Books like After Etan by Lisa R. Cohen

On May 25, 1979, six‑year‑old Etan Patz vanished from his Manhattan apartment on the way to his bus stop. His disappearance sparked an intense search and turned national attention toward missing children. Thirty years later, May 25 is recognized as National Missing Children’s Day. Lisa R. Cohen’s book, driven by nearly twenty years of research and hundreds of interviews, exposes the full drama behind the case— from the Patz family’s emotional journey to the persistent work of federal prosecutor Stuart GraBois, a veteran cop’s first pedophile bust on a Times Square rooftop, and an FBI rookie who traced the case into the mind of a child molester. The narrative covers the heroic investigations and the continuing quest for justice. By unlocking personal documents and rare records, Cohen presents a comprehensive view of the tragedy that reshaped the national conversation about child safety and the investigative process used to confront such crimes.

First publish date: 2009