— A really good piece of detective fiction with some novel and original features which keep the reader guessing until the last few pages.

— I love the way the investigation plays out…very interesting.  That is done very well. It held my interest. I very much wanted to find out the outcome…

— Very well written. [Zachary] is flawed with a capital F … In spite of his problems, he is a very sympathetic character and doggedly pursues the truth.

— [She Wore Mourning] made for a pleasant read while presenting an interesting story.

— What a great story. Fabulous plot with interesting and complex characters. I was totally involved into the wee hours. Many twists and left waiting until the end. Highly recommended

— Wow! I just finished it. In one day! I could not stop reading it! This book grabs hold of you from the start. It’s a very well written detective novel. It pulls you not the story and is very emotional. You feel for the characters. This is the first novel I have read by this author but it will not be my last. I highly recommend this book.

Author’s Notes may contain spoilers

I bought my son a DNA test kit for Christmas to help him to learn about his ancestry and possibly track down some biological relatives. At the same time as I was brainstorming ideas for the next Zachary Goldman book, I was also doing a deep dive into the subject of DNA testing, familial matches, what DNA could tell you about your health, etc. 

There was a furor in the news over using partial/familial matches on genealogical databases or police databases to find the blood relatives of suspects and then using genealogical research to identify the perpetrator. Genealogical database companies were being forced to consider privacy issues, and police/government authorities to consider the ethics and the dependability of the science behind familial matches. It was a great time to be thinking about using DNA to solve cold cases. So it was only natural that Zachary Goldman would be hired on to solve a cold case murder of his own. The laws in Vermont (they always seem to be a little bit different in Vermont…) threw some additional wrenches into the works!

Since this was a cold case, I also ended up doing a lot of research into the ways that sexual assault laws have changed over the decades, along with attitudes and treatment of the victims and “rape culture” of the eighties. And, of course, into how DNA science has progressed since that time and how thousands of untested sexual assault kits are now being processed (or not.)

History of DNA/Rape kit testing

Rape kits were first proposed (by a woman) in the early 1970s. They were standardized later in the 70s as the “Vitullo Evidence Collection Kit.” This was before DNA testing could be done. They could do ABO and serological testing of blood and visual comparison of hairs and fibers.

DNA evidence first went to court in 1986 in England and 1987 in USA. It did not gain full acceptance until 1997. CODIS became operational in 1998.

38 states now mandate “all felons” DNA databases, where convicted felons must submit a DNA sample.

The first “cold hit” conviction, where no suspect has been identified, but samples from a crime scene submitted to the local, state or federal DNA database result in a match from a previously convicted offender, occurred in 2002.

As far as I can see, the first time familial DNA matches were used to identify suspects which led to arrests/convictions was 2017.

As this technology has matured, it was discovered that there were tens of thousands of rape kits across the USA that have never been DNA tested, and many had, in fact, been destroyed. Some rape kits were destroyed within days of being taken without any testing ever being done. Others were destroyed a few months or years later, while the statute of limitations clock was still ticking. Some departments had a six-month destruction policy.

Untested kits that are still in existence are now in the process of being tested, and the laws are in flux as policymakers try to enact new laws to prevent rape kits from being destroyed and to mandate DNA testing.

• Pinterest Board: Mental Illness
• DNA Search Method that Caught Golden State Killer No Longer Available
• Should familial DNA searching be legal in all 50 states?
• The citizen scientist who finds killers from her couch
• How the U.S. Ended Up With 400,000 Untested Rape Kits
• Destroyed: How the trashing of rape kits failed victims and jeopardizes public safety 
• Recovering from Rape and Sexual Trauma
• Male Survivors of Sexual Assault Face Unique Challenges to Recovery
• What It Was Like To Report Sexual Harrassment & Rape in the 1980’s
• The story behind the first rape kit

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