Gritz blends memoir with true-crime detective work in this nonfiction book.

Dedicating the book to her sister, Andrea “Angie” Boggs (“the first person I remember loving”), the author explores a mystery-filled tragedy that has plagued her family for more than 40 years. The story begins with Angie’s final hours in 1982 prior to her gruesome murder and those of her husband, Raymond, her infant son, and her unborn baby. During a cold January, Angie and Raymond had invited a struggling unhoused couple into their San Francisco home, having experienced a life of hardship themselves. More than a month later, the remains of the family were discovered in a crawl space under their home. The vagrants who had stayed with them were subsequently arrested and convicted for their murders. Despite their convictions, Gritz, a college student at the time of Angie’s death, knew that key details were missing from the story of her sister’s life and death (“Did anyone ever learn their motive?”). Her secretive parents weren’t much help in providing answers, often casting Angie’s alleged behavioral problems as the driving narrative of her life. Following the death of her parents in 2002, the author delved into family records and microfilm research (she cites sources from her 10-year investigation at the end of the book) and discovered a history of abuse that her adopted sister had endured. The memoir’s revelations of family secrets make for an enthralling read, but the book’s true strength lies in the author’s heartfelt reflections on grief, survivor’s guilt, and trauma. Written in the form of a letter to Angie, this is a raw look at the beauty of sisterly love and the legacy of childhood neglect. Gritz’s often lyrical prose provides poignant reflections, which is no surprise given the author’s background as an award-winning poet and essayist. While previous iterations of some of the book’s material have been published in the New York Times, Salon, and elsewhere, this is a remarkably cohesive, genre-defying memoir that is at once a beautiful love letter and a haunting true-crime investigation.

A poignant, gripping story of love, memory, and physical and psychological brutality.