True crime is a guilty pleasure read for me and this book was amazing. Unputdownable, gripping and well written

This true crime story is about Tanya and her boyfriend Jay. In November 1987, they planned an overnight trip to pick up a part for Jay's father's business. They vanished and a week later, their bodies were found in rural Washington. It was an awful crime, which was hindered by very few clues and no witnesses. The case went cold until many years later when DNA was stored digitally and became more prevalent, as more people sent in their DNA to trace their ancestors. Through a long process of political beaurocracy, the investigators were finally able to get the answers they needed to solve the case, through genetic genealogy.
I found the story very informative and interesting. Will definitely look for more books by this author.
I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Forever Witness is a true crime book with an extra twist that will appeal to anyone who's interested in genealogy! The first part of the book is a traditional true crime tale of the tragic murder of a young Canadian couple in Washington state. The author does a good job of telling a fast-paced story with a variety of perspectives--you can tell he really did his research!

The book then shifts to telling how this cold case was solved after 30 hours through the use of genetic genealogy. As an avid genealogist, I really enjoyed learning about how this was accomplished. The author also did a good job of explaining some of the ethical issues surrounding the use of genetic genealogy to solve crimes.

Would definitely recommend to anyone who's interested in true crime, genealogy, or both!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This book ended up being a lot better than I anticipated. I've read a handful of true crime books over the years and most of them had one flaw that I found particularly boring: going into way too much detail about the lives of the victims. I don't mean to sound cold-hearted, but I think most people reading these true crime books wouldn't care about these victims if they weren't, in fact, victims. We are only reading about them because they were murdered and it's that crime that we want to read about. This book does an excellent job balancing background info about the two victims with the interesting aspects of the case.

When we first learn all about Tanya and Jay, the author kept the length just right so I was interested but not overwhelmed or bogged down by useless information. But the case became a cold case fairly early on in the book and I couldn't guess what the rest of the book would be dedicated to. I'm pleased to say that I was very pleasantly surprised. Once the case became cold, the focus of the book shifts to genetic genealogy, the use of databases like those of 23andMe to solve cold cases, and wow that was some interesting stuff.

If I had known originally how much of the book would be about this science-y stuff, I may have been less interested, but because the author had gotten me interested in the murder case to begin with, I was so intrigued by how they were trying to solve it. I found the whole aspect fascinating. And then there was just the right amount of detail about the court case for me to stay perfectly interested all the way through to the end. Sometimes books like this can focus too much on the courtroom scenes, to the point where we readers just want to skip to the end so we don't have to read every lawyer's argument word for word, but again this was just the right amount.

I was pleasantly surprised by every aspect of this book and I look forward to more books by this author.

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

And just an interesting little tidbit to round things out nicely, these murders happened only a few days after I was born. I promise that didn't influence my review in any way either ;)

Thank you Penguin Group Dutton and Netgalley for providing this non fiction title for review. This was much better than I was expecting. I had already read “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” and expected this would be very similar, but it was actually significantly different. I especially liked the discussion of the ethics of using DNA from genealogy sites for criminal investigations because that’s something I’ve been thinking about for the last few years. Another highlight was the insight into the jury deliberations. Recommend this for any true crime fan.

The Forever Witness is a fascinating dive into the world of digital DNA and how it was first used to solve two cold cases. The book flowed like a novel, yet was full of information about the complex nature and controversy of melding genealogy programs designed to trace family trees with the hunt for murderers or victims of serious crimes.

As one of millions of readers obsessed with the psychology of true crime, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the science of finding the answers to long unsolved mysteries.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers and author for the opportunity to read an ARC of this excellent book in exchange for my honest opinion.

5 stars

This book is a compelling combination of a cold case double murder and an excellent explanation of the new techniques that solved the case. Detective Jim Scharf finds his niche as a cold case investigator in the pacific northwest. One of the first cases he delves into is the murders of Tanya Van Cuylenborg and Jay Cook in 1987. The young couple set off from Vancouver Island, Canada on an overnight errand to Seattle, USA for Jay's family business in November of 1987. The investigation takes us back to a time without cell phones and reminds us how different the world was. In 2020 "Genetic Genealogy" was developing as a cutting edge tool in criminal investigations. This became the key in this investigation, and this book also does a good job of explaining "Genetic Genealogy" and how it came about and the perhaps spurring controversy surrounding it . Definitely worth your time, Edward Humes explains and tells a very interesting story.

Thanks to Edward Humes, NetGalley, and Penguin Random House LLC for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I truly enjoyed this book to the point I was unable to put it down. It is amazing what technology has become today and how DNA is helping solve more crimes now than before. I know a lot of people who think solving a crime by using ancestry DNA is not right, but with all the cold cases out there and all the people that are needing closure for the loved ones they have lost I think using ancestry DNA is a great idea. I am and will be recommending this book to all my friends and family.

