Chase Darkness with Me

July 29, 2019
In this engrossing memoir, journalist Jensen takes the reader on his quest to hunt down killers using internet sleuthing and crowdsourcing. He came by his calling early in life: “I didn’t have podcasts and documentaries telling me about the most horrific crimes of the era. I had Dad.” From hearing his father read crime headlines from the paper to becoming a journalist for major magazines and crime shows, Jensen eventually worked with fellow journalist Michelle McNamara, who was investigating the Golden State Killer. After McNamara’s sudden death, at the request of her husband, Jensen helped finish I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, her book about the serial killer, which was published in 2018 and prompted renewed interest in the decades-old case that led to the arrest of Joseph DeAngelo. Jensen details many other cases where he helped find killers for police departments around the country using Facebook, and he writes about his elation the first time his methods solved a case. At the end, Jensen lays out exactly how the reader can join the chase and work to track killers and fugitives as an online citizen detective. For fans of true crime, this is a fascinating story. Author tour. Agent: Marc Gerald, Europa Content.

August 1, 2019
True crime is having a moment, and Jensen has helped make that happen. After toiling away as a true-crime journalist for over 15 years, he tired of covering stories without resolutions and decided to try to solve crimes himself. His work put him in contact with Michelle McNamara, who was then researching an unknown serial killer-rapist she dubbed the Golden State Killer. They had plans to start a show about amateur investigators, but after McNamara's untimely death, Jensen helped finish her book, I'll Be Gone in the Dark (2018), and began solving crimes using what he dubs internet sleuthing. Here, he highlights many of his investigations, several where the killer was caught at least partially owing to his actions. While the many cases get a little jumbled, Jensen's passion and techniques come through clearly. This book will find an easy audience in true crime-readers, "Murderinos" (My Favorite Murder cohost Karen Kilgariff writes the foreword), and anyone fascinated with Michelle McNamara, as well as wannabe detectives, who will be rewarded with Jensen's guide to self-sleuthing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)