Unopened Doors: The True Story of Surviving a Killer

by Gina DePaulo

Author Gina DePaulo led a quiet, orderly life until a mugging concussion reignited vivid memory visions of an older, far more frightening, crime. Back in 1969, an unknown man abducted her, seemingly intending to kill her. With the help of renowned cold case investigator, Paul Holes, Gina hoped to discover the identity of the long-ago would-be killer. On the hunt for the mystery man, she traveled down a shadowy road full of past serial killers, inept detectives and girls gone mysteriously missing in the area of the old crime. As each disturbing facet of the investigation was revealed, it generated not only more memories of the 1969 crime, but also persistent recollections of Gina's early family life as the sorrow, joys and secrets of her childhood spilled out. She soon sensed that her troubled home was somehow woven into the untangling and healing of the old crime. It became clear, despite the remarkable work of Paul Holes, it was still up to her alone to make sense of the disparate pieces and to finally open the long-hidden doors of her past.

Genres: True Crime, Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Autobiography

254 pages, Paperback

Published May 12, 2019

Reviews

[Lindsay Feliz · Rating 5 out of 5]

In brief, the author describes how she was victim of a mugging which caused a Traumatic Brain Injury and that in turn led to flashbacks of her childhood and a rape and near-death strangulation when she was 19. She then decides to revisit her attack of some 40 years ago and with the help of a Cold Case investigator she slowly unearths the past.
The book is beautifully written and it goes backwards and forwards between the present and the past in a seamless manner. It is more than simply a memoir; however, it is a detective novel, it portrays life in the USA in the 1960s, and you really do find yourself transported back in time. In addition, DePaulo adds in stories of other victims of violence, rape and murder during the same time period in the same area.
More than a memoir, more than a detective story, overall a truly excellent read. I defy anyone not to enjoy this book, which I was unable to put down as it draws you in from the very first page. In fact, this was the best book I have read in years

[Sami Al-Khalili · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grips. Grits. Knee shakes.
You name it.
It lives its title.