The book covers the case of Tanya Cuylenborg and Jay cook, a young couple from Canada who went missing on a trip to Washington later to be discovered murdered. This is also the first case in which DNA was used to identify the murderer. While the case of the missing couple was enthralling, the pace of the book was not. It was a slow painful read. While I understand the need to be detailed in the storytelling it is not needed to be as detailed when it comes to the scenery around which the young couple traveled. I had high hopes for this book but sadly they were not realized.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This review is a lot trickier to get started than I anticipated. I have a lot of feelings about the ethics of genealogical DNA resources, because it's not a black-and-white topic.

The writer covers the case with proficiency and smooth prose. THE FOREVER WITNESS doesn't get draggy or dry, and for true crime, that is sometimes a big problem writers face. The inclusion of diagrams and illustrations on how genealogical DNA works totally fascinated me. There's nothing wrong with this book as a whole. Its execution, premise, case coverage, victims' advocacy--cool, all of it. And I know, I know. A single book cannot cover the entirety of an ethics issue when the implications are as far-reaching as genealogical DNA in forensics.

I just kinda wish we had a little less of its praises here.

Once you've settled down and lowered your hackles, let me explain. I don't think it's necessarily a *bad* thing. As we well know, things in an of themselves usually are not inherently good or bad. Knife? Neutral. Democracy? Sounds neat. Gun? Fine. It's the forces behind these things that can become an issue.

As we've seen in an unfortunate amount of cases, accountability is not the strongest trait the police tend to display. And neither is this a strong trait for corporations. So am I against genealogical DNA being used in a forensic setting? On the surface, no. The Golden State Killer was given a face and a set of shiny new bracelets because of genealogical DNA. A lot of families got to look into those sad, beady little rat eyes and see just how pathetic that beast truly was. They got to face their monster in the light. I cannot even begin to imagine the amount of weight is off their shoulders now, how much healing comes after a breakthrough that explosive.

The issue isn't in its existence. Fractures pop up when we examine a few things. Firstly, that of--like I said earlier--accountability. It may come as a surprise to some that insurance companies can access your DNA in these genetic banks and use that to decide whether or not they'll deny you help. A lot of folks who aren't disabled or neurodivergent won't know this, but I'm here to tell you that that really sucks and is the primary reason I will never spit into a tube for them. If a simple pay-stub mishap within a social security office on the part of a clerk can shut down your SSI benefits, which includes the meds that keep certain people at a mostly-functional level, imagine what a genetic bank of all your potential diseases and quirks could do. So the people who take your DNA aren't exactly the most trustworthy to begin with. Terms and conditions protecting someone's right to privacy need to be adjusted and made 100% crystal clear before I'd even consider sniffing at a DNA testing company.

Need I say anything about police accountability within even the past year? I don't really want to, I'm exhausted, but if anyone comes at me, be prepared for an MLA-Handbook-worthy hurricane.

Secondly, accessibility. Some first-year rookie in a traffic moped should not be able to dick around in your family lineage. Not every police officer needs access to whether or not Aunt Dimity got drunk and crashed through the neighbors' garage last New Year's, or that Uncle Carl has a separate family on the other side of the world. The terms and conditions for genetic genealogy services say explicitly that your DNA should not be used as a primary source of evidence, but as an investigative tool. That is an ENORMOUS world of difference in the legal world.

"But cops need a warrant!" Cool, but trash is public access, and that soda bottle you just backwashed into? That can be used in a case.

All this to say, we need to examine genealogical DNA via law enforcement with a more critical eye. The issue isn't easily sorted through. Nor is it clear to predict how it will develop in the field of forensics. We in the true crime community just need to be careful of flying too quickly into one extreme, because people's lives and healing are at stake. We're not in a novel. Not every piece will be happy and straight-sided at the end of the day. And we need to examine more thoroughly how much pull we're willing to give to people who haven't shown they can handle the responsibility.

I already enjoy the writing of Edward Humes, and this book was another good one. The cold case behind this story seemed familiar once I got into it. A young Canadian couple disappeared in November of 1987 on a trip to Seattle to pick up furnace parts. When detective Jim Scharf delves into the cold case decades later, he’s determined to make a difference. Then add Cece Moore, who came up with a method to use genetic genealogy to help narrow down suspects for law enforcement, and magic happened. Loved this true crime book, though it does make you think about the issues around the databases for genealogy sites, and how private they should be about sharing their info..

Hume's book explores genetic genealogy and it's use in reuniting families, but more importantly, in solving cold cases. Following the capture of the Golden State Killer, genetic genealogy was instrumental in solving the murders of a Canadian couple in the state of Washington during the 1980's. Hume explains in detail how the case was solved within hours after decades.
Fascinating!

If you like to read true crime books then you should read this book! So much research went into this book and you could definitely tell. This book is great

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!
This was fascinating and heartbreaking. As a forensic science student, I was excited to read this. I am a big fan of shows, such as Forensics Files, Dateline, and The First 48: this book remind me a lot of those shows. I really enjoyed the content regarding forensic genealogy and the case itself. I think there could been more detail in certain aspects but overall really enjoyed this. I would recommend this to true crime fans!

