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Biography & Autobiography. True Crime. Nonfiction. HTML: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Washington Post | Maureen Corrigan, NPR | Paste | Seattle Times | Entertainment Weekly | Esquire | Slate | Buzzfeed | Jezebel | Philadelphia Inquirer | Publishers Weekly | Kirkus Reviews | Library Journal | Bustle | Mother Jones | Real Simple | Crime Reads | Book Riot | Bookish | Amazon | Barnes and Noble |Hudson Booksellers New York Public Library | Chicago Public Library Winner of the Goodreads Choice Awards for Nonfiction | SCIBA Book Award Winner | Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence The haunting true story of the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorized California during the 70s and 80s, and of the gifted journalist who died tragically while investigating the caseā??which was solved in April 2018.Introduction by Gillian Flynn ā?¢ Afterword by Patton Oswalt "A brilliant genre-buster.... Propulsive, can't-stop-now reading." ā??Stephen King For more than ten years, a mysterious and violent predator committed fifty sexual assaults in Northern California before moving south, where he perpetrated ten sadistic murders. Then he disappeared, eluding capture by multiple police forces and some of the best detectives in the area. Three decades later, Michelle McNamara, a true crime journalist who created the popular website TrueCrimeDiary.com, was determined to find the violent psychopath she called "the Golden State Killer." Michelle pored over police reports, interviewed victims, and embedded herself in the online communities that were as obsessed with the case as she was. I'll Be Gone in the Darkā??the masterpiece McNamara was writing at the time of her sudden deathā??offers an atmospheric snapshot of a moment in American history and a chilling account of a criminal mastermind and the wreckage he left behind. It is also a portrait of a woman's obsession and her unflagging pursuit of the truth. Utterly original and compelling, it has been hailed as a modern true crime classicā??one which fulfilled Michelle's dream: helping unmask the Golden… (more)
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āIf you commit murder and then vanish, what you leave behind isnāt just pain but absence, a supreme blankness that triumphs over everything else. The unidentified murderer is always twisting a doorknob behind a door that never opens.
For over a decade, starting in the mid-1970s, a young man terrorized California, committing fifty sexual assaults and then moving onto murder, killing at least ten people. He was never caught.
About thirty years later, Michelle McNamara, a true crime blogger and journalist, stumbles upon the case and immediately became obsessed with finding the psychopathic rapist, who she coins the Golden State Killer.
After years of researching and compiling profiles and police reports, she decided to put this all into a book. Sadly, she died before finishing the manuscript, but her outlines and notes were painstakingly documented, so her key researchers, completed the project. Good thing too, because this is an excellent true crime tale. Her prose is strong and deft, as she draws the reader into this dark, terrifying world of a relentless monster.
Gillian Flynn, introduces the book and she is the perfect choice, (Dark Places, definitely comes to mind) and the epilogue was written by her husband, the comedian and actor, Patton Oswalt, who has also been touring and promoting his late wife's masterful book.
The parts of the book where McNamara describe the victims and the lives they were leading before tragedy interceded were so well written and were my favorite. I found the weak part to be in the end where all of her conjecture and grasping at straws hypothesis. She was not a law enforcement officer with detective training. She was someone who was a good writer and who was fascinated, maybe in a n unhealthy way, with the case. The most interesting thing I took from the book was when it was revealed that she was interested in using Ancestry.com to submit the unidentified DNA. We now know that was how the case was solved. DeAngelo's DNA was submitted into a family DNA site and his family was identified. McNamara did not have the ability to do this herself. I wonder if the detectives got the idea to do that from her. If that is the case then she solved everything. Publicly they have said that her research had no bearing on what they did.
Due to McNamara's death I found the book to be disjointed. It is better if you know the facts of the case before trying to read it. DeAngelo's crimes were prolific and it is hard to understand all that is attributed to him just by reading the book. If you read the Wikipedia article first you will be better off. What I got from this book are glimpses of how good the book could have been if MCNamara had lived long enough to see DeAngelo's arrest. As it is you are left with a tribute to one woman's obsession with unmasking a man who very nearly eluded justice.
For
The first part of the book covers McNamara's personal life and obsession with this case, as well as facts about some of the rapes and murders. The second part takes us to the time when she teams up with a detective working the cold case, in which they chase after the Golden Gate Killer's trail. Some of this information is repetitive, having already been covered in the first section. The final section, for me, was little more than filler added by the editor in order to pad the page count and incorporate the copious amount of notes taken by McNamara. This section reads exactly like the dry research notes it is.
This book was released in February 2018. The Golden State Killer was caught in April 2018, so there is no information here on the killer's identity or his life. Also, we never learn whether any of McNamara's immense investigative research helped - or even hindered - the detectives in charge of the case.
While I did find sections interesting, I thought the content suffered from lack of structuring, as well as the underlying feel of McNamara's unhealthy obsession.
