Received a free copy from Netgalley for my honest review. This book really interested me from the title on, as I'm a fan of crime books and shows. Cold cases are among the hardest ones to solve and it's great to hear that some have been solved through advances in technology. This book talks about some cold cases and how they go about solving them. These should never be forgotten no matter how long its been. Recommend this book.

Spearheaded by Gregory M. Cooper, former head of the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit, the Cold Case Foundation has more than 150 volunteers working tirelessly to solve the crimes no one else could. This book shares the most ‘riveting and rewarding cases they have helped solve.

‘The hardest cases to look back on are the ones that haven’t been solved - yet.”

Overall this was a really interesting read. I was surprised to learn that a study has shown since 1995 the national average of solved homicides in the US is only 64% - this means around 5,700 killers get away with murder each year. Whilst I can understand killers getting away with their crimes in a time before DNA and CCTV evidence, I really didn’t expect that figure to be so high nowadays.

It was really interesting to hear about some of the cases they’ve helped solve and how they managed to do so. From King Tut to NFL players, they’ve repeatedly helped victims and victims’ families by helping to solve their cases.

Though difficult to read at times, this is a good read for fans of true crime and anyone wanting an insight into the cold case processes in the US.

ARC copy provided by The Globe Pequot Publishing Group Inc. & Prometheus Books & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a while to get into this book. In the beginning I found it to be quite slow going and a little repetitive.
As a fan of true crime I wanted to learn more about cold cases and the way the cold cases foundation was founded.
It was an interesting read from around chapter 4 and I started to enjoy it more.
Fans of true crime would enjoy this book however you need to enjoy a slow moving book,
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Thank you NetGalley for a pre-release of The Cold Case Foundation. I didn’t know an organization like this existed. It was really interesting to read the stories that unraveled riddles long gone unanswered. This is a great way to raise awareness for the organization.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. While I greatly respect Gregory M. Cooper and his foundation's impactful work in criminal investigation, I found the writing overly repetitive, with specific points repeated multiple times, sometimes even on the same page. While I went in expecting fresh insights and a closer look into the foundation’s groundbreaking cases, the book didn’t quite capture my interest or offer enough new information to keep me engaged until the end.

Unfortunately this book was a DNF for me. I do want to mention I have a lot of respect and admiration for what the Cold Case Foundation is doing, and it’s very clear that they care so much about the victims and their families. My issue was with the writing of the book, as it was very repetitive and boring. I didn’t like how the authors invited imagined dialogue to add into the crimes, as it added nothing to the story.

Informative and interesting. At first, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to finish this book. It was all over the place. But after the first few chapters things started making sense and lining up. I loved the backstory and how the foundation operates.

I was excited to read this book, I like true crime and I am a former Law Enforcement officer.

However, the author was very clunky in the beginning. Lots of repetitive paragraphs, over explaining of things that he had just gone over.
Then the chapter on King Tut! I was like, what the actual heck am I reading.

Then around Chapter 4, the author found his stride and was able to fully articulate the cases and how the foundation gets new cases.

I really enjoyed reading about the collaboration between the different agencies and the foundation taking a number of different cases.

One thing I think that should have been included was what makes a cold case? Can anyone request assistance? and How can ordinary citizens support the foundation.

OVerall, it was a decent book that took some time for the author to find his stride.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

The authors go into why they started the Cold Case Foundation and to write this book. News of murders reaches us every day as we read or watch news, and, sadly, only about 40% of them are ever solved. There are numerous reasons for this, but one thing is that cases can cross jurisdictions, and evidence is not shared as it should be. The Cold Case Foundation puts new eyes, experts, and money to take a fresh look at cold cases – whether they are months old or thousands of years old. Examples of cases sprinkle the book, including one-off murders, serial killers, or the historic (possible) murder of King Tut, using up-to-date crime-fighting forensic measures or just plain logic and reason. People usually get some better feeling from having the case of their friend or family member or co-worker solved – but sometimes it’s the opposite if the case is solved, or even another look at the evidence indicates no murder was committed.

It would seem that gaining the confession of a killer would bring healing to communities, but not always. False confessions happen for various reasons. That leaves no one looking for the real killer. As cases age, evidence is destroyed or lost, witnesses die or cannot be found or do not remember. Methods of spotting a false confession are discussed.

As a fan of detective-procedural scripted media, I was better able to understand how this all operates, behind the scenes, in areas which may be “too boring” to cover in a 45 or 90 minute show or movie.

The authors treat cases and all victims with the utmost concern. Even in currently-unsolved cases, they discuss it without compromising the current investigation. They talk about the purpose of their organization, what you can do, and how this helps – no matter how long ago the crime happened.

When I saw that the Foreword was by John E. Douglas I couldn't help to get excited. Because I do enjoy some FBI centric books.

I love what the Cold case foundation does and I admire who ever works on cold case files.

Unfortunately the book itself was quite boring.

The Cold Case Foundation is sadly a bit of a missed opportunity. While the true story of how a team of largely voluntary and retired law officers conduct investigations into cases the American police either don't have the manpower to solve or have abandoned years ago should be fascinating,mostly it's pedestrian and even dull in places. This is a real shame as the work these people do is complex and admirable, requiring great skill and determination and there's a lost opportunity to made a best-seller out of this material. Instead there's no tension,often the perpetrator is named at the beginning of the chapter, or at least so obvious that you wonder why the original investigations couldn't nail someone who couldn't have been more obvious if he was wearing an "I did it" T shirt.
It is a good read,but a frustrating one as it could have been so much better,as a big fan of True Crime books I found it a struggle.

I received a free copy of, The Cold Case Foundation, by Gregory M. Cooper and Thomas McHoes, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Gregory Cooper founded the Cold Case Foundation in 2013. To help solve cold cases, old murders that have not been solved yet. I thought this book would be more interesting than it was, I found it a little boring.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sharing the advance copy of this title. Unfortunately I quit reading before the halfway mark. While I have great admiration and respect for the tireless individuals working on these cold cases, the book itself was dull and very repetitive. I’d term it as workmanlike. If you want to support the Cold Case Foundation, a direct donation is probably worthwhile.

4 stars
Fascinating yet brutal look at the horrors of murder, cold cases and FBI profiling.
An intriguing look into the world of the BAU and cold case foundation.

Thank you, Globe Pequot Publishing Group and Prometheus Books, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I just finished The Cold Case Foundation: How a Team of Experts Solves Murders and Missing Persons Cases, by Gregory M. Cooper and Thomas McHoes.

I am a fan of the series, Cold Justice, in a team led by former prosecutor Kelli Siegler works to try to solve cold cases. Even though she was not involved in this book, I found it it very interesting to read these author’s stories and learn about how they approached the job. I did enjoy seeing that Yolanda McClary, who appeared in many seasons of Cold Justice, had worked on these cases and seeing her contributions.

I give this book a B+. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, a B+ equates to 4 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

I finished reading this on September 21, 2024.

Fans of Mindhunter will love this in depth look into how cold cases are investigated and profiles of perpetrators developed. The detail behind the establishment of the process of cold case investigation is fascinating and the authors do a terrific job of bringing together the perspectives of victims, their families, the police who investigate the cases and even the perpetrators. Through clever analysis of evidence and experience, they offer potential conversations and scenarios which span cases from ancient Egypt right up to today. Absolutely fascinating.