I received a free e-galley of this book from Netgalley.

I'm actually embarrassed by how long it took me to read this book, and no, I won't even say how long it's been lurking on my Netgalley shelf. The thing is, at the time I requested it I was super into true crime, and now I am less so. I still enjoy true crime, but I'm a lot more critical in my consumption of it. However, it turns out this book was still very much worth my time, and even made me think more about true crime in general.

This is the gripping true story of an eighteen-year-old called Marie, who reported that she had been raped by a man who broke into her apartment. Everyone was sceptical of her story — because Marie hadn't always been the most truthful person, because rapes like that are so rare, because Marie was trying to be moved from her housing. Even her own foster mother told the police she thought Marie had made it up. Eventually Marie retracts her statement and is charged with making a false statement. It’s only when similar cases crop up in other places that it turns out she was telling the truth.

I found this to be a fascinating look at assumptions made about crime - both by the general public and by law enforcement officials alike. It's the danger of the 'true crime brain' that assumes that the obvious explanation is always the truth. Just after I finished this I watched American Nightmare on Netflix, which has very similar vibes, and of course the recent news story about a man who reported his father missing to the police only to be accused of having killed him himself and threatened with the euthanasia of his dog. There are villains in this book, but we also see the determination of the law enforcement who pieced together the story and finally believed in Marie.

This is a quick read and a real pageturner which also touches on some of the more uncomfortable aspects of crime. I really enjoyed it!

So so good. Amazing read and true story. Well written. I did read this in a couple of sittings. I made time to finish it!

Fabulous plot which I could not put down. Brilliant characters, and twists and turns. Highly recommend to other fans of true life crime.

This was a really disturbing read. It goes into far more detail than the Netflix series and is really worth reading if you want the nitty gritty of the case.

Really enjoyed this Netflix adaptation, have not had a chance to read this novel but definitely will be hand selling this.

Everyone has been raving about the Netflix adaptation but the book… well, it is just unbelievable. The details of the case at the centre of T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong’s non-fiction tour-de-force are stranger than fiction and they could have quickly turned into a cartoonish, horrific sideshow instead of details of someone’s actual life. But, having been handled with a great deal of care and empathy, the true character of Marie shines through on each and every page - strength, resilience, the power to just get out of bed every morning and just keep going. She shouldn’t have had to go through what she went through, but she did and she is still here, and that alone makes her a goddamn superhero in my eyes.

I wanted to give this book 4 stars, what these women went through was horrific and the way it has been written about is incredible, accurate and moving.
However, there are chapters with so much jargon and terminology that the effect is lost and these women are burried under terms that the reader doesn't really need to know.

Well written and fantastically presented. This book was an eye opener into the world of policing crimes such as rape.

This isn't a work of fiction, so be very aware that what happened is real and there is no sugar coating any of it for this book. It may be confronting for some readers.

I watched the film version of this book prior to reading the account of events. Terrible, that poor girl she should not have been treated in the way she was. Hats off to her for her bravery, courage and perseverance, and a massive hang your heads in shame to all those who let her down. You know who you are.

What an unbelievable read. I think I have been through every emotion while reading this book. I had watched the series first, but the book as always is definitely better. The turmoil at Marie has gone through over and over is "Unbelievable", she is an amazing woman.
Thank you for allowing me to read this amazing book. Cant recommend it enough.

Thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for allowing me to review a copy of this book.

I watched the series on Netflix first, and felt bad that I found the character of Marie a bit irritating. I did sympathise with her but not as much as I felt I should have. Not sure why this was.

So, I was keen to read the book the series had been based on.

The book went into more detail about the police procedure and it was clearer how badly Marie had been treated. I felt so sorry for her having to go through such an awful ordeal and then be charged with false reporting. She lost what little friends she had and struggled alone.

The two detectives sheer determination meant that the serial rapist was caught and the victims got closure at last.

Despite the subject matter it’s a readable book, written quite accessibly. I did feel that some parts dragged on a bit but overall it was an interesting read and makes you think about the police and justice system in America.

What a book and what a topic. A topic which is very common in our todays society. This poor girl and what she went through.

"Unbelievable" gave an interesting insight into how sex crimes are investigated and how victims can be mistreated by the people meant to help them.

I liked learning more about the avenues open to the police when investigating crime and how even the tiniest detail can lead to a new suspect.

My only (minor) gripe with this non-fiction was that it was obviously written by men. It was easy to tell just from the way they would occasionally write about the female detectives investigating the rapes.

This story held within this book is very appropriately named: unbelievable. Written in a matter-of-fact report style, a stranger than fiction story of how the police failed a young and vulnerable woman who became the victim of a terrible rape. The pragmatic and straight-forward tone of the book lends itself very well to the account as the facts speak for themselves. So many times I found my eyes hot with anger and despair at the way the women within the pages had suffered by a man able to torment them with his prolonged freedom. I am very glad I read this book as both a true crime tragic and a woman but my recommendation comes with a huge trigger warning. UNBELIEVABLE is raw and evocative.

A book with a difference. Read the book first before watching the programme on Netflix
Thank you to both NetGalley and publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review

"I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review"

On August 11, 2008, eighteen-year-old Marie reported that a masked man broke into her apartment near Seattle, Washington, and raped her. Within days police and even those closest to Marie became suspicious of her story. The police swiftly pivoted and began investigating Marie. Confronted with inconsistencies in her story and the doubts of others, Marie broke down and said her story was a lie--a bid for attention. Police charged Marie with false reporting, and she was branded a liar.
More than two years later, Colorado detective Stacy Galbraith was assigned to investigate a case of sexual assault. Describing the crime to her husband that night, Galbraith learned that the case bore an eerie resemblance to a rape that had taken place months earlier in a nearby town. She joined forces with the detective on that case, Edna Hendershot, and the two soon discovered they were dealing with a serial rapist: a man who photographed his victims, threatening to release the images online, and whose calculated steps to erase all physical evidence suggested he might be a soldier or a cop. Through meticulous police work the detectives would eventually connect the rapist to other attacks in Colorado--and beyond.

