Finder: The True Story of a Private Investigator

De: Marilyn Greene, Gary Provost

Narrado por: Sara K. Sheckells

In the last two decades, Private Investigator Marilyn Greene has found more than 200 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 listening.

©1990 Gail Stockwell (P)2018 David N. Wilson

Interesting

First, I got this book for free - however I have no issues bashing a book I got for free, go check my other reviews and you'll see that. Unlike others who seemingly give anything that is free a positive review, this review is legitimate and only written after having finished the entire book.

With that out of the way here's my take on the book.

It's a very good and enjoyable book and an easy read, if you read the description that is what you get. The book moves along at a quick pace so nothing ever gets dull. There's a family dynamic to everything as well to bridge the cases along, but it's not overdone. The book is well written, by no means a 5-star classic, but it's not an amatuer effort either.

What may or may not be a downside is that there isn't a lot in terms of in-depth detail on the cases. The author gives you ideas on how she conducted searches, etc, but it's by no means going to satisfy those that want a lot of details. But again this helps the book keep the pace up and not get dull, so to me, that wasn't an issue, but it is a note for those who are looking for that.

Also the book had me worried at the beginning as it starts off a bit like a social justice warrior essay, but since this was written in 1990 instead of 2018 it didn't linger on that aspect for too long and it setup the next part of the story. So just a heads up for those looking for SJW-free content.

The reader goes a good professional job. I generally listen to everything at 1.25x speed and the reader is very understandable at that speed, no pops, it's not too fast, etc. Just a comment for those that prefer that to 1x speed.

Overall I really enjoyed the book.

I loved this book

What made the experience of listening to Finder: The True Story of a Private Investigator the most enjoyable?

Hearing the stories of the people found. Even those who were returned to their families for burial. It is peace of mind for the family.

What did you like best about this story?

I appreciated the real life struggle Marilyn had trying to find a balance between her family and the calling she had to find the missing. Being torn like that is not easy.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Each time her sons decided they wanted to join Mom to search or even sit stakeout.

Any additional comments?

The fight against the world of men trying to keep women out is a fight I ran up against in my younger days, including going to the local police department to ask about a job. In my case I was told that the best I could hope for was a clerical job. I am glad Marilyn found her way into doing what she was meant to do with her life.

Well worth the money!

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.

Loved Hearing the Stories of Missing People

I loved hearing about how Marilyn preserved and found her "calling" without allowing others to distract her from helping others, however, I feel a pain in my heart that this was at the sacrifice of a stable life for her own family.

Marilyn has that knack for finding others and has been successful at it for many years....which demonstrates her tenacity and willingness to help others.

The narrator Sara, did a fantastic job!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Worth Every Minute!

If you could sum up Finder: The True Story of a Private Investigator in three words, what would they be?

Intriguing. Compelling. Heart-warming.

What about Sara K. Sheckells’s performance did you like?

Sheckell's voice sounded exactly the way my imagination had projected the author's voice would be. Her inflections and timing were perfect.

Any additional comments?

There were many intriguing cases highlighted in this book that I found myself googling later to see if I could find out any more information.

Also, I thought it was fascinating to hear how the perception of women in the professional world changed over the time covered by this book. I am only one generation behind the author, but I have never had to face the kind of blatant discrimination she had to endure for many years in her career. Thank you to all the trail blazing women out there!

I was given this book at my request and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Lacks structure

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-

An excellent, engaging read!

An excellent and engaging read! In fact, I read this entire audio book in one day. I spent the day cleaning out two garages (an unpleasant task, to say the least) but I truly enjoyed that day owing to this book. From start to finish it is so interesting - there's the overarching story of how the author went from (essentially) frustrated house wife to a highly sought after private PI. That story in and of itself is a wonderful tale of perseverance (particularly in the face of the widespread and pervasive misogyny that is inherent in US culture), street smarts, and a good heart...in and of itself the author's personal story could have made for a good book. But she took it to the next level with the countless interwoven cases she participated in. Absolutely riveting! This is a must read for anyone interested in a career in law enforcement, search and rescue, and even parents in general. The information she provided was priceless and a true eye opener regarding the sad reality of how cases of missing people are often handled in this country. Additionally, the narrator was so good that it was nearly impossible to comprehend that the voice I was hearing was not the actual voice of the author - that is how well the narrator captured the emotion behind each story in this book. 100% enjoyable audio book experience, through and through. I've already recommended this book to many friends and family members. I would like to thank the author, the narrator, and audio book boom for providing me with an opportunity to listen to this book free of charge and it is my pleasure to provide my unbiased review of Finder here on audible.com

A Tale Well Told

I’m somewhat baffled on how to write a review of “Finder: The True Story of a Private Investigator”. I just liked everything about it from the storyline to the reader and everything in between. To me it was non-fiction that read like a novel. The story was engaging and realistic because, well, it was real. And the narration was perfectly suited to the author and story.

I can’t recommend “Finder: The True Story of a Private Investigator” enough.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A story about finding other people and yourself.

Would you consider the audio edition of Finder: The True Story of a Private Investigator to be better than the print version?

Have only listened to the Audio edition.

What did you like best about this story?

The journey of a woman finding success in a traditionally non-female profession.

Also it is not only a search for other people but for herself.

What does Sara K. Sheckells bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A good narrator keeps you involved in the story and helps your imagination.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A Private Dick in Stockings.

Any additional comments?

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Amazing !!

Great read! This book keeps your interest all the way through and it is hard to put down. No wasted space on needless descriptions and explanations. I will definitely read more books by this author!

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a Fair review. I have No affiliation with the Author in anyway.