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The Forever Witness by Edward Humes

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True Crime Book Club

"The Forever Witness" by Edward Humes

2026-05-18 13:00:00 2026-05-18 14:00:00 America/New_York True Crime Book Club In "The Forever Witness" by Edward Humes a double murder from November 1987 appeared to be the perfect crime with little evidence and no witnesses. Years later new science helped solve the crime. Westlake Porter Public Library - Dover Room

Monday, May 18
1:00pm - 2:00pm

Add to Calendar 2026-05-18 13:00:00 2026-05-18 14:00:00 America/New_York True Crime Book Club In "The Forever Witness" by Edward Humes a double murder from November 1987 appeared to be the perfect crime with little evidence and no witnesses. Years later new science helped solve the crime. Westlake Porter Public Library - Dover Room

In "The Forever Witness" by Edward Humes a double murder from November 1987 appeared to be the perfect crime with little evidence and no witnesses. Years later new science helped solve the crime.

We meet on the third Monday of every month, except July & December. This is a great way to discover new and classic True Crime writing. In May we will read The Forever Witness by Edward Humes.

From Amazon

A relentless detective and a civilian genealogist solve a haunting cold case—and launch a crime-fighting revolution that tests the fragile line between justice and privacy.

In November 1987, a young couple from the idyllic suburbs of Vancouver Island on an overnight trip to Seattle vanished without a trace. A week later, the bodies of Tanya Van Cuylenborg and her boyfriend Jay Cook were found in rural Washington. It was a brutal crime, and it was the perfect crime: With few clues and no witnesses in the vast and foreboding Olympic Peninsula, an international manhunt turned up empty, and the sensational case that shocked the Pacific Northwest gradually slipped from the headlines.

In deep-freeze, long-term storage, biological evidence from the crime sat waiting, as Detective Jim Scharf poured over old case files looking for clues his predecessors missed. Meanwhile, 1,200 miles away in California, CeCe Moore began her lifelong fascination with genetic genealogy, a powerful forensic tool that emerged not from the crime lab, but through the wildly popular home DNA ancestry tests purchased by more than 40 million Americans. When Scharf decided to send the cold case’s decades-old DNA to Parabon NanoLabs, he hoped he would finally bring closure to the Van Cuylenborg and Cook families. He didn’t know that he and Moore would make history.

Genetic genealogy, long the province of family tree hobbyists and adoptees seeking their birth families, has made headlines as a cold case solution machine, capable of exposing the darkest secrets of seemingly upstanding citizens. In the hands of a tenacious detective like Scharf, genetic genealogy has solved one baffling killing after another. But as this crime-fighting technique spreads, its sheer power has sparked a national debate: Can we use DNA to catch the murderers among us, yet still protect our last shred of privacy in the digital age—the right to the very blueprint of who we are?


View and print the list of books and check out the Book Discussion page for more book clubs and resources!

AGE GROUP: | Adults |

EVENT TYPE: | Books and Authors |

TAGS: | True Crime | book discussion | book club |

Westlake Porter Public Library

Phone: (440) 871-2600
Fax: (440) 871-6969

Hours
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Mon, Apr 13 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Tue, Apr 14 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Wed, Apr 15 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Thu, Apr 16 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Fri, Apr 17 9:00AM to 6:00PM
Sat, Apr 18 9:00AM to 6:00PM
Sun, Apr 19 1:00PM to 5:00PM
Mon, Apr 13 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Tue, Apr 14 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Wed, Apr 15 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Thu, Apr 16 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Fri, Apr 17 9:00AM to 6:00PM
Sat, Apr 18 9:00AM to 6:00PM
Sun, Apr 19 1:00PM to 5:00PM

About the branch

Westlake Porter Public Library is an independent public library serving the residents of the city of Westlake, western Cuyahoga County and eastern Lorain County. The library is located at 27333 Center Ridge Road in Westlake, Ohio. Anyone who lives, works, owns property, or goes to school in Ohio can register for a free library card.

Upcoming events

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Sat, Apr 18, 10:30am - 11:00am
Storytime Room

Sat, Apr 18, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Storytime Room

Sun, Apr 19, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Storytime Room

Sun, Apr 19, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Dover Room,Porter Room

Mon, Apr 20, 9:00am - 9:00pm
This event is full

Mon, Apr 20, 11:00am - 11:45am
Storytime Room

Mon, Apr 20, 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Dover Room

Mon, Apr 20, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Craft Room,Teen Lounge

Mon, Apr 20, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Westlake Room

Mon, Apr 20, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Technology Training Lab

