Billy Jensen

Hmmm. Hmmm.

Something about this book doesn't sit right with me, but I couldn't quiet put my finger on it. It's interesting, for sure, and of course the though of starting to solve crimes is appealing ... or is it?

I volunteer for an organization that looks for missing people. A lot of what Billy Jensen talks about is kinda similar to what I do. We require permission from police and two next of kin before looking for someone, because otherwise shit can go wrong.

But because of this I'm also extremely wary of citizen sleuths (and I know a lot of police officers don't love them either). There's nothing in particular that I think is wrong in this book, it's just leaves me with a vague sense of unease that I can't shake.

It's a good book, though.… (mehr)

I've read a quite a bit of true crime over the past year or so and Chase Darkness with Me is one of my favorites. I was drawn to it for a few reasons: it was cheap on Audible, I loved Michelle McNamara's [b:I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer|35068432|I'll Be Gone in the Dark One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer|Michelle McNamara|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1499131009l/35068432._SY75_.jpg|56363890], and I fantasize about solving cold cases and wanted to read about someone who ended up doing it.

Jensen, who also narrates the book, lays out numerous cases that he worked on and I was interested in all of them. Whether it was the discussion of his methods or the family and friends of the victims, I had a tough time hitting pause to do other things.

Just like I did during and after reading I'll Be Gone in the Dark, I hit reddit looking at cold cases and all the true crime subs I could find. Almost immediately I was overwhelmed by just how many cases there are being talked about. And also by the daunting task of figuring out where to get started on even picking a case to start researching. The author clearly expects readers to feel this way and devotes time in an addendum to the book giving steps to follow to get started. I've already created my new reddit account and email address.

Jensen is coming to a local bookshop in the next few days and I've got my tickets to hear him speak. I'm hoping he'll offer some more tips on being a citizen detective.… (mehr)