T. Christian Miller - 3 Sept

Gripping[Contains a] John Grishamworthy twistThough stranger rape isnt the norm for sexual assault, or the focus of the sexual misconduct fueling the #MeToo moment in which this book appears, it offers broadly relevant lessons.Miller and Armstrong tell their story plainly, expertly, and well.

Emily Bazelon, The New York Times Book Review

A riveting true-crime story.

O, The Oprah Magazine

A captivating page-turnerTheres a gripping you are there immediacy as crackerjack officers and criminalists pore over scant evidencea wisp of skin left on a stuffed animal, videos of a white truck canvassing apartment complexesbefore finally homing in on their man.Rich in forensic detail, deftly written and paced, [Unbelievable] is an instant true-crime classic.

Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Chilling[Unbelievable] will fascinate readers interested in the finer points of police procedureAn especially timely work.

The Seattle Times

An important piece of journalismThe authors exhaustive research brings to life not only Marie and other victims, but also the police and other authorities who are devastated by their own mistakes.Even in the relatively enlightened twenty-first century, [Unbelievable] reminds us there is no standard response to trauma.

Associated Press

This is a devastating but necessary read, composed by masters of investigative journalism.

Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy

This is a deep, disturbing, compelling, important book.It is also a fascinating, sharply written story that will twist and surprise you.

Susan Orlean, author of The Library Book and The Orchid Thief

Shines a critical light on an urgent and timely subject.

Publishers Weekly (starred)

This timely, well-researched, highly readable account will appeal to readers interested in true crime and social justice issues.

Booklist (starred)

ChillingThe authors display meticulous investigative reporting skills.A riveting and disturbing true-crime story that reflects the enduring atrocity of rape in America.

Kirkus Reviews

A reporting triumph: a heartbreaking deep dive into a case gone horribly wrong; a bone-chilling portrait of a monstrous criminal; and a forceful cri de coeur on behalf of those victims whose claims fall on deaf ears. Youll never read another crime story quite like it.

Robert Kolker, author of Lost Girls

With the #MeToo movement maintaining momentum, the timing could not be better for [Unbelievable].

Bustle

In prose that rivals that of a suspense novel, two Pulitzer Prizewinning journalists describe the tragic effects skepticism can have on victims of sexual assault.

Ms. Magazine

Well researched and compassionate, [Unbelievable] is essential reading for police, prosecutors, and lawmakers, and for all those seeking to do better for victims of sexual assault.

Joanne Archambault, CEO of End Violence Against Women International

A chilling true-crime story that is also a powerful critique of a flawed system.

The National Book Review

A gripping and often devastating talebetter still, the women in this book are strong protagonists as much as victims.

Anne-Marie Slaughter, president and CEO of New America and author of Unfinished Business

A revelationtaut, nuanced, and expertly reported.

New York Post

[An] astonishing piece of journalism.

Book Riot

This fascinating, deeply troubling book has the power to spark a national conversation about how our criminal justice system fails victims, and how it can be reformed.

Peggy Orenstein, author of Girls & Sex

This is a grim, important, meticulously reported book[with] all the detail, drama, and humanity that make the finest nonfiction as compelling as a novel.

Sebastian Rotella, author of Rip Crew

Monday, August 18, 2008

Lynnwood, Washington

M ARIE LEFT THE INTERVIEW ROOM and walked down the stairs of the police station, accompanied by a detective and a sergeant. She was no longer crying. At the bottom, the police handed her off to the two people who were waiting for her there. Marie belonged to a support program for teenagers aging out of foster care. These two were program managers.

So, one said.

Were you raped?

It had been one week since Marie, an eighteen-year-old with hazel eyes, wavy hair, and braces, had reported being raped by a stranger with a knife who had broken into her apartment and blindfolded, bound, and gagged her. In that week Marie had told the story to police at least five times. She had told them: thin white man, short as five feet six. Blue jeans. Hoodiegray, maybe white. Eyespossibly blue. But her story wasnt always the same in the telling. And the police had heard from people in Maries life who had doubts. And when the police had confronted Marie about those doubts, she had wavered, then buckled, saying she had made the story upbecause her foster mom wasnt answering her calls, because her boyfriend was now just a friend, because she wasnt used to being alone.