I Know Who You Are

How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever

By: Barbara Rae-Venter

Narrated by: Barbara Rae-Venter

EDGAR AWARD FINALIST • “A true-crime masterpiece written by a cold-case-cracking master.”—John Douglas, New York Times bestselling co-author of Mindhunter

“Barbara Rae-Venter isn’t just the genealogy expert who helped capture the Golden State Killer—she’s an unsung hero who has given murdered women and children their faces and names back.”—Maureen Callahan, New York Times bestselling author of American Predator

“Echoes the dedication displayed by such fictional police detectives as California novelist Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch.”—The Wall Street Journal

For twelve years the Golden State Killer terrorized California, stalking victims and killing without remorse. Then he simply disappeared, for the next forty-four years, until an amateur DNA sleuth opened her laptop. In I Know Who You Are, Barbara Rae-Venter reveals how she went from researching her family history as a retiree to hunting for a notorious serial killer—and how she became the nation’s leading authority on investigative genetic genealogy, the most dazzling new crime-fighting weapon to appear in decades.

Rae-Venter shares haunting, often thrilling accounts of how she helped solve some of America’s most chilling cold cases in the span of just three years, frequently starting with little more than a DNA sample. She brings readers inside her unique “grasshopper mind” as she pores through obituaries, marriage records, and old newspaper articles. Readers join in on urgent calls with sheriffs, FBI agents, and district attorneys as she details the struggle to obtain usable crime scene DNA samples, until, finally, a critical piece of the puzzle clicks into place.

I Know Who You Are captures both the exhilaration of these discoveries and the deep-rooted emotions that linger around cold cases. It is a story of relentless curiosity and reinvention, and of human beings striving to answer the most elemental questions about themselves: What defines identity? Where do we belong? And are we truly who we think we are?

How beneficial genealogy can really be for many different things!

Hearing about the adventure that she went through to help capture the Golden State killer.

A must read for anyone interested in true crime!

A great book that often reads like a thriller. I listened to it in one day.
I've long been curious about investigative genetic genealogy and listening to this book (which was narrated by the author) certainly did not disappoint!
In this powerful, gripping and deeply insightful book, Barbara takes you behind the scenes of some high profile cases. Most notably the case of the Golden State Killer and quite specifically how it was finally solved using genetics.
With a view toward justice, humanity and humility, this is a must read for anyone interested in genealogy, justice and/or compelling true crime stories.
Well done Barbara! And thank-you for all you did to bring a monster to justice.

What an interesting and insightful book!

Adam amateur genealogist learned so much, but as a lover of good books I was drawn in and fascinated by the story. I highly recommend this book for anyone! Whether you’re interested in a good mystery or crime fighting or issues of privacy, you will be fascinated.

Intriguing and profound!

An exceptional story of IGG! The author portrays what it is like to use her knowledge and talents to solve crimes and help humanity find closure to various cases and situations that use genealogy to answer questions and solve crimes.
As a Registered Nurse her story facilitates and speaks to me personally. I would love to have such knowledge!

Genetics!

Loved the recap of all of your cases. Or well of many of your cases. This was an excellent book and it was easy for me to follow. I did not think it was too technical for me.