Unmasked

'A fascinating and sometimes disturbing journey inside the mind of someone who hunts monsters for a living' PATTON OSWALT

From the detective who helped catch the Golden State Killer, 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 terrified. 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 GSK and finally give these families closure. In 2018, Holes identified 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 of GSK, until now, no one has truly known the man behind it all.

In UNMASKED, Paul takes us through his memories of a storied career and provides an insider account of some of the most notorious cases in contemporary history. This is a story about the gritty truth of crime solving when there are no 'case closed' headlines. It is the story of a complex man and his commitment to his cases, and to the people who might have otherwise been forgotten.

'Has plenty to fascinate aficionados' Washington Post
'Wildly engaging and painfully honest' San Francisco Chronicle
'Grabs its readers in a stranglehold' Los Angeles Magazine
'An exceptional memoir' Publishers Weekly