THE BASIS FOR THE MAJOR 6-PART HBO® DOCUMENTARY SERIES
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR:
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Winner of the Goodreads Choice Awards for Nonfiction | Anthony Award … | Jezebel | Philadelphia Inquirer | Publishers Weekly | Kirkus Reviews | Library Journal | Bustle
Winner of the Goodreads Choice Awards for Nonfiction | Anthony Award Winner | SCIBA Book Award Winner | Finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime | 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 case—which was solved in April 2018.
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 case—which was solved in April 2018.
Introduction by Gillian Flynn • Afterword by Patton Oswalt
“A brilliant genre-buster…. Propulsive, can’t-stop-now reading.” —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 Dark—the masterpiece McNamara was writing at the time of her sudden death—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 classic—one which fulfilled Michelle’s dream: helping unmask the Golden State Killer.
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Wow! Who would have believed, when I started reading this book, that the Golden Gate Killer would be apprehended before I could finish it. It’s too bad that the author couldn’t have lived to see him finally arrested.
I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara is a chilling account of the evolution of one of the most prolific serial rapists turned serial killer in California’s history.
This story is an enthralling web of evidence, interviews with law enforcement and empathy for victims and their families written by a talented journalist obsessed with justice. For over ten years from 1974 to 1986, a sadistic predator roamed the night committing approximately fifty sexual assaults in Northern California and ten murders in Southern California. All of these crimes were only tied together later by the advancement of DNA.
Three decades later, Ms. McNamara, who was a true crime journalist with her own cold case blog, began an intensive search for the faceless man she dubbed “The Golden State Killer”. Her passion for justice shows in all of her writing. Sadly, Ms. McNamara died before she was completely finished with this book, but her research assistant and a fellow true crime writer pulled the remainder of the information together to finish this work of her lifetime for publication.
This is an intriguing true crime book that was left as an open mystery the authors hope will lead to the discovery of the faceless Golden State Killer.
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(Update: This book was published in February, 2018 and in April, 2018 authorities announced the arrest of 72 year old Golden State Killer suspect Joseph James DeAngelo on eight counts of first degree murder based on DNA evidence.)
Timely; I finished this book right before GSK was nailed #HotforHoles!!! Michelle was an amazing writer, and the world lost a great talent when she passed.