The Secret History of the Rape Kit starts off strong detailing Martha "Marty" Goddard's activism and her work creating the rape kit. However, in part two, it gets lost narratively after the author discovers Goddard died several years ago. The book then becomes very disjointed and it seems like Kennedy is throwing whatever related material might fit. There was potential here but it should have stayed an article.

Part true-crime, part biography, author Pagan Kennedy shares so much information that hasn't seen the light of day when it comes to the history of how the rape kit as we know it today came into fruition. First of all, I had no idea it was created by a woman, yet it doesn't surprise me that creator Marty Goddard had to put a man's name on it (and weight behind it) in order to get the project off the ground. I learned so much from Kennedy's work in this book, and found myself sharing a lot of the information out loud to my husband. For example, I had absolutely no idea Hugh Hefner was: #1, invested in women's liberation and, #2, contributed thousands of dollars to help Goddard fund the first version of the kit for distribution. Had to put some of my own personal biases aside for that one... I struggled a little bit with the writing style of the author because it felt like stream of consciousness and more personal than investigative or reportive at times, but I appreciate all of the research put into this work and all that the author shared to help audiences and readers better understand this important part of our history and of women's health.

**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.**

Wow.

While reading about the "history" of the rape kit sounds dull, this book was anything but that. The author combines her experience with sexual assault with the experiences of women with the police and justice system in the past and present along with the life of Marty Goddard.

Goddard devised the rape kit and, because of the subjugation of women in that time period, the 1970's, a man was given the patent for it. I had never heard her name until reading this book. Goddard's story is a difficult read. The author details her assault. I am glad she wrote explicitly because more stories need to be told to illustrate the brutality and widespread occurrence of sexual assault. Some will get triggered reading it and should prepare themselves accordingly.

The book pulled me in instantly beginning with the author's experience watching Dr. Blasey-Ford testifying in the Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Dr Blasey-Ford bravely told her story of sexual assault but didn't have "proof". I remember this experience watching as well, my heart breaking watching yet another victim get questioned and dehumanized.

Kennedy discusses the backlog of rape kits and the lack of urgency toward identifying the perpetrators via the kits. Imagine yourself being assaulted and going through hours of gathering evidence and then the kit sits on a shelf for years. Horrible.

Loved reading this book and am so grateful to the publisher for sending me a copy. A must read for all. Wow.

This book is one eye opening trigger warning, but I have no regrets reading it and was very educated. This book was difficult to read at times, but I also couldn't put it down. I know of rape kits due to previous work in social work, but I knew nothing about where they came from or how long they had been around. This book also shows how incredibly hard it can be to be an advocate at any moment in our history. In this book it specifically highlights the treatment of females (victims or not) in history especially during the 70s and 80s when Marty was fighting hard for medical facilities and police stations to use rape kits and run them in labs in order to help prosecute the criminals during this time committing these criminal acts. Because most of the time these criminals were getting away with these crimes for many unfortunate reasons.
This book covers the exactly what the title says, The Secret History of the Rape Kit. This book talks about the origin of the rape kit, why the idea of it came about, the fight for victims and the original creator of it all, Martha "Marty" Goddard. Marty was a woman who fought for the rights, equality and safety of women in many situations, but especially victims of sexual abuse/assault. Her fight lasted many years of her life, which was a wild rollercoaster. This hard fight made her well known at the time among legal, educational, medical and political professionals, just to name a few. But why did Marty begin her journey and after working so hard for over a decade, why did she just disappear? Did she ever see how far her creations the rape kit made it into society? This book also discusses the progression of the rape kit being introduced in the medical and criminal justice community. Chicago was the first city the rape kit was introduced and it was a very hard sell at first for Marty. Police officers and others alike seemed to have a negative connection between females and sexual abuse, claiming it mostly just wasn't believable. Testing DNA (like we do today) wasn't an option when this all began in the 1970s and it was difficult for a female to prove her assault. Luckily Marty ran into some luck that helped jumpstart the creation of the rape kit. Who helped her along the way and why was it so beneficial for Marty?
We meet a lot of colleagues, family and friends in this book that will share the life and stories they have with Marty. These stories will help the author piece the puzzle together of Marty's mysterious disappearance and how far into her life she was able to witness the progression of her invention.

Like I said there are may trigger warnings in this book: rape, sexual abuse/assault, thoughts of suicide, child abuse, racism

But a very fascinating book is interesting. How this author talked about this woman. Named m ATH AMA R Ty. She decided To make A R APE KI. T. Help women in chicago because it was so bad with the POL. I. C. E!. She had a very interesting story.She was also raped. The woman who wrote this book also went. Into the history of woman Who were married?Could not file a patent. The husband took all the credit for this. It was the same for black people too. I learned a lot from this book and how things do change for the time. Also they do genetic testing When things are left on the surface M a t h a helped A lot of people out. She had a lot of problems on her own as well. As you read this book, it all seems to tie together. There's a lot of history in this book about how women were treated. The author told different stories about other women who were also abused. Great book

A must read. Due to the subject matter, it's not always an easy book to read, but the author's commitment to bringing to light the important, mostly forgotten contribution of Martha "Marty" Goddard to the modern rape kit. This is often infuriating, often upsetting, but necessary. The final chapters with context of how the pandemic and current events have impacted evidence collection and reporting nicely tie the story together.

