Reviewed by Holly Smith for Reader Views (12/2024)
A man sits in prison maintaining his innocence. He claims it was not he who attacked his wife, but given the marriage’s history, he is assumed guilty. However, as two Orange County deputy district attorneys, Michael A. Jacobs and Mel Jensen review this case and six others, they find disturbing similarities. In the late 1970s, seven women were brutally physically and sexually assaulted, resulting in six murders. The evidence leads investigators to former US Marine Gerald Parker who, in 1980, had been convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a thirteen-year-old girl. Yet as his trial goes on, questions about his competency arise. Featuring raw interviews and courtroom proceedings, “TRACKRS: On the Cold Trail of a Serial Killer” by Michael A. Jacobs is a meticulous work of true crime.
The details of Parker’s crimes are disturbing—as they are for any serial killer. Yet this requires mentioning because no one should go into “TRACKRS: On the Cold Trail of a Serial Killer” without knowing that some of the material is difficult to get through. This is in part because some of the crimes are described by Parker himself. To be clear, this is not a fault of the book, but rather something readers should be prepared for should they choose to pick up this tome.
Author Michael A. Jacobs has done an impressive job of pulling together all the evidence for these seven cases as well as the case of the thirteen-year-old victim who is given the pseudonym Paula Smith. Jacobs is sure to share all the victims’ names as well as some of the victim impact statements given by their families at trial. This is vital as true crime often focuses too much on the criminal and not on those harmed by their actions.
At times, the text can go a bit too much into the weeds of details and perhaps some of the primary sources would have been better suited for summary. However, those looking for a rigorous review of a serial killer’s crimes and trial will be rewarded for their persistence through “TRACKRS: On the Cold Trail of a Serial Killer.”
Overall, Jacobs provides a meticulous exploration of a relatively unknown serial killer. This is a welcome addition to the true crime genre.