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True Identity: Cracking the Oldest Kidnapping Cold Case and Finding My Missing Twin
A man desperate to know his true identity struggles to solve the infamous kidnapping that nearly destroyed his family--and find his twin sister, who has been missing for more than fifty years.
When he was ten years old, Paul Fronczak was snooping around for Christmas presents in a crawl space in his family's Chicago home. There, he found hundreds of old newspaper clippings about the kidnapping of a one-day-old infant in a hospital in 1964. He also learned that, two years later, the boy was found and returned to his family--and that the boy was him.
Nearly fifty years later, Paul, acting on long-held suspicions, took a DNA test that proved he was not the kidnapped boy. In an instant, he found himself at the center of two half-century-old mysteries--who was he, and where was the real Paul?
True Identity is about three separate major investigations--the hunt for the real Paul Fronczak; the search for the author's missing twin sister Jill; and finally, the investigation into his true identity, his heart and soul and the demons inside him--inherited and created--that still need to be confronted.
When he was ten years old, Paul Fronczak was snooping around for Christmas presents in a crawl space in his family's Chicago home. There, he found hundreds of old newspaper clippings about the kidnapping of a one-day-old infant in a hospital in 1964. He also learned that, two years later, the boy was found and returned to his family--and that the boy was him.
Nearly fifty years later, Paul, acting on long-held suspicions, took a DNA test that proved he was not the kidnapped boy. In an instant, he found himself at the center of two half-century-old mysteries--who was he, and where was the real Paul?
True Identity is about three separate major investigations--the hunt for the real Paul Fronczak; the search for the author's missing twin sister Jill; and finally, the investigation into his true identity, his heart and soul and the demons inside him--inherited and created--that still need to be confronted.
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Published March 22, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
December 30, 2021
I've been following Fronczak's story since his original book, The Foundling, came out. I also watched the CNN documentary just a few weeks ago. His on-going search for the missing pieces of his life continues to pull at my heart. It's also an absolutely fascinating mystery, full of unexpected twists and turns.
January 7, 2022
This book was good, however, most of it was a summary of the first book, The Foundling. I was disappointed that there wasn't a whole lot of new information on this case. The title is misleading in the fact that the missing twin has not been found. So much of raw feelings of love and disappointment and frustration. There are very interesting stories and theories inside. Possibly may never be solved, but the question of mafia involvement occurred to me fairly early in the first book. Nevertheless, praying for Jill to be found and looking forward to the next book to see what happened next.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2022
What a journey!
A truly fascinating second instalment. Had me on the edge of my seat and sent me on an emotional roller coaster. What this poor man has been through in search of something he was denied for most of his life - painful to read at times and in turn heart warming and devastating. I would encourage everyone to read this book and everyone to have empathy for his story. I truly, truly hope there will be a positive ending - Best of luck Jack
A truly fascinating second instalment. Had me on the edge of my seat and sent me on an emotional roller coaster. What this poor man has been through in search of something he was denied for most of his life - painful to read at times and in turn heart warming and devastating. I would encourage everyone to read this book and everyone to have empathy for his story. I truly, truly hope there will be a positive ending - Best of luck Jack
August 25, 2022
A fascinating story but poorly written. The author repeated stories more than once as if the reader wasn't bright enough to remember that they had already read that info. It also drove me crazy that he wrote over and over again, for example, "They looked for Jill and I" when it should have been Jill and me. That was annoying.
October 28, 2023
3.5 - a good chunk of the first half was recapping/restating his first book, and since I had just read it last month it felt very repetitive to read again. The story of Paul’s life is interesting and it continues to be plagued by mysteries still unsolved to this day.