I will first off say that I have already watched the netflix series so when I saw this on netgalley I knew I had to read it. The series it self was really well done and made me so angry with the way marie was treated by so many people after what she went through and had gone through all her life. So starting this book I knew it would probably stir up the same emotions because this isn't some made up story this is real life and people who have been raped have this happen to them all the time.

I am 26% into the book so far and it 100% brought up those same feelings but so far not as much as was expecting because it still is very early on in the book and the way it is written is more in facts form not like an emotional story (if that makes sense). I liked that the book explains Maries back story a little more than the netflix series. It also makes more sense on why she handled things in a way that people would say as "not normal" because this girl has gone through a lot and a lot of people who deal with hardships all their lives they can become numb (not saying all people do, I can just relate to that with my up bringing). I am enjoying it a lot so far and as soon as I finish this update I will be going straight back to reading it.

I am now 53% into the book and I have started feeling more angry for the way Marie is treated. Reading about a serial raper makes me feel sick to my stomach and I will never understand how someone can do that to another human. I am learning more about how the police and FBI system works and I find that quite fascinating. I will admit though so far I do like the Netflix series better only because it shows human emotion which this book is more on facts. I think reading the book and watching the show together is the best way to do it because it gives you more facts (the book) and emotion (the series) and them together work very well.

Well I am now done and I have to admit some of the last 15% of the book dragged a little and I got a little bored by old law facts. In saying this I did still enjoyed the book and was so sad that this happened to so many people but glad in some states laws and protocols have been put in to place so Maries experience doe not happen again.

I ended up rating this book 3.75 out of 5 stars and I would suggest anyone who has watched it on Netflix to read this book or the other way around because both together make such a fuller more detailed story of what happened. The only reason I didn't give it a higher rating was because of the times I found myself bored by older (way older) legal quotes that make me angry just thinking about them.

It's not hard to find stories online about rape cases that will leave you feeling outraged and more than a little powerless; most days all I have to do is open my Facebook feed. But Unbelievable wasn't like that. It hooked me almost from the start, with Marie and her tragic case, and rather than a linear narrative, gave snapshots of the different people and incidents involved - victims, detectives and even the rapist - in a way that gradually puts together a complete picture. Every time it circled back to Marie my heart broke for her all over again, but Unbelievable is not a book that seeks to drown the reader in emotion. It is meticulously researched, and doesn't point fingers or cast blame, but at the same time lays out how certain attitudes and assumptions hamper the effective investigation of rape cases. It details changes in the investigative methods over time, greater resources and advocacy for victims, and even changes made to judicial doctrine, all while putting decidedly human faces to those involved.

I finished this book with a sense of satisfaction that the rapist had been caught, that Marie and his other victims were able to move on, but also a sense of hope. There is no doubt that a lot still needs to change so that rape victims feel safe in coming forward, but this book is a reminder that things are changing, and that even a handful of people can help move that change forward.

The book examines the case of 18-year-old Marie, who was attacked in her own home in 2008. Upon reporting it to the police, doubts were raised as to her veracity, and Marie underwent the kind of investigation that one would expect for a perpetrator. She was eventually charged with making a false report and lost her reputation, her friends, and her case was put up on a 'false accusations' website by a member of the public. Several years later, the rapist was caught and physical evidence in his home proved Marie had been telling the truth.

This read was in equal parts heartbreaking and infuriating. The reader really feels for all the victims, but especially Marie in view of what she went through afterwards, and you want to scream at the injustice of it all. The authors show in some detail where this prejudicial view of women as innate liars when it comes to sexual assaults has been entwined with the law for centuries. What makes it even worse is that it still happens - one only has to read the comments on any public online post about rape. Well-researched and emotive without being sensationalist, this is an important read in the era of #MeToo.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Random House UK/Cornerstone/Windmill Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

This book was thoroughly researched and very readable.
Very much in the vein of 'Making a Murderer' style of journalism.
Tells the history of rape claims and how they are handled. This is illustrated though the true tales of several individuals especially a lady called Marie.
Very gripping and very upsetting but a tale that needs telling and bringing to the media forefront.
A must read this Autumn.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read in return for a review.

This book was harrowing yet fascinating at the same time. To say I enjoyed reading it would be wrong, but the parts where the police procedures were explained, or the history of administering rape kits and the fight for making it easier for women to report rapes, were utterly engrossing. The stories of women who have experienced these horrible crimes were absolutely unthinkable. I could not fathom the fact that one of the first victims, Marie, has had to go through such trauma and interrogation from the Lakewood police department.

The book was written in an easy to understand language and had me reading on hours on end. The editing was superb, no issues with the formatting at all. I would recommend this story to anyone who is interesting in learning more about how justice was brought to so many women who went through unimaginable trauma.

Due to the subject matter, I wouldn't say this book is an enjoyable read. I experienced a rollercoaster whilst reading this, including shock, disbelief and anger.

That being said, this is an excellent book which has been researched and written extremely well. The authors tell the story in a way that is engaging for the reader, without giving away to sensationalism and respecting the victims and survivors - not an easy task!

This is a very important story and I think it should be read by men and women alike. I hope that those who work in police and law departments also read this.