Iāll Be Gone in the Dark is the true story of the Golden State Killer, also known as the East Area Rapist. He terrorized California, committing at least 13 murders, more than 50 rapes, and over 100 burglaries in from 1974 to 1986. Author Michelle McNamara believed she was coming close to discovering the Golden State Killerās identity when she unfortunately passed away. She did not complete Iāll Be Gone in the Dark but her husband, Patton Oswald, decided to publish it anyway. He and her researchers pieced together the gaps in her writing. Any time they have done this, itās explained in the text at the point where it occurs.
Coincidentally, the Golden State Killer was caught shortly after this book was published, which is one of the main reasons I wanted to read it. Itās a lot more satisfying to read true crime if the crime has been solved! I found this book to be a little disjointed and confusing. However, thatās understandable considering itās basically unfinished. Michelle worked on this book for years and itās amazingly well-researched. She was allowed to take boxes upon boxes of police files home to look at and she analyzed them all thoroughly. She also performed several interviews with people involved with the case.
The Golden State Killerās capture is bittersweet. Of course itās fantastic that he was caught but itās sad the Michelle wasnāt alive to see it. She was, in her own words, obsessed with this case. At the end of the book is a letter to the Golden State Killer from Michelle about what she thinks will happen when he is captured that is eerily close to the truth.
Fans of true crime and those curious about the Golden State Killer should definitely check out Iāll Be Gone in the Dark.
There's a lot of hype and publicity surrounding this book. The author died before the book was finished, but her husband and fellow researchers worked to put together a finished book from what she's already written as well as drafts of magazine articles and her notes. The result should be a mess, but instead makes for fascinating reading. McNamara takes a series of crimes in which the perpetrator varied little in his approach and methods, and crafted a well-paced and insightful book. Her writing combines accounts from survivors, family members, and law enforcement with the story of her pursuit of the killer and how it affected her, as well as how advances in forensics have allowed clues and evidence to be found that was unavailable when he was committing his first crimes. McNamara's writing shines and stands in startling contrast to the plodding prose of the final chapters put together by others.
And then they caught The Golden State Killer.
I dropped every other book I was reading, and went straight for this one.
The research Michelle McNamara had done before she passed is so
Reading this, knowing that The Golden State Killer has been caught, just added another layer. Seeing where so many instincts were spot on, and reading the epilogue addressed to the killer before he was caught, was incredible.
I definitely recommend this read.
I don't read a lot of
The book was well-written enough, and it didn't bore me, but there are much better crime books out there that provide actual insight rather than simple documentation of (failed) crime-solving.
I chose to listen to this and the narrator was outstanding. In fact I believe listening to this increased the creep factor quite a bit. You see, the rapist/killer whispered to his victims and the narrators whispering and thd rords spoken were chilling. Actually went to bed with bear spray on my nightstand. Years ago I was a true crime fanatic, read Helter skelter, all of Ann Rules many crime exposes, but this is the first one I have read for s long time. It was part of a sisters read and it helped, talking to oyhers, able to share our thoughts.
It is terrible that after sll her work, Michelle died, way to young, before she saw this book published, nor the man who had been here obsession so long captured. Her husband narrates the end of the sufio, talking abbout his wife, and her work.
Michelle McNamara stumbled upon the case decades later and become obsessed with finding out who this criminal was. She dubbed him the Golden State Killer. She found a community of like-minded individuals also passionate about bringing justice upon the man who committed these crimes. She gathered extensive amounts of data, case facts, interviews, and anything that would shed some light on identifying the killer. McNamaraās untimely death lead to the book being completed by a close colleague. Within these pages lies the truth and search to unmask a killer.
Iām not typically much of a non-fiction reader, but I have a soft spot for true crime. I originally saw IāLL BE GONE IN THE DARK all over social media and knew I wanted to read the book and then when the killer was caught I knew I had to read the book. Michelle McNamaraās dedication to research and investigating the Golden State Killer is absolutely amazing! There truly is no other way to categorize the level of detail that went into this book. After page one I was hooked and wanted to run off to Google everything. Luckily, McNamara already had everything I needed within these pages, aside from what has happened since the release of the book of course.
Michelle McNamara and those who picked up after her death have a writing style that is gripping and enticing while being saturated in facts. I think I shy away from non-fiction often because it can become unreadable and boring. That never happened with IāLL BE GONE IN THE DARK. I was stunned what I read and at times downright terrified by this manās actions. This is definitely not a book I recommend reading while home alone at night. I also listened to parts of this one on audiobook, which was a fantastic experience. I highly recommend this book for anyone and everyone!
Itās a book you cannot put away because McNamaraās way of telling the Golden State Killerās story is haunting and all-consuming. It keeps you awake all night and turns your into a hobby detective. Itās an incredible piece of real-life crime fiction that is flooded with an unbelievable amount of details, compassion, and history. It tells the story of a killer, of his victims, of the many crime units, detectives, and forensic criminalists, who tried to catch him, of the people and the community life in Southern and Northern California, and of a woman, who dedicates her life and legacy to finding out the truth.
What a captivating book that deserves all the praise it receives and more! 5 stars!