Tue, Apr 21, 10:00am - 11:30am
Dover Room

Tue, Apr 21, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Craft Room

Tue, Apr 21, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Makerspace

Wed, Apr 22, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Dover Room

Wed, Apr 22, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Craft Room,Teen Lounge

Wed, Apr 22, 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Study Room YS-Group

Wed, Apr 22, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Westlake Room

Wed, Apr 22, 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Technology Training Lab

Wed, Apr 22, 6:00pm - 6:30pm
Makerspace

Wed, Apr 22, 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Porter Room,Zoom Programming 1

Thu, Apr 23, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Thomas A. Fox Board Room

Thu, Apr 23, 6:30pm - 7:00pm
Storytime Room

Sat, Apr 25, 10:00am - 12:00pm
Porter Room

Sat, Apr 25, 11:00am - 11:45am
Storytime Room
Registration opens Saturday, April 18 2026 at 9:00am

Sat, Apr 25, 1:00pm - 2:30pm
Makerspace
Registration opens Saturday, April 18 2026 at 9:00am

Sat, Apr 25, 1:00pm - 2:30pm

Sat, Apr 25, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Youth Services

Rescheduled
Sat, Apr 25, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
New date Saturday, April 25, 1:00pm - 2:30pm

Mon, Apr 27, 10:00am - 10:30am
Storytime Room

Mon, Apr 27, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Craft Room,Teen Lounge

Mon, Apr 27, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Westlake Room

Mon, Apr 27, 6:00pm - 8:30pm
Porter Room

Tue, Apr 28, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Craft Room
Registration opens Tuesday, April 21 2026 at 9:00am

Wed, Apr 29, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Craft Room

Wed, Apr 29, 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Study Room YS-Group

Wed, Apr 29, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Westlake Room

Wed, Apr 29, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Dover Room

Wed, Apr 29, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Technology Training Lab

Thu, Apr 30, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Online

Sat, May 02, All day
Entrance Lobby

Sat, May 02, 10:30am - 12:00pm
Dover Room

Sat, May 02, 10:30am - 12:00pm
Makerspace
Registration opens Saturday, April 25 2026 at 9:00am

Sat, May 02, 10:30am - 11:00am
Storytime Room

Sun, May 03, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Technology Training Lab

Sun, May 03, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Storytime Room

Mon, May 04, 9:00am - 9:00pm
Registration opens Monday, April 27 2026 at 9:00am

Mon, May 04, 10:30am - 11:00am
Storytime Room
Registration opens Monday, April 27 2026 at 9:00am

Mon, May 04, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Westlake Room

Tue, May 05, 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Makerspace
Registration opens Tuesday, April 28 2026 at 6:00pm

Tue, May 05, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Porter Room

Wed, May 06, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Westlake Room

Wed, May 06, 6:00pm - 6:30pm
Makerspace
Registration opens Wednesday, April 29 2026 at 9:00am

Wed, May 06, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Dover Room

Thu, May 07, 1:00pm - 7:00pm
Porter Room

Thu, May 07, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Technology Training Lab

Sat, May 09, 10:30am - 11:00am
Storytime Room

Sat, May 09, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Makerspace
Registration opens Saturday, May 2 2026 at 9:00am

Sat, May 09, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Storytime Room

Sat, May 09, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Dover Room
Registration opens Saturday, May 2 2026 at 9:00am

Sat, May 09, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Porter Room

Mon, May 11, 4:30pm - 5:15pm
Technology Training Lab
Registration opens Monday, May 4 2026 at 4:30pm

Mon, May 11, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Westlake Room

Mon, May 11, 6:00pm - 8:30pm
Porter Room

Tue, May 12, 10:00am - 11:00am
Dover Room

Tue, May 12, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Porter Room,Zoom Programming 2

Wed, May 13, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Makerspace
Registration opens Wednesday, May 6 2026 at 9:00am

Wed, May 13, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Westlake Room

Wed, May 13, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Technology Training Lab,Zoom Programming 1

Thu, May 14, 10:00am - 11:30am
Technology Training Lab

Thu, May 14, 7:00pm - 8:15pm
Westlake Room

Sat, May 16, 10:30am - 11:00am
Storytime Room

Sat, May 16, 2:00pm - 2:30pm
Storytime Room

Sun, May 17, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Storytime Room

Mon, May 18, 10:00am - 10:45am
Storytime Room
Registration opens Monday, April 27 2026 at 9:00am

Mon, May 18, 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Makerspace
Registration opens Monday, May 11 2026 at 9:00am

Mon, May 18, 1:00pm - 7:00pm
Porter Room

Mon, May 18, 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Dover Room

Mon, May 18, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Westlake Room

Mon, May 18, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Technology Training Lab
Registration opens Saturday, April 18 2026 at 7:00pm