, the nights that he spent reading through cold cases, looking for the one piece that might draw the case together, always looking for the next high on the investigation. He spent hours digging into cases that were deemed unsolvable, because while one investigative team might have hit a wall, fresh eyes could find a new avenue of investigation, looking for the evidence that would lock a killer away for life.
There were some heartbreaking moments as well. Listening to the story of the detective who was shot to death when he returned to a home looking for evidence literally broke me. I was already familiar with the case, but hearing it again from someone who had been close to him was an entirely different matter.

I absolutely LOVED this book! For those who love true crime, this is going to be the perfect weekend read! I loved the different aspects of the investigative side, the ups and downs, highs and lows, and the catching of the “bad guy.”
Get ready for a book that will suck you in and leave you with a book hangover when you are done. You will not want to walk away from this one!