Overview: Michelle McNamara was a freelance writer and crime blogger (and whose husband you may know as the well-known comedic actor Patton Oswalt). She became incredibly obsessed
Highlights: This book sold like wildfire especially after the announcement was made that theyād finally captured the Golden State Killer shortly after the book was published. So there was a lot of hype surrounding it in mid-2018. I had heard that it kept people up at night and some went so far as to install security systems in their homes. While I found it to be a bit creepy in the beginning, it quickly become very technical with details of crime scenes and interviews with those who did much of the investigation in the 70s and 80s. McNamara never fully figured it all out, though it was apparent, towards the end of the book, that she was on the right track and getting really close. Had she held out a bit longer, she wouldāve seen the killer finally come to justice.
Pre-Requisites: It helps to know a bit of the background of the East Area Rapist ā an overview of the time period and some of the crimes committed. The book jumps around a bit and it can be hard to follow along with the storyline, so itās helpful to have a grounded idea of where all the jumping around takes place in the larger scheme of things.
If you like: true crime, unsolved mysteries (but recently solved!), books about murders (and other crimes), investigative research, 1970s-80s based stories, investigations pre-21st century tech
I think I enjoyed this book so much because I really didn't know much about the case at all. I am saddened that she passed away before he was caught. I wonder what her thoughts would be.
If you're a true crime fan I would highly recommend this book.
What stands out immediately about this book is how personal it is. While McNamara herself didnāt know anyone who was hurt or killed by GSK/EAR/ONS, an unsolved murder of a childhood neighbor always stuck with her throughout her life. As she started to learn about The Golden State Killer, she began to feel a deep sense of injustice for the victims that he left behind, and started to investigate it herself. She made connections with investigators, she dove into online groups of fellow armchair investigators, she visited locations and dug through box after box of evidence. Her almost obsessive commitment to this case is juxtaposed with the crimes themselves, and the horror that GSK/EAR/ONS brought upon his victims. But she is always sure to be respectful, and to keep the details vague enough to be respectful, but precise enough to paint a picture of just how awful these crimes were. She gives voice and context for the people that GSK/EAR/ONS raped or murdered, and always puts them at the forefront and the fact that justice eluded them and those they left behind for so long. In many true crime books (with a few exceptions, of course, like Ann Rule) the focus is primarily on the murderer, and the victims merely objects in a salacious story. But with McNamara, she wants the reader to know the victims and makes their voices the most important ones. Would this be different had DeAngelo been identified at publishing? Possibly. But I do get the sense that for McNamara, the identity was only important for justice purposes; this wouldnāt have been a story to give him any glory or to make his crimes entertainment.
As you read, McNamara instills actual terror into you. I had to stop reading this book after dark, because any noise and anything out of place sent me into a paranoid spiral. Her writing is that immersive, pulling you in and keeping you engaged. She also makes herself vulnerable by being fully aware and honest with her own obsession, and the toll that it takes on her life and her own mental health. Unlike the book that Robert Graysmith wrote about The Zodiac Killer, McNamara knew that she was treading towards obsession, and that it was deeply affecting her life. The sad fact of the matter is that when Michelle died unexpectedly in her sleep, she could have been seen as, in a way, GSK/EAR/ONS ās last victim. She had been having trouble sleeping, and her husband (comedian Patton Oswalt) had suggested she take some Xanax and just sleep until she woke up. And she didnāt wake up, because of an undiagnosed heart condition in tandem to the Xanax and other prescriptions. The tragedy of her death lingers on the page, as there are sections with editorās notes that explain that they were originally unfinished, or that they were pieced together by her notes or previous articles. Itās so great to see that this book and story she was so dedicated to was finished by people close to her, but the loss is still palpable.
So how does the new information about John DeAngelo affect this book? If anything, it makes it more poignant, and it certainly doesnāt diminish it. I say this because of a specific moment in the epilogue, entitled āA Letter To An Old Manā. Itās a final moment that is essentially a letter from Michelle to GSK/EAR/ONS, and it works as a powerful cap off to a wonderful book. The final paragraph is all the more powerful now. Iām going to quote part of it here to show you what I mean, a quote thatās made the rounds on social media a lot in the days after DeAngeloās capture.
āThe doorbell rings. No side gates are left open. Youāre long past leaping over a fence. Take one of your hyper, gulping breaths. Clench your teeth. Inch timidly towards the insistent bell. This is how it ends for you. āYouāll be silent forever, and Iāll be gone in the dark,ā you threatened a victim, once. Open the door. Show us your face. Walk into the light.ā
And as Patton Oswalt and many others have pointed out, this is exactly what happened on April 25th, 2018.
āIāll Be Gone in the Darkā is a stunning true crime book and an opus for a voice that left us far too soon. It will surely be considered one of the greats of the genre in the years to come, and Michelle McNamara will be remembered for all the good that she did in her help to bringing closure to the victims of a horrible monster. But itās also just well written book about confronting darkness in life and in ourselves, and how to battle it as best we can.