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cover of book with slips of paper with words Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases by Paul Holes with Robin Gaby Fisher

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Armchair Detectives Book Discussion

Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases by Paul Holes

2026-03-19 19:00:00 2026-03-19 20:00:00 America/Chicago Armchair Detectives Book Discussion Join your fellow True Crime enthusiasts at DGPL's newest book club! This month, we'll read Unmasked by Paul Holes. Books available one month before program Downers Grove Public Library - Conference Room B (Max Capacity 10)

Thursday, March 19
7:00pm - 8:00pm

Add to Calendar 2026-03-19 19:00:00 2026-03-19 20:00:00 America/Chicago Armchair Detectives Book Discussion Join your fellow True Crime enthusiasts at DGPL's newest book club! This month, we'll read Unmasked by Paul Holes. Books available one month before program Downers Grove Public Library - Conference Room B (Max Capacity 10)

Downers Grove Public Library

Conference Room B (Max Capacity 10)

Join your fellow True Crime enthusiasts at DGPL's newest book club! This month, we'll read Unmasked by Paul Holes. Books available one month before program

Books are available at the ATS Desk one month before the book discussion.

DGPL'S newest book club, Armchair Detectives, chooses a new true crime nonfiction book every month. Uncover the truth the third week of every month.

Contact the Adult & Teen Services Desk at ATS@dglibrary.org with questions.

Submit a request for a program accommodation here. Learn more about accommodations and accessibility at DGPL by visiting dglibrary.org/accessibility.

"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 had 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 Pittsburgh 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"-- Provided by publisher.
 

AGE GROUP: | Seniors | Adults |

EVENT TYPE: | Book Discussions |

TAGS: | |

Downers Grove Public Library

ats@dglibrary.org
Phone: (630) 960-1200

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Mon, Mar 30 9:00AM to 9:00PM
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Mon, Apr 06, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
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