Hot on the trail of the criminals behind cold cases

UNMASKED – Crime Scenes, Cold Cases and My Hunt for the Golden State Killer Paul Holes Loot.co.za (R399) Wildfire llc

FROM the detective who helped catch the Golden State Killer comes a memoir about investigating America’s toughest cold cases, and the rewards – and toll – of a life spent solving crime.

For a decade, from 1973, The Golden State Killer stalked and murdered Californians in the dead of night, leaving entire communities afraid to turn off the lights. Then he vanished, and the case remained unsolved.

In 1994, when cold-case investigator Paul Holes came across the old file, he swore he would unmask the killer and finally give the families closure. Twenty-four years later, Holes fulfilled that promise, identifying 73-year-old Joseph J DeAngelo.

Headlines blasted around the world: one of America’s most prolific serial killers had been caught. That case launched Paul’s career into the stratosphere, turning him into an icon in the true-crime world. But while many know the story of the capture, until now, no one has truly known the man behind it all.

In Unmasked, Paul takes us through his memories and provides an insider account of some of the most notorious cases in contemporary American history, including Laci Peterson’s murder and Jaycee Dugard’s kidnapping. But this is also a revelatory profile of a complex man and what makes him tick: the drive to find closure for victims and their loved ones; the inability to walk away from a challenge – even at the expense of his own happiness.