The Secret History of The Rape Kit was a moving story about the unsung heroine, and inventor, of America’s first rape kit.

There is education, history, and story in this book. You feel connected to Marty and the countless other people who helped turn the rape kit into reality, and those who sought to improve the system and advocate for survivors.

This is a must read for folks interested in and focused on social justice.

Of note: there are some descriptions (with varying levels of detail) of abuse and sexual assault. This is to be expected given the subject matter at hand, but does need to be called out for readers who may be sensitive to that or could potentially be triggered by those accounts.

Pagan Kennedy's book The Secret History of the Rape Kit. Women's rights, women being silenced, men taking credit when they shouldn't (big shock I know), perseverance, the pursuit for justice, reflection...it's all here.

   Marty Goddard, I want to call her the hero of this story, who deserves so much credit for what she achieved, but that feels like it lessens what she endured in a way? A sign of the times that she knew she had to let a man take credit for her work for it to gain traction. That still feels current doesn’t it? Her work and struggle are told well within the pages, ultimately a heartbreaking story given the trajectory her life takes and watching someone spiral into obscurity and isolation. 

   I also appreciated Kennedy sharing her own personal story within this book, it took it out of the realm of just being a biography/journalism and made it so personal, human, intimate and touching on a whole other level. 

   In the end, I am thankful for the breakthrough in forensic innovation that has been achieved, thanks to Marty, yet I am still hoping for more improvements in the very near future.
I want everyone to get a copy and read if when it's released this month.

This story was fascinating . I loved learning about Marty Goddard and how she brought this instrumental innovation into fruition. I also enjoyed learning about how much more impactful this invention was with scientific advancement.

I found this book fascinating. Marty Goddard, the unsung hero of the creation of the rape kit, seems to be a complicated women who worked tirelessly as an advocate for the victims of sexual assault until she no longer could do so...and then her story becomes somewhat of a mystery. Kennedy, the author, went down a rabbit hole to find out more about Marty's life and contributions in the 1970s and 1980s that have implications in modern forensic science.

Thanks to NetGalley for early acess to this nonfiction book.

I knew reading this book was going to be difficult but am very glad I decided to venture out of my comfort zone to request this ARC. While the content was in some cases triggering like I anticipated, it was truly enlightening and showcases how far society still has to go to do justice for survivors of sexual assault.

Unsurprisingly, it was a woman named Marty Goddard who created the first rape kit but it was a man who received the credit. In those days it was damn near impossible for a woman to obtain a patent and even be viewed as credible. This was also in the age of marital rape not being acknowledged as legitimate because women were viewed as property. Despite everything going against her, Marty pushed through the hurdles to advocate for women and minorities through many avenues.

This book not only highlighted the issues in the justice system, but the long standing patriarchal beliefs surrounding sexual assault, rape culture, purity culture and the disparities in how people of color are treated in all of these scenarios. I was also incredibly surprised (and pleased) to learn about the involvement of the Playboy Foundation in funding the creation of the rape kits as well as the changes that came about during the pandemic so victims if SA had options to collect evidence without going to the hospital. Marty finally received some acknowledgment of her hard work with this kit being named the Margo in her honor.

Written in that mix of personal memoir and journalistic expose´, Kennedy brings the reader into a story that could be salacious or boring, but manages instead to be engaging and personal. In this moment of social questioning and political wildness, it is good to remember that many of the truths we believe, especially when it comes to crime, investigations and police are not as they are depicted in popular media.

Kennedy humanizes the horrors of sexual assault and rape, not as individual acts, but the retruamatization of reporting and attempting to find justice. The timeline, while I knew it from my own background in feminist study, is crazy. Many of the advances only happened in my lifetime, and survivors all know that to come forward is a harrowing experience at best. For anyone that is unsure, pair this book on the procedural side of this issue with Chanel Miller’s Know My Name.

I devoured this book. The writing is crisp and direct. The connections to the author’s lived experiences are appropriately graphic without turning into trauma porn. The life of the actual woman who created the rape kit is well researched, and the connections and any extrapolations are clear. This book was in no way dry, but it also kept the reader pretty safe.

3.5 stars. This book was incredibly interesting, but the summary is misleading: the bulk of this story is not about Marty Goddard, who is instrumental in the creation of the modern day rape kit, but is instead about Kennedy’s journey through discovering its history and her obsession with Marty. And while there is a lot of good information presented here, the juxtaposition of Marty’s story, Kennedy’s story, and historical references & interludes is all over the place.

Overall I liked the history I learned - and Kennedy is a smart writer - but feel it needs some work to make the story flow better.