Do you crave a chance to solve a mystery? Do you follow true crime stories and read everything you can get on killers? Or do you live in northwestern United States? Finally, are you engaged in the ancestry DNA craze? If your answer to any of these question are yes, you might want to pick up and read The Forever Witness.

On November 18, 1987, Jay Cook and his girlfriend Tanya Van Cuylenborg left Vancouver Island (British Columbia, Canada) to drive five hours to Seattle, Washington, to pick up a furnace for his dad. They never arrived. Someplace along the way they encountered someone who murdered them both, left their bodies in rural Washington and the copper-colored van was left in the town of Bellingham. A massive search went out, but the case went cold.

In 2005, Jim Scharf was appointed to work the 65 cold cases of Snohomish County (WA) where he had worked off and on since 1h3 1970s. The only double-homicide was that of Tanya Van Cuylenborg and Jay Cook. In 2008, Sharf invested in decks of tip cards - playing cards that had the story of a case and photo of the victim. Since DNA in semen was found on Tanya's body, DNA matching could be used to rule out various suspects that tips brought forward. CODIS, a database of DNA collected from known criminals was tried a few times without any hits. Then came the genetic genealogy phenomenon where folks started sending in their DNA to trace back their ancestors and find living relatives via 23andMe and other DNA testing companies. Scharf used Parabon which had gone private after creating a terrorist DNA database for the Defense Department. He got a profile with a description. This is where CeCe Moore comes into the story. She is a genetic genealogist who has made a business out of her obsession with tracking down genealogical answers. She saw that her toolkit for helping people find answers could possibly be a way to help solve police cold cases. She and Parabon gotten together to work on cases using the GEDmatch platform to solve cold cases and the first case was Jim Sharf's. It took CeCe Moore nine hours to identify the possible killer. Then came the need to obtain direct DNA evidence that was positively linked to the suspected person which was accomplished on May 18, 2018. Then all the evidence collected over the years needed to be put in order, a case presented to a court, and a verdict rendered which happened on December 6, 2021.

Edward Humes provides a very readable account of how the case of Tanya Van Cuylenborg and Jay Cook's murders were solved and the vindication of genetic genealogy as a tool in law enforcement's handbook. He also provides a warning about the need for limits on these tools. Pick up a copy and dive into the details of a fascinating cold case solved!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars!

Spoilers ahead. I will not reveal anything big - most of the review vaguely alludes to plot, structure, and characters.

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This is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in true crime and the practice of genetic genealogy, which has been an absolute boon in solving cold cases of all types in the past handful of years. Not only does this book examine a singular case, it also explains genetic genealogy - its beginnings, its evolution, and its uses. Though things did drag and get try at times, this books is an incredibly in-depth, behind the scenes look at the process of getting genetic genealogy involved in a cold case - and the hope and closure it can provide. As technology advances, and more and more people begin to learn to utilize genetic genealogy, I think we will see more and more cases like the one in this book come to a close.

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Again, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was everything I wanted it to be. It had me turned pages without even realizing. It was so good!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dutton, and Edward Humes for the advanced copy of The Forever Witness in exchange for my honest review.

I feel it's worth noting that I am not typically a nonfiction reader, since I'm someone who enjoys very plot-driven books.

That said, I LOVED The Forever Witness. If you, like me, were fascinated by the fact that they caught the Golden State Killer thanks to a genealogy site with DNA testing, this book is for you. I had no idea how many other cold cases (and current crimes!) were solved using this type of science and I was absolutely riveted by it.

I didn't find the science aspect of the book to be too heavy, and I thought the author did a fantastic job building the backstories of the victims. Also, Detective Jim Scharf sounds like a world class human being and it was an honor to get to read about him.

Basically I have nothing but great things to say about this book and all of the research that went into writing it. It will be on US bookshelves November 29!

I absolutely loved this book. Although the story at times is dark it brings to light the world of genetic genealogy and the power it has to solve so many cold cases. So much research and love went into this book and you could definitely tell.

When a couple disappears without a trace in 1987, their families are left wondering what happened to them. Did they decide to just take off without checking in? Did they change their trip without letting anyone know? While the family's worry - evil is taking place.

When the bodies are discovered, no one could imagine the long trail that justice would have to take in order for closure to be brought about. The crimes in which Jay and Tanya lost their lives were unimaginable, and the torment that the families carried for years was buoyed with hope from one person, the detective who would not let the case go.

With DNA now being used, and people from around their world submitting their DNA to databases, it was just a matter of time before it could be used to solve crimes as well. Cold cases from decades past were being solved, and of course, controversy would arise over the use of such databases.
But it would manage to give them one thing - the name of the person who's DNA had been left behind at the crim scene so many years ago.

The Forever Witness takes you on the journey for justice - from the beginning when this couple was full of hope and dreams, to the detective that refuses to let the case die. It was a book that keeps you interested from the start, as you are hoping that, in the end, justice will be served.