March 29, 2023
THREE AND A HALF STARS. I previously read Fronczak's first book, The Foundling, and had heard that the "real baby Paul" had been found, so I was interested to read this and find out the rest of the story. Unfortunately, there are still quite a few unanswered questions and as so often happens in real life, things are not tied up in a neat bow. (And no, I don't believe the stories of "the old man" which I won't ruin for you here.) The first one third of this book recounts much of what was covered in the first book, which is why I rated this down a bit. It is interesting that people are so judgmental of Fronczak for taking this journey to try to process the events of his life, which are certainly stranger than fiction. First he's abused and neglected by his biological parents who then abandon him, he then ends up with the Fronczaks, who are encouraged to just believe he's their kidnapped son and spends his whole childhood believing this untruth while suspecting there's something more to it and feeling like an outsider in the family at times. He then has to process this whole thing as an adult when he starts to find out the truth and takes a DNA test that reveals he is not the Fronczak's son. In the meantime, his adoptive family won't speak to him for 2 years and by the time they resume their relationship, his adoptive father has dementia and then dies, he's married and divorced twice (not surprising for someone with as much early attachment trauma as he had) and he has to confront the fact that he was so seriously abused and neglected by his biological parents. I don't know how anyone can blame this guy for wanting to know the truth about where he came from and try to process all of the disruption and trauma from this situation that is certainly stranger than fiction. There is probably no one else on the planet who has been in this exact situation. If anything, Fronczak sounds like a very resilient person and I hope he continues to find the answers he is seeking.
February 10, 2022
While much of the information/story of this, Fronczak’s follow up to The Foundling was a re-hash of the first book, the new chapters were interesting and added much to the story. However, the atrocious grammar almost made me quit reading more than a few times. This book, more so than the first, felt more like a tell-all, filled with dirty laundry and digs that should’ve/could’ve been omitted altogether.
September 11, 2025
This is a five star story, but unfortunately it is only a two star book. I came across the tragedy of Paul Fronczak on YouTube, and it is an intriguing mystery, however the authors of this book Paul Fronczak and Alex Tresniowski are not the authors that should be writing this book. There is enough information in here for a really strong magazine article. Paul Fronczak is not a capable investigator. He includes stories that are so baseless except some old man's ramblings that it is ridiculous. If you are going to write about Al Capone and a Chicago mob stealing babies or that your mother and father somehow conspired to trade their child for some ridiculous unknown reason, then the book is without merit. Clearly the old man just wanted to string you along for some capricious reason of his own. And when someone ever says I know the truth, but I am not going to tell you...they don't know the truth.
There is so much redundancy in this book, I remember when you introduced someone thirty pages ago, I don't need to have that entire introduction repeated to me again. And, hearing all this excitement over "this could be the answer I am looking for.....no it's not" gets old pretty quick and it is repeated over and over and over and over and see what I mean? Stories about the Police and FBI who you thought would help and didn't is not an addition to the book, it is frustrating for sure, but it is not interesting to read about.
I don't know why so many people that Fronczak encounters suddenly refuse to talk with him. In my experience people love to dish the dirt on people. They love to tell all they know, so it is odd to me that nearly everyone tells him they don't want to talk to him. And, the one good lead he gave up on was the Pileggi neighbor. They probably did have information, but for some reason he just let that go. And, if you aren't going to eventually talk to them, why even put it in the book.
I expect that his twin sister, Jill probably is deceased. Maybe his birth mother went through some kind of post partum depression or was just physically abusive. She or his father probably killed Jill, hid the body and somebody freaked out and took Paul and left him by a department store. If that is the truth, which is most likely she will not be found because the only discoveries he has ever made is through DNA and that will only happen if she is still alive.
I think this is a fascinating story and in the hands of a writer like Ann Rule it could have been amazing to read about. Somehow she was able to talk to people and write their stories in a way you don't want to put her books down.
There is so much redundancy in this book, I remember when you introduced someone thirty pages ago, I don't need to have that entire introduction repeated to me again. And, hearing all this excitement over "this could be the answer I am looking for.....no it's not" gets old pretty quick and it is repeated over and over and over and over and see what I mean? Stories about the Police and FBI who you thought would help and didn't is not an addition to the book, it is frustrating for sure, but it is not interesting to read about.
I don't know why so many people that Fronczak encounters suddenly refuse to talk with him. In my experience people love to dish the dirt on people. They love to tell all they know, so it is odd to me that nearly everyone tells him they don't want to talk to him. And, the one good lead he gave up on was the Pileggi neighbor. They probably did have information, but for some reason he just let that go. And, if you aren't going to eventually talk to them, why even put it in the book.
