This is the true crime story of the kidnapping and murder of twelve year old Polly Klass in Petaluma, CA. A stranger broke into Polly’s house while she was having two friends visit on a sleepover and took her at knifepoint. This book is being published as we approach the thirtieth anniversary of the disappearance of the girl who became known as “America’s Child” during the 65 day search for her.

This read like a thriller, albeit one with a lot of information on the background of agents, technicians, and techniques used both in this case and in other infamous and not so famous cases. Despite a lot of material, the narrative flowed, making this a fast, engrossing, and heartbreaking read. Cross treated all of those involved with respect and empathy; emphasis here was on the victim(s) and the investigators rather than the perpetrator. As the daughter-in-law of Case Agent Eddie Freyer, Cross had unique access to personnel, interviews, transcripts, and other documents that allowed for impeccable research.

This was a significant case influencing the future of investigations into childhood abductions, using and refining new technology, as well as learning from things that worked and things that could be improved upon. The Polly Klass case is still taught in classes around the world and lessons learned have helped in finding many missing children. It has also helped strengthen the methods used in other criminal investigations. Technology that we take for granted today, such as digitally transmitting a missing person flyer far and wide was first used to try to find Polly. Another contribution from this tragedy was the founding of the Polly Klass Foundation and the KlassKids Foundation, still in existence today and helping in finding missing children and preventing crimes against children.

For those who enjoy true crime books, this is an excellent read.

Thanks to #Netgalley and @grandcentralpub for the ARC ( )