Finder: The True Story of a Private Investigator

by Marilyn Greene, Gary Provost

In the last two decades, Private Investigator Marilyn Greene has found more than two hundred people — sometimes discovering in hours or minutes a person missing for years. In FINDER, Greene shares her news-making triumphs, the joyous family reunions she's made possible, and the chilling cases of dead ends. Often called in when all efforts by law enforcement officials have failed, she has traveled the country to locate runaways, children abducted by parents and strangers, and suicide and homicide victims.

Hailed by Esquire as one of the "men and women under forty who are changing the face of America," Marilyn Greene's story is riveting true adventure. Here is the compelling account of how she uses her instincts and her experience to find "hopelessly lost" individuals; surprising techniques about how and where to look for missing persons; and the tools of her trade, from specially trained dogs to publicly available directories and maps. FINDER is an invaluable resource on missing-person cases — and spellbinding reading.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Autobiography, Audiobook

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1988

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Driven. Called to serve. That's what this woman really is. She clearly displays her need to be in the forefront of finding people who are missing whether they are still alive or not, whether as a volunteer with a small child and a nonsupportive husband, or as a minimally paid licensed private investigator, or back in the volunteer sector. The book is wrenching as she relates the scarcity of knowledgeable volunteers or professionals, the spotty incidence of respect, and many particular investigations/hardships/results. I was ashamed at the lack of respect given her by state and local law enforcement, but oddly encouraged by that shown by FBI and the Air Force. This book can be difficult to read in places, and I suspect that some readers stuck in a bookmark and put it back in their TBR pile. I am more fortunate than that because my copy is audio and narrated by Sara K. Sheckells whose audio interpretation is absolutely perfect.
I requested and received a free review copy courtesy of AudioBookBOOM.

[Amber Andrews Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marilyn Greene was a pioneer during the 1970’s as a female missing persons locator. Dominated by a man’s world in that society, she worked her way up in her career further challenging herself all on her own merit. I’m thankful for women like her that paved the path ahead of me that quietly made a change on how women were viewed in the workforce.

She had some interesting stories to share. My non fiction nerd brain was fed plus I learned some things.

[Patrick S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the concept of the book sounds interesting, the structure and material leave a lot to be desired. Greene starts her story in the early '70s before women in the police field are accepted and that part of her story, dealing with sexism in her profession, adds to the story it's really lost in the structure.

The book starts with her early days of search and rescue. In this portion she does not make herself a sympathetic character. Her own story sounds like one of personal selfishness and abandoning her family. It may not be the case but the tone of the first part makes Greene sound bad. Also, the beginning is not the best place to start her book. For those who don't know who Greene is and who are picking up the book on a whim, what was needed was a dramatic or even a typical event in her career that would have been used to bait the hook for the reader. This would have endeared and enticed the reader; the linear storytelling does the opposite.

The rest of the book follows the linear story approach with not a lot of structure as to why the stories that are being relayed are the ones she has chosen. There is no "how to" approach for the reader so the stories aren't a "I'm telling you this one because it shows this type of approach or skill". Her family life continues to randomly pop up from time to time and is quickly forgotten. A point she contention with one of her children that she uses to sum of the book seems sporadically brought up and is quickly forgotten - by the reader as well. It also doesn't add to the author's likability.

The book isn't terrible or uninteresting as there are a few stories and information passed on that makes it somewhat interesting but the linear storytelling, the lack of a real structure to the stories, and the failure to include the audience detracts a lot. If you're wanting a starter book in this type of field it might be worth it but fans of the genre won't miss much. Final Grade - C-

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was looking for a book to read in my grandmother's house and this one caught my attention. Right from the first page, I was hooked. Marilyn's story and the writing are both exceptional. The cliche here was true for me - I could not put this book down.

I found Marilyn's story so compelling - both her personal and professional life and how they intersected. A bonus in this book, given her line of work, is that you get dozens and dozens of real life mysteries (and answers) that come with her decades in search and rescue and private investigation.

And I think you can also come away with some practical knowledge that probably remains true despite how the world has changed since this book was published. Many people mistakenly assume the police both try really hard to find missing persons and are well-trained and equipped to do so. This book will dispel that notion and provide insight into what goes into finding a missing person from someone with an amazing track record of finding missing people.

I also found the sexism and gender expectations she confronted in her personal and professional life to be an important part of the book that I think is unfortunately still very relevant today.

I'm not surprised this book has glowing reviews - I just hope more people have the pleasant surprise of coming upon this excellent book!

[Lora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and Riveting

This book chronicled the life of a woman who had a tragic experience when she was a child. It subconsciously drove her desires and priorities for the rest of her life. While also doing the incredible work of finding missing children, she couldn't hold her personal life together. She was compelled to find missing people, and she was excellent at it. Yet it took a very serious situation for her to come to terms with her own dysfunctional personal life. This was a riveting story that I couldn't put down.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating is based on what the book is, rather than what I wish it were. I knew that it was about the real-life experience of a women who found missing persons and that's what I got. The cases that she was involved in were all interesting. But I can't help wishing that there had been more about her dogs.

The attitudes that she encountered as a woman applying for jobs and working in the 1970's certainly brought back some memories.

[Jim Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found a diamond in the ruff in this first person account of a young woman from Albany, New York who went on to be a PI against all odds with an emphasis on finding missing people. Fascinating little book. I can see why the publishing world missed this one. It was good.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took this short paperback on a hike into the Grand Canyon - had some downtime between miles of hiking - great story, interesting people she found or helped find. Very honest presentation of this line of work. Her air-scent dog search & rescue stories were also amazing!

[Les · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating story.

[Genine Franklin-Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my book club. I never wanted to stop reading it, although it was a bit . . .droney. I normally like the NPR drone, but not so much in a book. The story was interesting. I was a little surprised that she had so many "I realized" moments, then realized (see what I did there?) that we all do that throughout our lives. You know, have it all figured out, and then we don't and we have to do it all over again. This was equal parts "my life" and " how to find people". I'm not sorry I read it. Probably wouldn't recommend it. There are other "my life" stories that are better told. The actual "how to find people" parts were quite interesting, but too few.

I was also quite dismayed that Chip seemed to be unable to feed and clothe himself and the children when Marilyn was working to find a missing person. I couldn't help wondering how the story would be different if the man were the one doing the finding.

[Jenelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educational and I couldn't stop reading

Nicely written by an intelligent, insightful, and highly ethical PI. She opens up the real world of search and rescue and explains how and why she kept at it.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. The story of a woman private investigator.