Following is an official Reedsy Review:
- Loved it! 😍
- From its inception to its vanishment, TRACKRS made an impression of importance and gifted us with its inherent value of solving cold cases.
- SYNOPSIS
- In a presentation unlike other true crime stories, TRACKRS takes the reader through all the stages involved in the pursuit of a serial killer who sexually assaulted seven young women in Orange County, California in 1978 and 1979. He brutally murdered five, savagely attacked another who barely survived, and injured a pregnant woman so severely that it caused the death of her unborn child. The narration provides a closeup, detailed chronicle of an intricate murder investigation by multiple Orange County law enforcement agencies in 1996. Including transcripts of the defendant’s recorded statements and courtroom testimony, all the “in the trenches” and raw details are recounted as seen through the eyes of the author, a veteran homicide prosecutor who initiated the investigation and followed the case through to the jury’s final verdict.
- Never before have I read such a thorough rendering of events in a true crime novel. This book is unique and to be praised for its attention to detail, scrupulous timeline, outline, and unfolding of both people involved and the events that brought them together. The author’s memory, and the facts presented, are amazing to behold! An incredible amount of moving pieces and mountains moved for justice to prevail.
- What held me back from giving this book a 5-star rating was that all of the moving pieces, the people’s names, job titles, contributions, and the knowledge necessary to absorb and attain to follow along, made this book hard to get through. Not for lack of desire or trying but simply because it was hard to keep everything and everyone straight.
- For those more familiar with the inner workings of police departments and court systems, this book might be easier to understand, but the going might be slow for armchair detectives or those like me who are quite removed from such things. It’s necessary to give this book time. Time for you, the reader, to understand it fully and follow along without getting lost.
- As a person attracted to true crime to discover how perpetrators operate, in hopes of better protecting myself and my loved ones, and to learn how those who commit crimes are captured and brought to justice, this book teaches more than all other books I’ve read combined! (That being said, this book takes place in California; as such, you learn about CA and how DNA evidence began being utilized to solve cold cases in that state, and little else of other states is mentioned or discussed.)
- I appreciate authors who share their lives, the purpose of their work, and their achievements toward that end. I celebrate the life of Michael Jacobs and thank him for his service to our country by doing his best to capture and put away the criminal element among us.
- My takeaway from this read is the astounding number of cold cases, and how many crimes and murders go unsolved! The fact that there is little being done about this, little being done on a National level to bring about changes to create infrastructure to combat the issue at hand, is disturbing. How many criminals walk freely among us? Too many. How do we stop this? By instituting more programs like TRACKRS!
- Somehow, we, the people, must find a way to make our voices heard by our elected officials so that cold cases are not left cold but are continuously worked on until the crimes are solved, and justice prevails. If only the government could be simplified and things not take so long because of bureaucratic policies, red tape, and corruption.
- Thank God for those like Michael Jacobs who dedicate themselves to finding and upholding the truth that leads to victory. May we find a way to join these unsung heroes in their work, and may Heaven help us all! Amen.
- REVIEWED BY
- Jennie Louwes Follow
- Reading books and writing reviews brings with it every emotion under the sun; forever changing, forever changed, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. May my words not only help fellow readers but also the authors of the books we read.