The 2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge hosted by Book’d Out. The rules for this challenge are pretty simple, you just have to read some nonfiction and write up reviews for them. There are four levels to choose from and for this year I am going to challenge myself to read six nonfiction books, a Nonfiction Nibbler. (I am actually going to shoot for 8 books, but there wasn’t a level for that.)
I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever by Barbara Rae-Venter
Published: February 7, 2023
Summary from Goodreads:
For twelve years the Golden State Killer terrorized California, stalking victims and killing without remorse. Then he simply disappeared, for the next forty-four years, until an amateur DNA sleuth opened her laptop. In I Know Who You Are, Barbara Rae-Venter reveals how she went from researching her family history as a retiree to hunting for a notorious serial killer—and how she became the nation’s leading authority on investigative genetic genealogy, the most dazzling new crime-fighting weapon to appear in decades.
Rae-Venter leads readers on a vivid journey through the many cases she tackled, often starting with little more than a DNA sample. From the first criminal case she ever solved—uncovering the long-lost identity of a child abductee—to the heartbreaking story of the Billboard Boy, whose skeletal remains were discovered along a highway, to the search for the Golden State Killer, Rae-Venter shares haunting, often thrilling accounts of how she helped solve some of America’s most chilling cold cases in the span of just three years.
For each investigation, Rae-Venter brings readers inside her unique “grasshopper mind” as she analyzes DNA data and pores through obituaries, marriage records, and old newspaper articles. Readers join in on urgent calls with sheriffs, FBI agents, and district attorneys as she details the struggle to obtain usable crime scene DNA samples, until, finally, a critical piece of the puzzle tumbles into place.
Confession:
This book was such an interesting and fascinating read. The author does a really good job at explaining the science behind genetic genealogy that I almost completely understood it! Some of it still went a bit over my head, but that didn’t deter me from enjoying this book. Although, I do want to say that this was not a light and fun read, the subject matter is dark, but the outcomes of Ms Rae-Venters work gave closure to so many that it makes the darkness a bit lighter.
The title does give the impression that this book is only about the Golden State Killer, but it isn’t. It is a bit of a memoir, as the author does go into her previous careers and how she got into her current line of work. She does include other cases that she helped solve, some well known and others not so much. But all of them were interesting and added to the main story which was how she helped identify the Golden State Killer. This was a cold case that was over 40 years old, but her team was able to solve it in only 63 days using the investigative genetic genealogy method. The police were soon able to verify her work and finally bring closure to all of his victims.
Although I was totally here just for the Golden State Killer part of the story, I was just as invested in the other cases she helped solve. Most of these involved unidentified remains, and how she was eventually able to find their names and families. She was also able to help solve what had happened to some of them as well. It was amazing to me how she was able to construct whole family trees for these lost souls, when all she had was a tenuous connection to a third cousin. It is not all about the genetics either, but also includes finding the paper trail as well, by which I mean birth and death certificates, marriage licenses and the like. Solving one of these case takes a lot of time and manpower and a group of dedicated people.
The author also includes some thoughts about the moral dilemmas that using the many public genealogy sites as her sources have given rise to. When she first started out all of these sites were open to having her use them to help solve cold cases. She always asked the CEO’s permission, and many of them gave it to her. But once the police announced that they had caught GSK, people were alarmed that their DNA was being used in this way without their permission. Most of these sites have since switched over to letting people choose whether or not they want police to have access to their DNA. The author does a good job of going over the pros and cons of this debate, but it is something that needs to be debated a bit more.
If you are not familiar with the Golden State Killer case, this would not necessarily be the best place to start. There are two other books written about the case, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and Unmasked, which go into much greater detail of the horrific acts this one man committed. But if you are at all interested in how DNA and genealogy are being used to solve countless cold cases all over the world, this would be the book I would recommend.
Confessions of a Serial Reader 