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The Riddle of Emmon Bodfish
The amazing true story of a mysterious murder.
In 1999, Emmon Bodfish was murdered in his home in the wealthy enclave of Orinda, California, just east of San Francisco. For the young crime scene analyst Paul Holes, it quickly became the most bizarre and surprising case of his storied career.
It was immediately clear how Emmon had died: by being hit over the head with a heavy object. What wasn’t clear was who did it and why. Each clue was like a doorway to an expanding labyrinth of leads—leads involving pagan ceremonies, stolen artwork, a mysterious disease, an elusive shoe pattern, entomology, a blue demon, a family inheritance, an enigmatic child, a struggle for identity, and passages written in a secret language throughout two decades of Emmon’s diaries.
No matter how deep Paul went into the tunnels of the mystery, the shapeshifting shadow of Emmon’s antagonist stayed just out of reach. Paul had never faced anything like it. He became obsessed with solving it. For himself, and for Emmon.
©2021 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC
In 1999, Emmon Bodfish was murdered in his home in the wealthy enclave of Orinda, California, just east of San Francisco. For the young crime scene analyst Paul Holes, it quickly became the most bizarre and surprising case of his storied career.
It was immediately clear how Emmon had died: by being hit over the head with a heavy object. What wasn’t clear was who did it and why. Each clue was like a doorway to an expanding labyrinth of leads—leads involving pagan ceremonies, stolen artwork, a mysterious disease, an elusive shoe pattern, entomology, a blue demon, a family inheritance, an enigmatic child, a struggle for identity, and passages written in a secret language throughout two decades of Emmon’s diaries.
No matter how deep Paul went into the tunnels of the mystery, the shapeshifting shadow of Emmon’s antagonist stayed just out of reach. Paul had never faced anything like it. He became obsessed with solving it. For himself, and for Emmon.
©2021 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC
Audible Audio
Published May 13, 2021
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372 people want to read
About the author
Paul Holes
4 books815 followersPaul Holes retired as a Cold Case Investigator after spending over 27 years working for the Sheriff and District Attorney’s Offices during his tenure in Contra Costa County located in the Bay Area, California. Having experience in both forensic and investigative assignments, Paul throughout his career specialized in cold case and serial predator crimes, developing and applying investigative, behavioral, and forensic expertise in notable cases such as Zodiac, Golden State Killer, and Jaycee Dugard. Paul is frequently sought out by investigators to consult on the most complex and high profile cases and has played a part in putting several serial predators on Death Row such as Darryl Kemp, Joseph Naso, and Joseph Cordova Jr.
As an FBI Task Force Officer while employed with the DA’s Office, Paul teamed with FBI and Sacramento DA personnel to apply innovative technology that identified Joseph DeAngelo as the Golden State Killer, the most prolific and cunning serial predator in U.S. history.
Since the arrest of DeAngelo, Paul has been very involved on the media side continuing to assist law enforcement and victim’s families with their unsolved cases, through the television show The DNA of Murder with Paul Holes and with the podcast Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad.
As an FBI Task Force Officer while employed with the DA’s Office, Paul teamed with FBI and Sacramento DA personnel to apply innovative technology that identified Joseph DeAngelo as the Golden State Killer, the most prolific and cunning serial predator in U.S. history.
Since the arrest of DeAngelo, Paul has been very involved on the media side continuing to assist law enforcement and victim’s families with their unsolved cases, through the television show The DNA of Murder with Paul Holes and with the podcast Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 24, 2022
This story was freaking bizarre and Paul Holes gave us a wonderful ride into what I am sure was one of the craziest cases of his career. Done as a podcast on Audible.com, it definitely paid for my membership for the month.
December 5, 2023
3.5 ⭐️
November 15, 2023
I've not really listened to much "true crime" before, so I was trying on this production to see if it might be a genre I would enjoy. While I found it interesting, I wasn't as engaged as I am by other kinds of stories, so I don't think I'm a new convert to the genre.
For this particular telling, the case was intriguing because of the complicated relationship between the Emmon Bodfish and their son, as well as what happened to the son, too.
