A masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer – the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorised California for over a decade – from Michelle McNamara, the gifted journalist who died tragically while investigating the case.
‘You’ll be silent forever, and I’ll be gone in the dark.’
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. Framed by an introduction by Gillian Flynn and an afterword by her husband, Patton Oswalt, the book was completed by Michelle’s lead researcher and a close colleague. Utterly original and compelling, it is destined to become a true crime classic – and may at last unmask the Golden State Killer.
Isn’t it unbelievable that a person is able to stay undetected for so many years while he attacked more than 50 people in their homes and even escalated to murder? Well sadly this is the incredible but true story of the Golden State Killer, although he goes by a few other names as well in his early days such as the East Area Rapist or the Night Stalker.
After a very impressive introduction by Gillian Flynn I wanted to dive right in and see for myself what an unsurmountable task Michelle took upon herself. It was clear right away from the huge listing of places where he attacked that she had made an immense engagement to write this novel and to try and propel the investigation forwards.
I didn’t quite know what to expect of this novel, written by a woman who ploughed through so many documents, testimonials and notes but sadly passed away in her sleep before she could finish the story she had started. What I discovered from the parts she left behind was an intriguing portrait of the man responsible for so much grief over such a long period of time. Case after case passed before my eyes and it became clear how illusive this man is. What makes it even weirder is that even though there were many encounters with him – and we know it’s him because he has some particular markers of the things he does and pretty specific habits – his persona remains ever so vague. One time he’s described as blond haired, another time he has brown hair.. I couldn’t really get a good image of him in my head nor get a grip on who he is and what drives him. He’s really just as slippery as an eel and an important factor why he was able to stay out of the hands of the police for so long must have been because he was clever enough to expand his territory so it spanned several states. In those days there wasn’t a computer system yet that could detect the same MO in crimes over state borders and finger printing methods were also near non-existent, which became painfully obvious from this novel.
Where the first part of the novel was mostly a historical overview where I could feel the desperation that this perpetrator couldn’t be found, the second part of the novel was more hopeful and it shone a light on possible suspects, letting me scrutinize every morsel of additional information that was offered. Thoughts and ideas are tossed around and shared with the reader, even if dismissed subsequently. It was fascinating to read what possibilities there were and which loose ends needed more work. Michelle had interviews with retired detectives, went around to look at old crime scenes and her obsession for the investigation is almost palpable.
As much as this is a quest to find the Golden State Killer, it is also one to find out who Michele McNamera is and I think at least that last part was achieved. The novel didn’t feel finished and it really isn’t all neatly wrapped up and organised, but it gives a pretty good idea of all the work Michelle already did and what she was working on and you can feel what could have been if she had had the chance to continue her hard work.
I’ll Be Gone In The Dark is a novel that is begging to be discussed among readers and true crime lovers and I’m positive new ideas and courses of action will find root from this work. There are no set answers in the end but at least this novel will make sure that it is not put to rest and new energy can be drawn from this laborous oeuvre.
I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
What a shame she wasn’t able to finish it.
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It’s definitely a shame but I’m afraid it was sort of her downfall as well… I read that she took pills for anxiety and to be able to sleep and I wonder if this wasn’t getting to her too much and is the ultimate cause. So sad to think that he could have made another victim like this.
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I am very excited to read this book! I am trying not to look at too many reviews because I want to experience it blindly if that makes sense.
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Of course! I’m also very interested to hear your thoughts on this!
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Great review!
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Thanks!
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I was reading your reply to Eva above and wow! What a sad situation indeed. I had always known of this case as the Nightstalker I believe. I may add this to the stacks as I am a bit of a true crime erm I cannot say fan, because that is not appropriate.. but well I explore the area often. Great review Inge ❤
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It really is a tragedy. It’s just unreal how much work she took upon herself and I really believe it’s easy to be totally caught up in your research and all the different leads that you can follow. It is indeed very sad that she could not finish her masterpiece. Thank you love!
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It’s so good to see a True Crime book popping up on everyone’s blog, usually fiction books reign in popularity. Great review – this one is on my wishlist for sure 🙂
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I know, I was really pleased with the offer to read this one :-). I might be willing to swap, perhaps… Thank you Janel!
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Ooo what would tempt you to swap??
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I’m tempted to say send me anything, I think you know what I like and what not, but I don’t know… I have a few that I’m looking for, mentioned on my swap page on FB (English Books-Engelse Boeken) @bookwormsdream, but other than that everything that’s in my shelfari-wishlist on Goodreads would be pretty great.
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I’ve got three from your shelfari list (Little Sister, The Birdwatcher & Freedoms Child) I’d be happy to send more than one in exchange for it as it’s a new release?? I haven’t read two of them but I’d read them ASAP to swap 😊
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I’m going to DM you on Twitter 😉
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Fantastic Review as always, Inge! I am definitely going to try this one out because of your fantastic review!❤
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Thanks Dani!!
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You’re welcome!!😍
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Fab review! I’m definitely curious about this true crime story now… A shame she wasn’t able to finish her investigation, although I do understand how difficult it has to be to look into something that dark and disturbing.
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I think the biggest problem was the mass of documents and seperate investigations, any other person would have given up or not started it because of the massive amount to work through, she didn’t however and you can really feel her passion throughout this novel.
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Oh, I’d not heard of this book but it sounds really good. Great review!
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Thanks for commenting and the compliment ! xxx
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I have just finished this and it was so good – really dug at the twisted relationship between perpetrators and those who dedicate their lives to hunting them.
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Oh I’m so happy to hear from someone who’s read it too! It really is an impressive novel huh.. I think everyone will admire what Michelle had taken upon her. I’d be overwhelmed but she just dug in there.
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Amazing review, Inge. This is exactly the kind of true crime that I’d love to pick up from time to time. It seems to be well-written and thoroughly researched. Definitely adding it to my TBR. Thanks for sharing! ❤
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There’s no denying that you notice it was a work in progress this book, it’s not as clean and coherent as she’d have written it if she had had the chance, but it was still very interesting to read. Thank you Lashaan!
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Great review Inge. I have read reports about The Nights Stalker. This book intrigues me because I would like to know more about the case and also because of the author’s demise and her impact in telling the story. Sounds like a great read.
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I didn’t know anything about the guy before I started it but it didn’t have an impact on the reading. You’ll be able to read another review of this on Keeper of Pages blog soon, so keep an eye out ;-). Thank you Diana!
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Sounds fascinating!
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Thank you Lindsay!
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Thank you!!
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