Why read The Forever Witness?

Book cover of The Forever Witness: How DNA and Genealogy Solved a Cold Case Double Murder

Book description

“Thought-provoking true-crime thriller…the book raises urgent questions of balancing public and private good that we’ll likely be dealing with as long as the title implies.”—Wall Street Journal

A relentless detective and a civilian genealogist solve a haunting cold case—and launch a crime-fighting revolution that tests the fragile line between justice…

Explore

Topics

Genres

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked The Forever Witness as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Cathy Pickens

Author

I write, read, watch, and listen to true crime. A few writers sit at the top of my must-read list, and Pulitzer Prize-winning Edward Humes is one. He explores the long-solved 1987 murder of two young people from Vancouver who disappeared in Washington State and, most grippingly, the story of genetic genealogy (tracing family trees and DNA connections to identify a murder suspect).

This case was the first where the defendant was successfully convicted in a trial, relying on the work of genealogist CeCe Moore and Parabon Nanolabs (featured recently in a limited ABC TV series The Genetic Detective).…

From Cathy's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Cathy Pickens

Author

I write, read, watch, and listen to true crime. A few writers sit at the top of my must-read list, and Pulitzer Prize-winning Edward Humes is one.

He explores the long-solved 1987 murder of two young people from Vancouver who disappeared in Washington State and, most grippingly, the story of genetic genealogy (tracing family trees and DNA connections to identify a murder suspect).

From Cathy's 3 favorite reads in 2023.