THE BASIS FOR THE MAJOR 6-PART HBO® DOCUMENTARY SERIES
#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
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.
more
How sad that Michelle McNamara passed before this book was completed- and before the identity of the killer was revealed. After reading this and then reading about Joe D’Angelo’s capture, I got chills thinking about how close Michelle was to discovering the truth. A great read!
I loved Michelle devotion to the topic. No spoilers but… She really did change the world by working on this project. I especially likes when she delved into the myriad of ways that forensic science has changed over the decades.
This may have been an overkill, but I got both the audio book and the Kindle addition. Wow. Listening to the book was incredible. While reading, the story is terrifying in a way that kept me from paying attention to the nuances of the writing. The lyrical structure and writing of the sections really came through with the audio in a way that I didn’t notice while reading.
I was intrigued with the evolution of how DNA is used in criminology. There are so many different aspects to learn from while reading. I loved her description of riding with the detective and how she begins to unravel the way that he thinks from his facial expressions (or lack of them) to the responses he gives to her questions. Really interesting book.
Mesmerizing. Unbelievable research and well worth the read.
It makes you really think about what you know about people.
Deeply researched and narratively powerful, ground-breaking book.
Amazing research. Alarming how this evil human got away with all he did for so long. It’s books like these that really make you wonder who you’re standing next to in the check-out aisle.
Overrated
Really interesting book about one person’s efforts at identifying the Golden State Killer. Effectively covers an extensive time period when the killer was active. The timing of publication was remarkable given that familial DNA led to the killer shortly after.
Michelle Mcnamara writes with a beautiful sense of compassion and humanity that few true crime reporters or writers could ever match. I was left haunted by book in the best possible way. You can tell how much of her life she poured into this case and hard those who admired her worked to string together her work into it’s final form.
Couldn’t finish. Not my cup of tea. Others may enjoy it.
I am in the minority, but I just didn’t like this book very much.
Well written with great research about a very difficult subject.
Very informative read!!!
Loved it. Read it right after he got caught
Full of insight into a wonderful woman’s obsession in her search for the GSK and the processes she went through along with those she met on the way. True Crime amateurs will love this.
( SPOILERS) The tenacity of the Author and the detective to solve this horrendous crime spree. Sadly, the crime was solved after the author died of cancer but the book is completed from her extensive notes.
It would be frightening if it were fiction, but it’s even more so because it’s true. I couldn’t put it down. If you have any knowledge of forensics you will be fascinated.
There is something oddly fascinating about people who make a career out of terrorizing and torturing people. The Golden State Killer (or East Area Rapist as he was known at the time) was one of those men. He kept entire communities in a spasm of terror for years, first ransacking homes, then raping women and tying up the men and, finally, killing couples.
This book was a fairly challenging read, simply because of the way it had to be put together. The author, Michelle McNamara, passed away unexpectedly halfway through writing it, leaving behind a mountain of notes and files and a partially-written draft. Her research partners were then left to piece together this draft and her notes with an article she’d already published on the subject. Some chapters included transcripts of recorded conversations; the book ends with the poorly written and exceedingly dull conclusion written by her research partners.
McNamara was an immensely talented writer and a diligent investigator. She turned a dry list of grim facts and locations into a compelling narrative. The book was its most gripping when she delved into the crime scenes and the trembling accounts of the victims and offered insights into the Golden State Killer’s psychology.
McNamara also painted a fascinating picture of American communities in the 1970s, when it was far easier for a killer to slip away into the darkness. In fact, she posits that the Golden State Killer only stopped because technology made it harder for him to hide.
Since I am unfamiliar with the geography of California and its patchwork of cities and towns, I found the trip around the state from crime scene to crime scene quite dizzying. The Golden State Killer was incredibly prolific and his crimes remarkably similar, so the book at times felt like a confusing list of names and places I couldn’t keep straight. McNamara’s writing style was very engaging, but a perfect example of when a writer is too good at crafting sentences. Her prose often rose above the narrative and was often very distracti
I was disappointed by one thing: the arrest of Joseph James DeAngelo–the Golden State Killer–was tacked on the end of the book like an afterthought. I spent over 400 pages wondering who this man was, only to have his story swept under the rug. I understand it’s fashionable and politically correct these days to pretend such men don’t exist, however this choice left the story incomplete. It felt like a mystery book that ended without revealing the killer in the end.
Overall, I enjoyed McNamara’s book. It’s a shame that her pursuit of this man drove her to an early grave. Though I’ll Be Gone in the Dark was an excellent read, I don’t think it was worth her life.
The late, and truly great, Michelle McNamara’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark is both a brilliant investigation and loving tribute to the victims and investigators whose lives were ripped apart by the Golden State Killer, as well as a deep, self-reflective view at why people need to solve crimes. The stores don’t package the book with security cameras and tissues…but they should.