Most of the book wasn't so much about who committed the crime, though, as about details of how an investigation like this works, and information about Bodfish's finances and life. It was slow paced and sometimes seemed to follow extraneous details instead of staying focused on the crime.
Since the murder remains unsolved, it wasn't as satisfying a story as it might have been. We finish with a few theories about what might have happened, but no real answers.
For this particular telling, the case was intriguing because of the complicated relationship between the Emmon Bodfish and their son, as well as what happened to the son, too.
Most of the book wasn't so much about who committed the crime, though, as about details of how an investigation like this works, and information about Bodfish's finances and life. It was slow paced and sometimes seemed to follow extraneous details instead of staying focused on the crime.
Since the murder remains unsolved, it wasn't as satisfying a story as it might have been. We finish with a few theories about what might have happened, but no real answers.
February 18, 2025
What a weird case. Emmon's death/murder is so strange. If you are interested in how murder cases are worked, this book is great. Paul Holes had a great career as a criminalist and as a detective of crime scenes. He went the extra mile to try and solve the case (6 months in total), but in the end, no real evidence was found to solve the case.
May 17, 2023
Paul Holes, a criminal detective takes us through his investigation of the murder of Emmon Bodfish.
Emmon was transgender. Emmon was born as a woman and lived as a man. He was found 3 days after his death, bludgeoned to death. She/he had a son and the son committed suicide just a few days after Emmon's death.
Even though Paul Holes went down many avenues, investigating everything, the murder is still basically unsolved. Paul can only surmise what really happened. You would think that the son killed his mother, but they believe there were two killers and the son had a suicide note that did not mention his mother's killing. Why wouldn't he mention it if he choose to die?
If you like true crime stories, this is for you. Lots of details.
Emmon was transgender. Emmon was born as a woman and lived as a man. He was found 3 days after his death, bludgeoned to death. She/he had a son and the son committed suicide just a few days after Emmon's death.
Even though Paul Holes went down many avenues, investigating everything, the murder is still basically unsolved. Paul can only surmise what really happened. You would think that the son killed his mother, but they believe there were two killers and the son had a suicide note that did not mention his mother's killing. Why wouldn't he mention it if he choose to die?
If you like true crime stories, this is for you. Lots of details.
December 26, 2025
A very interesting true crime murder case of a transgender man. I found the character Emmon Bodfish to be very intriguing and deep. I gave 4 stars because I would have loved to hear even more about his transition, Early life and spirituality. Breaking his cipher was fascinating to hear about. It was so different to hear about someone being trans in a time when it wasn’t mainstream. I also would love to have heard more about the blue demon conscience as I personally suspect it could have been a true demonic attachment.
January 9, 2025
Somewhere between a podcast and a true crime book, narrated by Paul Holes and Jim Clemente and interviews with people who knew Emmon, as well as audio snippets of Emmon himself. Very interesting case that I had never heard of and is considered unsolved. Quite compelling.
January 2, 2026
Starting the year with a mystery. Liked listening in to the various persons insights and professional takes on how they looked at the crime scene.
I had to chuckle as dare I say Mr Paul is the real life Gil Grissom?
I had to chuckle as dare I say Mr Paul is the real life Gil Grissom?
July 15, 2022
An interesting story of a murder. A very detailed diagnosis and analysis of the crime scene.
An excellent audio quality.
An excellent audio quality.
October 22, 2022
This held my attention until the very end. Lots of interesting theories, but I wonder if he had DID, especially considering childhood trauma and the presence of the entity in childhood.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2023
This was excellent. Too bad the murder is not solved. It was interesting hearing about Margaret/Emmon life.
September 27, 2023
weird ending and frankly a big let down.
February 10, 2024
Such an unusual case, riddle is correct but I at the end I had a pretty solid opinion on who dunnit. Very psychologically complex, very much a puzzle.
June 3, 2025
Should’ve just been a serial podcast and not classified as an audiobook
March 31, 2023
I tend to like true crime, and this is an example of it at its finest. What an incredible and fascinating person was Emmon Bodfish. Someone I would have loved to have known.
So many aspects to Emmon’s life story, and the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his death.
So many aspects to Emmon’s life story, and the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his death.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews