Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases

Written by Paul Holes and Robin Gaby Fisher

Narrated by Paul Holes

This program is read by the author.

From the detective who found the Golden State Killer, a memoir of investigating America’s toughest cold cases and the rewards–and toll–of a life solving crime.

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.

Crime solving for me is more complex than the challenge of the hunt, or the process of piecing together a scientific puzzle. The thought of good people suffering drives me, for better or worse, to the point of obsession. People always ask how I am able to detach from the horrors of my work. Part of it is an innate capacity to compartmentalize; the rest is experience and exposure, and I’ve had plenty of both. But I have always taken pride in the fact that I can keep my feelings locked up to get the job done. It’s only been recently that it feels like all that suppressed darkness is beginning to seep out.

When I look back at my long career, there is a lot I am proud of. I have caught some of the most notorious killers of the twenty-first century and brought justice and closure for their victims and families. I want to tell you about a lifetime solving these cold cases, from Laci Peterson to Jaycee Dugard to the Pittsburg homicides to, yes, my twenty-year-long hunt for the Golden State Killer.

But a deeper question eats at me as I ask myself, at what cost? I have sacrificed relationships, joy—even fatherhood—because the pursuit of evil always came first. Did I make the right choice? It’s something I grapple with every day. Yet as I stand in the spot where a young girl took her last breath, as I look into the eyes of her family, I know that, for me, there has never been a choice. “I don’t know if I can solve your case,” I whisper. “But I promise I will do my best.”

It is a promise I know I can keep.

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Apr 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9781250818690

Paul Holes

In 2018, Paul Holes retired as a cold case investigator after spending more than twenty-seven years working in Contra Costa County, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Paul specialized in cold case and serial predator crimes, lending his expertise to notable cases, including the murder of Laci Peterson and the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard. Most prominently, Paul’s career culminated with his identification of the Golden State Killer, Joseph DeAngelo, the most notorious and cunning serial predator in U.S. history. Since the arrest of DeAngelo, Holes has been very involved on the media side, continuing to assist law enforcement and victims’ families with their unsolved cases through the television shows The DNA of Murder with Paul Holes and America’s Most Wanted and the podcast Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad.

Reviews for Unmasked

[Calie Doze · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely amazing! Paul Holes keeps your attention throughout the whole book.

[Teresa Lukey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an excellent account of Paul’s pursuit of the Golden State killer. If I had known about DNA in the early 90’s, I would certainly be working with it today. Great work can be done with it.

[Tori Browder · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Paul holes is a fantastic narrator, detective, and human being.

[Chris Hill · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a great read. If you have followed Paul Holes career on cold cases, as well as his numerous Podcasts, this was a great addition to understand his career and also the science of homicide. It is also read by Paul, who has a great way of speaking and really adds to the reading.

[Naria · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I devoured this in one day and cried, laughed, and cried some more. It was a riveting memoir of a man who walks the corners of the most evil parts of society. It read like a thriller. Last few chapters had me at the edge of my seat even knowing the outcome of his cases still didn't stop the excitement while reading/listening to the book. Hearing Paul read his own book added an element of depth to every word. I am captivated. This was a fantastic experience. Highly recommend the book.

[Samantha Schindley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing story and you get to learn so much about Paul’s life and career! A great man!

[Chelsea Prugh · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Pretty good, no new details about the night stalker case but touches on other cases that he’s worked on, which were interesting. He has a bit of a savior complex/ego trip going on but it was still worth a read.

[Leslie Nelson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I first heard Paul Holes on a podcast... Jensen and Holes I believe. I am a true crime junkie, and that is one of my favorites.
I love Jensen and Holes, but this book blows it out of the water.
The honesty makes me cry.
Thank you, Paul for telling your story in such a powerful way.
I too thought I wanted to do the same work that you did so well. I am kind of glad now my life took a different path.
I'm so grateful that people like Paul do the work that they do.
Because I don't think I could handle it.
Thank you, sir.

[Vanessa Keck · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Feels like we are navigating solving the case of the Golden State Killer with Paul Holes. I first encountered Holes on his Podcast with Kate Winkler Dawson “Buried Bones”. I loved that this book was a peak behind the curtain of the intelligent, articulate, and charming forensic criminologist. Paul is fantastic and I have so much admiration for him and his work but I guarantee having brunch with his ex and current wife would be…insightful.
A must read for any crime enthusiast.

[Christine · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed my time spent with Paul Holes, "the detective who found the Golden State Killer." In this memoir, he recounts his career investigating cold cases (as well as the impact on his personal life).

I was struck by how kind he comes across. Often these sorts of memoirs can have an author who seems arrogant, self-centered, bombastic... instead Holes was almost deferential. I appreciated what he had to say about Michelle McNamara (author of I'll Be Gone in the Dark), who he met through her work on the Golden State Killer case. Holes also pointedly gave credit to a victim, saying that they probably saved lives. Overall I felt that he made it clear that victims were innocent; they weren't asking for what happened to them. Maybe none of these passages should stick out but given my previous experience with true crime shows/books, they really did.

I found the text very readable. UNMASKED was cowritten with Robin Gaby Fisher, who has written 12+ books and shares a Pulitzer Prize for news coverage of the resignation of a New Jersey governor. I also enjoyed listened to the audiobook, narrated by Paul Holes.