I expect that his twin sister, Jill probably is deceased. Maybe his birth mother went through some kind of post partum depression or was just physically abusive. She or his father probably killed Jill, hid the body and somebody freaked out and took Paul and left him by a department store. If that is the truth, which is most likely she will not be found because the only discoveries he has ever made is through DNA and that will only happen if she is still alive.
I think this is a fascinating story and in the hands of a writer like Ann Rule it could have been amazing to read about. Somehow she was able to talk to people and write their stories in a way you don't want to put her books down.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2022
Who is Paul Fronczak? At 10 years old the author thought he was Paul but after discovering newspapers hidden away in a crawlspace in his home he discovered that he may not in fact know who he is at all. For another four decades nothing more was spoken of the infant baby stolen from his mother's arms on the day he was born back in 1964 or the toddler returned to them by police two years later. When his lifelong suspicions could no longer be held back, Fronczak took a DNA test which proved he was not the kidnapped baby, starting him on a journey to uncover who he really is and what happened to the real Paul Fronczak. "True Identity" is born thanks to many genealogists, science and decades of investigative digging to uncover the mystery of what happened on that October day in a Chicago hospital, who was the boy returned to the Fronczaks and what became of the author's biological twin sister. I couldn't stop listening to "True Identity" which is narrated by the author himself. The journey that Fronczak went through to truly know who he is jaw dropping and is a recommended must read/listen in my opinion.
February 16, 2022
After reading his first book "The Foundling" I was very intrigued to find out more to this story. My husband is adopted so the first book had me hooked on all the ways to locate relatives. In the second book I was intrigued to see the story unfold further. I could really see the talented writing of this author. As a fan of memoirs and overcoming life's obstacles, many people have a story to tell, but that doesn't make you an author. This was so well written. On a personal note, my heart goes out to every person involved in the situation. I also applaud the author for never giving up on finding the truth.
June 19, 2022
Not nearly as good as the author's first book, The Foundling: The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My Search for the Real Me, partly because much of this book is a retelling of portions of the previous book. While it was interesting and progress was made, it felt unfinished.
March 18, 2022
The first book of Paul Fronczak’s that I read was one of the best that I have ever read and I eagerly awaited this one. I was quite disappointed.
I’d got to 40% of the book on my Kindle before anything new was written. All of that 40% was a recap of the previous book: I honestly think this could have been done in one chapter.
I’m still glad I read it, however, as it’s still an incredible story.
I’d got to 40% of the book on my Kindle before anything new was written. All of that 40% was a recap of the previous book: I honestly think this could have been done in one chapter.
I’m still glad I read it, however, as it’s still an incredible story.
August 19, 2022
DNA has opened the world to secrets and lies. As I have said since childhood Everything absolutely EVERYTHING is the DNA, the way you shave, think, behavior absolutely…ET!
This guys obsession and outrageous desire -OCD aka addiction is following his ancestry and the story along the way are detailed in this book good and bad, open and closed door!
So think what would you do,have you signed up, logged in, traced your lineage or searched for a brother you never heard of? Get busy!
This guys obsession and outrageous desire -OCD aka addiction is following his ancestry and the story along the way are detailed in this book good and bad, open and closed door!
So think what would you do,have you signed up, logged in, traced your lineage or searched for a brother you never heard of? Get busy!
October 24, 2022
listened and read
I both read this and listened to it on audible. When I finished listening, I truly made both of your books come alive for me. Hearing you read what you have gone through to find the ‘real’ Paul and Jill is both thought provoking and loving and heart breaking all at the same time. As an NPE myself, fining the truth does become so very important, even if you can’t change what happened in the past Thank you for sharing and I pray that you will be able to find Jill.
I both read this and listened to it on audible. When I finished listening, I truly made both of your books come alive for me. Hearing you read what you have gone through to find the ‘real’ Paul and Jill is both thought provoking and loving and heart breaking all at the same time. As an NPE myself, fining the truth does become so very important, even if you can’t change what happened in the past Thank you for sharing and I pray that you will be able to find Jill.
