A few years ago Sarah Weinman thought she was going to have a career as a forensic scientist. But then she launched the crime and mystery fiction blog Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind as a way of procrastinating on her master’s thesis, and it changed her life’s path. As she’s the most voracious reader we’ve ever met, we’ve asked Sarah to recommend a new book for Flavorpill readers to check out each Wednesday. Learn more about her latest pick — which explores the ’70s disappearance of Etan Patz — after the jump, and leave us a review in the comments if you’ve already read it!
After Etan by Lisa R. Cohen Thirty years ago this month, Etan Patz convinced his mother that at age six, he was old enough to walk to the school bus stop on his own. And he’s never been seen since. Cohen, in this remarkable narrative, brings us into the heads of Patz’s parents Stan and Julie, the dogged prosecutor Stuart GraBois and the NYPD as they carry on with their lives, investigate what happened to Etan and rightfully fixate on the likeliest suspect. But After Etan works not just because it is about the boy whose face sears into memory, but of how the plight of missing children became a national concern that will, and should, never fade away.
– Sarah Weinman