Thank you to NetGalley, Pagan Kennedy, and Vintage for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A fascinating blend of biography and personal memoir, THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE RAPE KIT: A TRUE CRIME STORY introduces readers to Marty Goddard, a woman instrumental in the creation of the rape kit in 1971. While the invention of the rape kit is credited to a man, Goddard worked closely to bring advances in sexual assault care.

The aspects of the book that touched on the mishandling of evidence, the backlog of untested rape kits, and the ongoing barriers to women were most interesting to me.

Author Pagan Kennedy weaves her own story of childhood trauma into the narrative and offers her vulnerable perspective and personal connection to survivors of sexual assault. Through investigative journalism and interviews with experts in the field, Kennedy provides insights into the current state of forensic science and where the science is headed.

The audiobook narrated by Claire Danes is worthy of a listen.

READ THIS IF YOU:
-love to learn about unsung heroes from history
-have a heart for survivor stories
-are interested in women’s health care

RATING: 4/5

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

•The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story has been sitting on my NetGalley shelf for a few months. I knew it would be difficult to read and review, and I was correct.

•I initially requested this book from NetGalley because I wanted to learn about the history, like the title implies. However, it turned out to be a memoir, biography, and history all mixed into one.

•One minute I was reading about the Marty Goddard’s development of the rape kit, and the next I was reading a wildly graphic sexual assault scene. The transition between the author describing her own trauma and the history/ research was jarring.

•The author, Pagan Kennedy, also wrote about Marty Goddard’s sexual trauma in great detail. I understand Kennedy probably included that to explain why Goddard was adamant on creating these kits, but Goddard has been deceased for years, therefore not giving Kennedy consent to publicize her assault.

•Thank you to NetGalley and Vintage Books for this ARC. It will become available on January 14, 2025.

Pagan Kennedy details the life of Marty Goddard, the creator of the Rape Kit and her journey in the victim-survivor advocacy world. Goddard is to thank for many of the victim-survivor centered policies and procedures we use and rely on today. Goddard saw the neglect towards victim-survivors of all kinds and dedicated her life to change. Goddard was a selfless woman who often put others before her own well being, yet her name is largely unknown. Kennedy paints an engaging and informative timeline of Goddard's success and advocacy. Overall I really enjoyed my read of "The Secret History of the Rape Kit" as it was very reader friendly without becoming an info dump, I look forward to reading more from this author.

I was really interested in reading about the history of the rape kit Unfortunately, this didn’t quite hit the mark. I wanted to know more about Martha Goddard. I think the lack of information on Martha left the author filling up space in the book for the sake of increasing the page count. I believe there were two stories being told within this book and though both are worthy of being told they just didn’t go well together. It felt disjointed much of the time.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this arc.

Pagan Kennedy's The Secret History of the Rape Kit was a revelation. From the very start, when she reminds readers that many runaway young women have been victims of sexual assault, often in their own families, to the very end, the book held me rapt. Kennedy's experience with true crime writing serves her well, for she makes what could have been a dry narrative come to life for the reader.

Pagan Kennedy has brought an unknown individual into the spotlight on a scale that is worth the investigative time and enegy behind it. The Secret History of the Rape Kit is more than just how it came to be, but who designed it, how it was funded, where it started, the issues it suffered from, and the newest updates and application from other individuals work is astonishing, to be honest. Even just the number of the backlog, from where it used to be to where it currently is, is just mindboggling. Pagan Kennedy has really pieced together the narrative of an individual worth knowing. Her fight, her struggle, her triumph, and her withdrawl from the spotlight is written so well that I can't begin to say how much we are better now because of it as a society. Marty will not be forgotten, the name rightly put where it belongs, and the future of this system will only benefit from Marty's hard work. Very well done!!! Highly recommend!

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

The Secret History Of The Rape Kit by Pagan Kennedy is a truly fascinating book that details the inception of the rape kit, as well as it's progression over the past few decades.

Rape and sexual assault is truly a horrific problem not just in the United States, but worldwide as well. Unfortunately, every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted (according to RAAIN). Kennedy brings to light the work of Marty Goddard in 1970s Chicago, as the often times uncredited creator of the rape kit. (Louis R. Vitullo is frequently credited as the developer.) The book chronicles Goddard's research and proposal of the rape kit, through the implementation, and to the state of the kit today.

The shortfalls of the kit are well documented, such as the incredible backlog that has been slowly being worked through. But the book also pointed out other aspects that hadn't occurred to me before, specifically the obstacles that keep black women from reporting, as well as how the Covid19 pandemic effected the ability for survivors to have a kit done.

It's important to note Kennedy's book does not provide a birds eye view of the story, rather she inserts herself by talking about her efforts to track down information about Goddard, and shares details of her own experiences with sexual assault. I appreciate her candor and willingness to share and be vulnerable, as it's not an easy feat to do. However, i personally would have preferred more of a classic research style narrative. I think it would have lent a cleaner timeline and a clearer vision. But that is a matter of personal opinion, not to say the author's choice of stylized writing was wrong.