My Last & First Reads Of The Year

Archaeologists and forensic anything, really, are main character jobs that will automatically make me read (or watch) a mystery. It’s why I picked up the series starter Blood Sisters last year, and since I enjoyed it, the sequel was a must-read.

Syd Walker studied forensic anthropology and currently works in preserving Indigenous history for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Fresh off a return home (1st book) where she worked on a murder and missing person case, she’s now back in Rhode Island where she has new cases: a skeleton has been discovered at a summer camp that ends up being stolen, and a local Indigenous girl has gone missing. 

I’m once again enjoying the balance of Syd’s homelife and her work, along with learning about Indigenous history woven into the plot.

Many people “know” Virginia Roberts Giuffre from countless headlines since she first spoke out against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s many abuses. This is her memoir, completed before her death, and released afterwards with her permission. There’s a great opening note from the co-author of this book, journalist Amy Wallace, which not only talks about her relationship with Giuffre and shares the last email Giuffre sent her, but also details how Wallace corroborated the information in the book. 

This is a difficult memoir to read—it opens with Giuffre filling in the years before she met Epstein and Maxwell, starting with her first abuser, her father—but I hate the idea of only knowing her story from the media. Especially now that “The Epstein Files” feels like it’s taken on a new life that isn’t focusing on the victims, I want to know Giuffre’s story in her own words. 

As I write this, I’m halfway through and it’s really well done—Theresa Plummer and Gabra Zackman are great narrators of the audiobook. You really get to know Giuffre’s personality, her love for her kids, and her life story with her thoughts at the time of experiencing events and her thoughts now looking back. Her story shows how easy it is for the public to play the “blame the victim” game when in reality, we live in a society that regularly fails victims and shields abusers.