I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

Michelle Mcnamara
Introduction by Gillian Flynn
Patton Oswalt
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I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

Michelle Mcnamara
Introduction by Gillian Flynn
Patton Oswalt
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Overview

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Overall rating: 4.4444447 / 5 from 18 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Summary topics

Review topics: ["book","read","crime","killer","written","author","writing","michelle"].

Review highlights

Reviews

It was fine

"This was June’s pick for #patiosandpagesyyc Bookclub for the theme of published posthumously. Now I love a true crime as much as the next guy but this one was a bit strange for me because it was a “random” person writing about it. Our author got super involved in the case and actually helped them solve it in the end. I probably should have wrote my review sooner to finishing it because remember nothing lol so if that tells you anything 😬. I’d maybe recommend it if it’s a case you’re interested in but I’m sure there’s also other books written about it as well."

Justine V. (3/5)

Excellent

"Couldnt put down! Highly recommend to anyone fascinated by true crime"

Karq (5/5)

One of the best true crime books I've read

"I'll Be Gone In The Dark is by far one of my favourite true crime books. Michelle McNamara did an amazing job writing it and her early passing before finishing the book and seeing the criminal she chased for so long to finally go behind bars is a tragedy. Amazing read, true dedication."

Jasper W. (5/5)

Highly Recommend

"amazing book taking you on the journey to find the GSK"

Nikki (5/5)

Great book!

"Excellent read!! This lady worked so hard to solve the crime! Highly recommend this book!"

Ruth G. (5/5)

Fantastic book

"Great read! Excellently written and you do find out who the killer is contrary to what the prologue says (which was a huge surprise and made me very happy at the end!)"

Kate (5/5)

Great book

"I couldn’t put this book down. Crime books are not the usual type of book that I read but this one was exceptional. I definitely recommend this book."

Nancy (5/5)

Creepy, Excellent Read

"This is one of those books that was too creepy to read by myself at night, but also so incredibly well researched and written that I couldn't put it down. It's a haunting quest for truth and justice -- a thirty-year-old search for the Golden State Killer. And if you like true crime reads, I'd definitely recommend it."

Lizz (4/5)

Amazing! Michelle McNamara was truly amazing!

"I was put onto this book from the podcast """"My Favorite Murder"""" and they did not oversell! McNamara was an amazing storyteller and provided such insight into the victims. Highly recommend if you like true crime!"

Keilani (5/5)

Read In The Light

"I am a HUGE true crime fan. I started in on this genre when I was 14 with Helter Skelter. What sets this title apart is McNamara's deep empathy for the EARS/ONS victims. It's one thing to be a dark passenger to gory details, it's another to really understand the full impact of violent crime. It is even darker to think the Golden State's killers last victim, which could be argued, was McNamara. Did he read her work? What would've happen if she was able to finish her book? I am so appreciative that Oswalt and Harper Collins finished what she started. This is definite must read for anyone who enjoys this genre. Her works legacy brought a killer into the light and closure for so many."

Bettys C. (4/5)

Q&A

  • Published date: Feb 26, 2019
  • Language: English
  • No. of Pages: 368
  • Publisher: HarperCollins
  • ISBN: 9780062319791
  • Dimensions: 5.31" W x 0.86" L x 8.0" H

“This book just knocked me over.” - Megan Abbott

“What readers need to know—what makes this book so special—is that it deals with two obsessions, one light and one dark. The Golden State Killer is the dark half; Michelle McNamara’s is the light half. It’s a journey into two minds, one sick and disordered, the other intelligent and determined. I loved this book.”   - Stephen King

“Unputdownable.... Powerful.” - Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air

“This is a one sit-down read. That’s how riveting it is. Very few writers have the skill to bring a decades-old cold case to life; in these pages, Michelle McNamara has not only successfully resuscitated the fascinating case of the Golden State Killer, but done so with humanity, insight, and grace.” - Michael Connelly

“Remarkable.... A modern true crime classic.” - Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Impressive.” - Booklist, starred review

“A powerful portrait of the scale of the Golden State Killer’s crimes, of the mechanics of criminal investigations, of the strange particular dread and paranoia in the California in the 1970s, and of McNamara’s own obsession with violent men, and this one violent man.” - San Francisco Chronicle

“Remarkable… The detective’s nose for the crucial clue transmutes so easily into a novelist’s eye for the concrete detail that conjures a memory or emotion. She applies the same gift to a handful of portraits of people affected by the killer’s crimes.... These read like fragments from Raymond Carver stories, tales of ordinary lives fractured by incomprehensible violence. Had she lived, McNamara might have helped identify the man who committed that violence, but before she died, she did something nearly as miraculous: making them all live again in some small way.” - Laura Miller, Slate

“Narrative true crime journalism at its very finest, a complex, multilayered, chilling portrait of a faceless monster, and a remarkable tribute to the woman who, up until her last day, believed she would one day have him in her crosshairs.”   - Village Voice

“The work has many notable qualities — in particular, a penetrating and elegiac voice.” - Seattle Times

“Any true crime project is basically a reckoning with death, but in this case, it’s a reckoning that is no longer theoretical. McNamara is gone. And what’s especially sad about her absence is just how good she was.” - The Portland Mercury

“Both a vivid and meticulous investigation of a twisted predator who terrorized quiet, upper middle-class communities in California for nearly a decade, and a wrenching personal account from a writer who became consumed by her subject.” - Alexandra Alter, New York Times

“Chilling.... Hard to put down.” - Minneapolis Star Tribune

“What makes McNamara’s work so compelling is her empathy and sensitivity toward the people touched by these crimes.... I wish I could read the next 10 books she would have written.” - Kate Tuttle, Los Angeles Times

“A singular, fascinating read. It’s lifelike in its incompletion... a posthumous treasure that feels thrillingly alive. A-” - Entertainment Weekly

“Breathtaking, ambitious, and exquisitely written.” - New York

“Michelle McNamara was an obsessive. She was also a damn good writer. That combustive mix has produced I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, a dark page-turner.... Scintillating.” - USA Today

“Utterly gripping.” - People

“Both a vivid and meticulous investigation of a twisted predator who terrorized quiet, upper middle-class communities in California for nearly a decade, and a wrenching personal account from a writer who became consumed by her subject.” - New York Times

“That the book feels triumphant even after tragedy upon tragedy is a testament to McNamara’s skill as a reporter.” - Esquire, “The 25 Best True Crime Books Every Person Should Read”

Michelle McNamara (1970–2016) was the author of the website True Crime Diary. She earned an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Minnesota, and had sold television pilots to ABC and Fox and a screenplay to Paramount. She also worked as a consultant for Dateline NBC. She lived in Los Angeles and is survived by her husband, Patton Oswalt, and their daughter, Alice.

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