A Fortune Magazine “Most Anticipated Books of 2020” Selection A Goodreads Featured Release for February 2020A Los Angeles hotel with a haunting history. A missing young woman. A disturbing video followed by a shocking discovery. A cold-case mystery that has become an internet phenomenon—and for one determined journalist, a life-changing quest toward uncomfortable truths. Twenty-one-year-old … determined journalist, a life-changing quest toward uncomfortable truths.
Twenty-one-year-old Vancouver student Elisa Lam was last heard from on January 31, 2013, after she checked into downtown L.A.’s Cecil Hotel—a 600-room building with a nine-decade history of scandal and tragedy. The next day, Elisa vanished. A search of the hotel yielded nothing. More than a week later, complaints by guests of foul-smelling tap water led to a grim discovery: Elisa’s nude body floating in a rooftop water tank, in an area extremely difficult to access without setting off alarms. The only apparent clue was a disturbing surveillance video of Elisa, uploaded to YouTube in hopes of public assistance.
As the eerie elevator video went viral, so did the questions of its tens of millions of viewers. Was Elisa’s death caused by murder, suicide, or paranormal activity? Was it connected to the Cecil’s sinister reputation? And in that video, what accounted for Elisa’s strange behavior? With the help of web sleuths and investigators from around the world, journalist Jake Anderson set out to uncover the facts behind a death that had become a macabre internet meme, as well as a magnet for conspiracy theorists.
In poring through Elisa’s revealing online journals and social-media posts, Anderson realized he shared more in common with the young woman than he imagined. His search for justice and truth became a personal journey, a dangerous descent into one of America’s quiet epidemics. Along the way, he exposed a botched investigation and previously unreported disclosures from inside sources who suggest there may have been a corporate conspiracy and a police cover-up. In Gone at Midnight, Anderson chronicles eye-opening discoveries about who Elisa Lam really was and what—or whom—she was running from, and presents shocking new evidence that may re-open one of the most chilling and obsessively followed true crime cases of the century.
“Outstanding…true crime buffs won’t want to miss this gripping search for the truth.”
—Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW
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Sharply written with a journalistic nose for facts and detail, Jake Anderson’s Gone at Midnight captures the essence of a breaking true crime story and what goes on behind the scenes as the search for a missing person turns deadly. The twists and turns are remarkably sketched by an up-and-coming author who has complete control over his narrative. Add a bit of paranormal into the mix and what we have is riveting… scary, compelling… and expertly told.
Good book. Well-written. Interesting and tragic story that we will probably never know the truth about, but the author does a good job distinguishing fact from fiction.
BORING
I saw the eerie video of Elisa Lam a while back. You may have seen it. A young woman in an elevator acting off. I couldn’t tell if she was being followed by someone or it was something paranormal or possibly she was mentally ill. I didn’t know anything about her other than that was the last video of her from the night she disappeared. Nineteen days later her body was discovered. When I saw this book offered on NetGalley I was super excited and requested it.
I’m super torn on how many stars to give this book. It takes us along on the author’s investigation into what happened to Elisa Lam. I have finished the book and am left with even more questions than I had. It took me longer than I expected to read because the author was a bit everywhere through the story. In retrospect the story is so convoluted because there are no real answers, only theories. I did appreciate the author going through so many of them. I was fascinated with the history of the Cecil Hotel and the theories that involved it, both paranormal and the ones involving staff members.
The author went deep into Elisa Lam’s mental health, which I believe was mainly researched through her writings on her blog. He added into it his own insight on how mental illness may have been a big part in what happened. This insight came from his own experiences with mental illness. While it was, at times, a bit difficult for me to follow, I did find that helpful. Some may find it unnecessary and perhaps a bit self serving. There were a couple of times when I thought he was identifying too much with what she may or may not have been experiencing. While it was interesting and it gives us a look inside the author’s mind, it probably could have been cut down a bit. It, at times, overshadowed the story of Elisa Lam.
I was left with a lot more knowledge of what Elisa was possibly going through and the various theories. It isn’t, in my opinion, a far stretch to believe there was a cover up in her disappearance, death and the way it was handled. My heart goes out to her family who not only lost someone they loved but then are left with the possibility of never knowing exactly what happened to her. I can’t imagine the double edge sword of hearing or reading the theories of what may have occurred and the questions people are asking in an attempt to find some justice for Elisa Lam. It’s a sad story that has no satisfactory conclusion. The author, I think, did his best to put everything out there in an effort to have people talking about Elisa and what happened
I’m grateful to NetGalley, Kensington and the author for making this title available. I did learn a lot, and though I have questions, I am happy I read this book. My review is voluntary and all opinions are mine.
I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest!
This was a good book !
This is a new genre for me.
In this book, the author takes us on a journey regarding Elisa Lam’s death.
Her body was found floating in a rooftop water tank w/o setting off alarms.
Was that even possible ?
What really happened to Elisa ?
Loved the characters + the storytelling !
It has all the ingredients that you need for a good book!
The definitive book on Elisa Lam is finally here. Gone at Midnight is a descent into madness — clinical madness and the madness of armchair sleuths doing their thing. This book is both an investigation into one of the internet’s most frustrating mysteries and a personal exploration of depression and suicidal ideation — and how we must rebel in order to survive. The supporting character of Gone at Midnight is the Cecil Hotel, which takes on a life of its own, tempting the author and luring him back in an attempt to drive him insane. Is it haunted? Or is it all in our minds? Jake Anderson continues the tradition of New Journalism and gonzo reporting by weaving a personal story of mental health and anguish with a confounding L.A. mystery.