Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Pagan Kennedy’s “The Secret History of the Rape Kit” is a groundbreaking work of investigative journalism that uncovers the remarkable story of Marty Goddard, the woman who revolutionized forensic science and the fight against sexual assault. This true crime narrative is a chronicle of innovation and a poignant exploration of the personal and societal battles that shaped a pivotal tool in the quest for justice.

The book begins with the inception of the rape kit in 1971, a time when sexual assault survivors had little hope of seeing their attackers brought to justice. Marty Goddard, driven by a fierce determination to change this grim reality, devised a kit that could collect and preserve crucial evidence from survivors. 

Kennedy’s narrative is compelling and deeply human. She paints a vivid portrait of Goddard, a woman whose tenacity and vision were matched only by the obstacles she encountered. The author skillfully weaves together personal anecdotes, historical context, and detailed accounts of the development and impact of the rape kit. 

This book explores cultural and institutional resistance to Goddard’s innovation. Kennedy delves into the societal attitudes towards sexual assault during the 1970s, providing a stark contrast to the progress that has been made since. 

Kennedy’s writing is both accessible and authoritative, making complex forensic concepts understandable without oversimplifying them. Her ability to convey the emotional weight of the survivors’ stories, alongside the technical details of the rape kit’s development, creates a narrative that is as informative as it is moving. The book is a testament to the power of one individual’s determination to effect change and the ripple effects of that change across society.

“The Secret History of the Rape Kit” is a must-read for anyone interested in true crime, forensic science, or the history of sexual assault advocacy. Pagan Kennedy has crafted a powerful and enlightening narrative that honors Marty Goddard’s legacy and highlights the ongoing importance of her work. This book is both a tribute to a pioneering woman and a call to continue the fight for justice and support for survivors.

This book takes you on an intense mysterious journey. The Secret History of the Rape Kit, is informational intriguing and shocking.
There is heavy content in these pages and the detective outlook the author wrote when detailing the experience. This narrative was very interesting and kept you captivating, because you wanted to find out the next step. I found this whole revolution of one woman who wanted to change society for the benefit of helping women fight their oppressors.

I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book. I love nonfiction books about niche topics such as this. I had briefly heard about Goddard but wasn't super familiar with her/her life and certainly not the ins and outs of the rape kit. The author clearly spent a lot of time doing her research and it was frustrating/fascinating to read about the hurdles Goddard went through and how she wasn't even given credit until relatively recently. At points, I did feel the book went off on some tangents about things that were somewhat related to the main topic and I started to skim over those parts as the book went on. Still, it was a quick read and gave me more knowledge about this. I would read another book from the author.

The rape kit was something that we as a society needed to help investigate and hold rapists accountable for their actions. Learning how the kit came to be was such an interesting read. I love how well researched and presented the book was. The author was good at making sure we understood everything and they didn't over explain.

Very well researched and written in a way that keeps a difficult topic readable. At a time when so much is happening to reverse progress in rights women in my generation (late 30s) take for granted, books like this that bring to light easy/basic human rights and responsibilities to protect that happened within our mothers lifetime are so important to share to the masses.

The invention of the rape kit was something that we needed in order to hold rapists accountable. This is an interesting and difficult subject, but such an important one.

Marty Goddard advocated for all victims rights and invented the rape kit. We learn about her story/journey in this trues story.
It was incredible and empowering to learn about how these victims were advocated for by so many other women.
The book was enjoyable and felt like a quick read.
The order of the story felt a bit disorganized and clunky.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the eARC.

I am so glad I decided to read this book, it was well written and author did an amazing job going through details without making it boring.

This book was another reminder how women and poc were forced to give away their ideas, discoveries, inventions to white men because that’s was the only way things happened back then. I never want to hear it again that men invented most things. The actual statement is men stole most invention ideas.

The day I started reading this book, was the day I had an argument with a man over how men changed the world with their inventions😭 girl if only you knew.

Overall, I’m so glad I decided to read this book. Thank you once again.

A very well written, and important book! It was easy to follow and understand and it gave me new information I wasn't aware of before.

Easy to follow, read and understand.

Very well written.

This is such an important read and I have to say thank you to the author and publishers for bringing this book into fruition.

Thank you NetGalley, Pagan Kennedy, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for giving me an ARC of this book!

Sometimes when I start a nonfiction book, I am a little worried going in that I will be overwhelmed either by the content or the speech. As I often have told my husband, "I am not smart enough for this book."

Pagan Kennedy's "Secret History of the Rape Kit" was so easy to read and follow. It's well written and has the perfect amount of details, so I feel her book is most accessible to EVERY level of reader which is so important with this topic.

This was a fascinating, educating read and her book is IMPORTANT. I worried that this book could potentially be graphic or triggering to people who had been assaulted, and while it may bother some-- I truly felt that Pagan was mindful of reader's experiences.

I highly recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy!

This was so interesting. There was a lot history that I was not aware of, plus the storyline of finding Marty was really well done.

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Vintage for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

In The Secret History of the Rape Kit, Pagan Kennedy uncovers the hidden story behind one of the most transformative innovations in forensic science: the rape kit. The book revolves around Martha "Marty" Goddard, a little-known pioneer whose work changed how sexual assault cases were handled by hospitals and police departments. Kennedy meticulously details Goddard's crusade in the 1970s to provide survivors of sexual violence with dignity, accountability, and justice, revolutionizing evidence collection in the process. Yet despite her monumental efforts, Goddard allowed a man to take credit for her work—a detail that adds layers of complexity to her story.

This is such an important book. While I know that Kennedy has received criticism for sharing her own story, I think that this was a powerful way for her to acknowledge the importance of Marty’s work while calling out broader systemic failures that allowed sexual predators to evade justice for so long. This is not only an eye-opening history of a crucial forensic development, but also a moving tribute to the enduring fight for women's rights.