January 19, 2022
A follow on and follow up to Paul's previous book, The Foundling. Coupled with Paul's ongoing search to find the true biological son of the parents who have raised him since he was abandoned as a toddler is a new search for his twin sister, Jill. I was totally intrigued with the puzzles in Paul's life story in his first book and more so with this update. Excellent book.
June 2, 2023
A compelling and crazy true story. Parts move quite slowly and are redundant. The author says he wrote this for others who might be looking for a missing family member. If you are that person, you might appreciate all the self-exploration. I can’t begin to imagine what this whole thing must be like for him!!
July 1, 2023
Stunning Story
I was captivated and involved at all times. The endless attempts by the author to have basic questions answered was so hard to endure and to wonder how people would not provide answers that would have meant so much — hard to fathom. I will look forward to maybe learning of the remaining mysteries as they are uncovered.
I was captivated and involved at all times. The endless attempts by the author to have basic questions answered was so hard to endure and to wonder how people would not provide answers that would have meant so much — hard to fathom. I will look forward to maybe learning of the remaining mysteries as they are uncovered.
March 25, 2024
I read this after finishing the book, The Foundling. Not much new information and thought too much time was spent about the real Paul Fronczak. How he became the person he did was never explained. Also the missing twin was never found however, his daughter accepted it it was sad that Kevin never met is mother. ( Kevin was the real Paul)
June 5, 2024
The title implies that the author actually solved the case. Ummm. Spoiler alert. WTF.
Interesting and bizarre how many abductions, secrecy and lies surround one persons life. I stuck with it to see where the twin sister was. Now I have to wait for the old man tipster to die and ‘jack’ will get another book deal to publish it (this is his second book already on this topic) and still no sister.
Interesting and bizarre how many abductions, secrecy and lies surround one persons life. I stuck with it to see where the twin sister was. Now I have to wait for the old man tipster to die and ‘jack’ will get another book deal to publish it (this is his second book already on this topic) and still no sister.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2022
3.5⭐️
It was a little repetitive of his first book. He also left out some details which change the lens people may look at him. For example, he omits that he submitted his parent’s DNA after they explicitly asked he not do it.
It was a little repetitive of his first book. He also left out some details which change the lens people may look at him. For example, he omits that he submitted his parent’s DNA after they explicitly asked he not do it.
September 11, 2022
I really enjoyed the first book and really enjoyed hearing his story in person. But, sadly, this book needs some serious editing! It also repeats a LOT of the first book and repeats the same thing again and again within the book. Very disappointing after the first book.
September 29, 2022
Unbelievable twists and turns...i liked how the author posed certain questions to the reader (what would you have done?) in order to provoke deeper, personal thinking. I truly hope that some day, the reader will find all the answers he has been searching a lifetime for. An amazing book!
January 28, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. I had seen the story on television several years ago and also watched updates on YouTube. And I wanted to know more about the story and I am glad I read it. I will continue to follow this case as it continues. Well written!
July 1, 2024
I hope Jill is found one day
This book is easy to read. Once I started it I didn’t put it down. I love true stories, they are much more interesting. Too bad there was no happy ending for Paul but maybe one day the (real) truth will be revealed.
This book is easy to read. Once I started it I didn’t put it down. I love true stories, they are much more interesting. Too bad there was no happy ending for Paul but maybe one day the (real) truth will be revealed.
Read
November 13, 2025Audiobook (read by author). A lot of this book was a rehashing of the first book. In fact the first 10 chapters was a summary of the first book. He found the real Paul but he didn’t find his twin. He actually repeats himself within the book several times too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2022
Covers a lot of the same ground as the first book so you don't necessarily need to read that one first.
April 2, 2022
If you read his first book, there is very little new here.
June 10, 2022
Family is what you make it.
Wow what a ride. I loved this second book as much as the first. I think I will do a DNA search myself. Anyway I hope Paul/Jack finds Jill.
Wow what a ride. I loved this second book as much as the first. I think I will do a DNA search myself. Anyway I hope Paul/Jack finds Jill.
June 14, 2022
Beautifully written and terribly sad. Am haunted by it and praying Paul finds his missing twin.
June 16, 2022
An interesting read about one man's struggle to find his family and identity.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews