The Accidental Truth

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY MAR 9, 2015

A grieving daughter's emotional memoir a blended personal journey and police procedural chronicles the years she spent investigating the case of her mother's mysterious death in Mexico. In March 2006, Jane Kling's body was found in Baja, apparently murdered. Over the next four years, Taylor takes the investigation into her own hands by reaching out to private investigators, profilers, and the media to keep the case active and help get it solved. Progress was made in fits and starts, with long gaps of no activity at all; working with a foreign government, personnel changes among the investigating bureau, and misplaced evidence complicated the endeavor. Taylor encountered surprising revelations about her private mother, including tattoos and a possible prescription drug addiction, and debated their relevance to her death. Noted former FBI profiler Candice DeLong joined the case as a consultant, and recruited high-profile forensic pathologist Michael Baden to advise. It is their collaboration that eventually led to the best-guess "with a high degree of certainty" conclusion that closed the case. Taylor's own anxieties are deftly woven into the narrative, including her complicated relationship with and unresolved feelings about her mother, and a family health challenge. While the emotional toll on the author overshadows the suspense of the situation, her personal achievements a new sense of confidence and empowerment are the book's best takeaway.