I read it, completely loved it, learned a lot from it, and then took it to the metropolitan Chicago police department to give it as a 'gift' to the people I thought could benefit from it the most. (Forensic investigators.) But what happened next was astounding. They balked at sight of the book, immediately began to criticize Ms. Boylan and her methods of working, (though they seemed to actually understand none of it as none had ever read the book.) So I reopened and read back in the book at where Ms. Boylan talks about exactly the phenomenon I experienced. She explains how hard change is for so many people and how threatening most forensics people find her because what she does really works and they fear it is a skill they cannot acquire.
But she is teaching them how, if only they'd listen and open their minds. Every case she writes about proves her points through real case evidence, and not just minor cases, but the "big ones" such as the Unabomber and the Oklahoma City Bombing as well as other cases she worked on.
Jeanne Boylan is a groundbreaker, a pioneer, and as they saying goes, "You can always tell a pioneer by the arrows in their back."
Bottom line is that people like Ms. Boylan who endure the wrath of the less competent in their fields, people who have the courage to stand up for what's right no matter the personal cost, (her's is enormous) and those who take their beliefs and generously and openly share them through a format such as a book or teaching, like she has, are the people who I most admire. This woman is a hero and she's making this world (and her field) a much better place.
Andrew Lloyd Wright, the once criticized and now hailed architect said about the intense criticism and wrath of his supposed peers, "If I was right, that meant they were wrong, so why should they have treated me kindly?"
Ms. Boylan shows the same kind of gentle and compassionate understanding over the jealousy she endures from her cohorts. In the end, those critics only show their smallness. Their interest is in not doing what's best, but instead, what is best for them. Ms. Boylan sacrifices what's easiest for her, to do what is best for crime victims. Therein lies the big, big difference.
The book is dedicated to a 12 year old girl, Polly Klaas, whose life could have been saved had investigators had more knowledge about her topic the night the child was stolen. Because of a mistake, (easily preventable) that child is now dead. This book is a gift to the field of investigations and one that when those who participate in this work finally catch up, (which may take a decade or two), will be looked back on and hailed as "cutting edge." But my question is, why wait? Ms. Boylan is showing criminal investigators the way to upgrade their skills RIGHT NOW. The experience, knowledge and insights Boylan offers in these pages can save lives. That's precisely her point and her obvious reason for sharing them. As just a darn good story, as a investigator's guide book OR a true crime documentary, and it is in fact all three, PORTRAITS OF GUILT is an excellent and very worthwhile read.