Bringing Adam Home

The Abduction That Changed America

Non-Fiction - True Crime
304 Pages
Reviewed on 02/09/2011
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Lynette Fowlston for Readers' Favorite

Most everyone is familiar with the abduction of Adam Walsh in 1981, and the show, America’s Most Wanted, that came about from the tragedy of his abduction. Closure was brought to the case 25 years later.

Bringing Adam Home describes Adam's abduction, but its main theme is the bungling of evidence and the noncooperation between detectives, police and the FBI. The truth eventually came out, but it took years to happen. At that time of the crime, there wasn’t DNA testing, and police departments were not proficient at handling an abduction/murder case. Bringing in Joe Matthews, a top detective out of Miami, was just what they needed; but as in many small town police departments, there is often one who thinks he is tops and doesn't need any outside help. That’s exactly what happened in this case. Working together would have helped in the long run. When Ottis Toole, a prisoner, confessed to killing Adam, Detective Hoffman did everything to prove he was innocent of the killing, even though evidence pointed otherwise.

This is the story of Adam and a family that was trying to find justice, despite sloppy and failed police work; of a killer who died before he could formally be charged; and of the good that came out of it. Today we have The Amber Alert, the 1982 Missing Children’s Act, and The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. You may shed a tear, or like me, get highly upset at some of the officers, but in the end, you will see how it finally came together. There are many crimes yet today that are still unsolved; maybe one day they will have closure also.

Arlene Holloway

this is great!