This was quite an interesting read. I had no idea that one woman, Marty Goddard, was responsible for pushing for a better system for rape/molestation victims. There was quite a taboo when this was created and girls/women were made to feel shame and horrible for rape happening to them. Marty was an innovator and fought for victims of rape to be treated with dignity.

This book was written from a journalistic point of view. While it had good background and history the graphic descriptions of assaults didn't seem to be needed. Yes the book is about the rape kit you know rape will be discussed didn't expect graphic descriptions was more expecting to read how the kit was developed and put into use.

This book is a true work of journalism and the way it highlights and uncovers the truth, while telling the story of both the author’s and Marty Goddard’s life. Thanks to Kennedy’s many years of hard work, the woman that deserves the credit (Marty Goddard), now has that and we also get to see how Goddard’s life led her to this path. The main criticism I saw before reading this book was that the author tells too much of her own story, but I don’t agree with that at all. To me, learning Kennedy’s story helps the reader to understand how she relates topic and why she was so passionate in uncovering the truth. The only real criticism I do have is how Kennedy did center r*pe as something that only happens to women - almost always referring to survivors in general as her or she. This was definitely a tough read but also such an important topic and I truly do feel like I learned so much both on the history and modern day technology pertaining to the topic.

This was a great read! I can't believe rape kits aren't talked about more. This book was very informative without being boring, and kept you wondering what the next chapter would be about. Books like this make me remember that I do like non-fiction books.

This book is an interesting read about something a lot of us don't think about often. Rape kits. I was drawn to the story because it is your average historical event where a woman is swept under the rug and a man is called a hero. Unfortunately this wasn't quite what I wanted for this important of a subject. The author was informal and kept calling the Martha Goddard by her nickname. She would call all the male professionals involved by their last name and then call her Marty in the same sentence. It felt a little infantilizing and gave a weird vibe. My other issue is that he story was not as linear and cohesive as it could be. We bounced around a lot in time and then would have the author's trauma thrown in randomly. I understand the intended purpose of sharing the trauma but it wasn't something that felt necessary and could be jarring. I wish there was more of a focus on the actual rape kits and their general impact. I was simply left wanting more from this book. I still think everyone should read it to learn a little about Martha Goddard and her life's work though.

Fascinating, I'm not sure you can enjoy reading some of these themes but I feel more enriched and empowered as a woman to continue fighting for other women after reading.

Ida Tarbell, the investigative reporter of the early 20th century, once said about women and inventions, “What does the record show? Three things worth knowing and believing that women have invented large number of useful articles: that these patents are not confined to ‘clothes and kitchen’ devices as the skeptical masculine mind avers; that invention is a field in which woman has large possibilities.” The Secret History of the Rape Kit by Pagan Kennedy is the story of Martha “Marty” Goddard who made the Rape Kit a reality and then disappeared from public life. Kennedy lays down the story of the invention of the kit and then her search for the elusive Goddard.

Goddard and her story are intriguing. She did a lot of good work on behalf of women in the early seventies by working with the police and hospitals to come up with a system to help victims of rape and sexual assault. Goddard did a lot of good social justice work. In the book, we ride along with Kennedy as she tracks down and interviews Goddard’s friends and family. We also learn that the Kit was named after a male detective instead of Goddard as an effort to make the kit more palatable. Goddard herself, being more concerned that the Rape Kit being used may have pushed that. Goddard’s later life took a turn, which I won’t reveal as a spoiler. We also learn more about Kennedy herself as she tells her own story of sexual assault.

There is a bigger story here, introduced late in the book, and perhaps a more significant crime in an actual crime book. And that is how the rape kits were used, or not used, misplaced, and how, in many circumstances, the one device that would help a victim left them abused by police, the emergency rooms, and left waiting for hours in an ER when the only place you’d want to be is at home taking a shower. Of how kits moldered on shelves or were dumped, and there was no system to catch the perps despite what you see on Law & Order: SVU allowing serial rapists to roam free.

There are many mini-stories in this book. I appreciated a section where the magical “profiling” we hear about may be a crock. That chapter alone was worth a read and makes you go, “Huh.”

I was also intrigued by the information about how changes to the rape kit were shelved until the pandemic made them all of a sudden okay. For instance, women are pushing for at-home kits, which make complete sense post-pandemic. If anything, I believe that with a new focus on women’s health, we are about to see an explosion of inventions by and for women. I recently read that we may soon be doing at-home pap smears because, for decades, we never questioned if going into an exam room for a humiliating poking and prodding and speculum wasn’t the only possible way to find out about our health. That is unless we vote Trump back in, and the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 folks have their way. Then it is back to not even reporting rapes and sexual assaults.

So hurray for technological advances. I grew up in Northern California, where my 70s childhood neighborhood was terrified by the Golden State Killer (then the East Area Rapist), and it was through today’s DNA technology that he was finally caught. While I’m here for a true crime, I do recommend I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara.

All in all, this book was a good read. It taught me and made me think. I’m happy to see Marty Goddard get the recognition she deserves.

It should go without saying that everyone should read this book. At the very least, it should be required reading in school. The great Pagan Kennedy has taken a topic that very little is known about and illuminated it beyond just the history. By utilizing historical documents, infusing her own personal stories, and personifying the individuals involved, Kennedy has made a very readable treatise on sexual assault, and of course forensics.

This story is so intriguing, and while the history won't surprise you, it does dislodge another brick in the former sexist, misogynistic wall that keeps women from thriving in today's world. Not a sermon, but a powerful story for all.
#knopfvintageanchort #vintage #knopf #pagankennedy #thesecrethistoryoftherapekit