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

Michelle McNamara,

Gillian Flynn (Introduction)

Start date: March 1, 2020

Finish date: March 29, 2020

Discussion: Monthly Group Reads

Why we're reading this: The topic is True Crime.

I'll Be Gone in the Dark One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer…more
[close] The topic is True Crime.

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

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What Members Thought

Aug 18, 2018 JanB rated it it was amazing

Edited on 8/28/18 to add that filming is in progress on a Docu-Series based on this book. It seems to be in very good hands:
https://www.hbo.com/hbo-news/ill-be-g...

By now most of us know the Golden State Killer, Joseph DeAngelo, has been caught and is awaiting trial. But few of us know the story behind the story. Michelle McNamara was an investigative journalist who created and operated the web site, True Crime Diary, where true crime aficionados discussed cold cases, and were dogged in their de Edited on 8/28/18 to add that filming is in progress on a Docu-Series based on this book. It seems to be in very good hands:
https://www.hbo.com/hbo-news/ill-be-g...

By now most of us know the Golden State Killer, Joseph DeAngelo, has been caught and is awaiting trial. But few of us know the story behind the story. Michelle McNamara was an investigative journalist who created and operated the web site, True Crime Diary, where true crime aficionados discussed cold cases, and were dogged in their determination to pursue criminals.

But one case evaded investigators and police for decades: the rapist turned killer, dubbed The Golden State Killer (GSK) by Michelle. He was responsible for crime sprees across the state from 1974 to 1986, and known by various nicknames before police realized the crimes were committed by the same man.

This was the case that haunted Michelle McNamara, the one that interrupted family gatherings and holidays, the one that kept her up until the wee hours of the morning pursuing leads. No lead was too small or seemingly insignificant. To call it an obsession would not be an overstatement. Her motivation? To seek justice for the victims and put this rapist/killer behind bars. We get revealing glimpses into Michelle and her life through these pages.

The brutality of the GSK is the stuff of nightmares but Michelle McNamara wrote with sensitivity, avoiding some of the grisly details out of respect for the victims and their families. Her objective was not to titillate the reader, but to apprehend the criminal. This objectivity in her writing made reading this book much easier.

It’s unbearably sad that Michelle McNamara passed away at such a young age, leaving behind her loving husband and young daughter. She was not able to finish the book, but her husband put together a team with her researcher Paul Haynes and crime journalist Billy Jensen to finish the book, and do it in a way where Michelle’s voice shone through.

At publication, the case was still unsolved. It is fascinating reading the theories and clues that were explored, now, when we know who he is and have 20/20 hindsight. How this guy evaded police and investigators for so long would be difficult to believe in a work of fiction, but data sharing, forensics, and DNA evidence have come a long way since the 1970s. Michelle was convinced that they had all the evidence needed to catch him and it would be solved through technology. She was 100% correct.

• Read with The Traveling Friends reading group here on Goodreads. As always, our discussions enhanced the reading experience. ...more

93 likes · Like · see review

Jul 25, 2018 Barbara rated it really liked it

Shelves: bayb-2018

Michelle McNamara was an armchair detective/true crime writer who spent almost a decade trying to unmask the rapist/murderer she dubbed the 'Golden State Killer.' McNamara died in 2016, before she could finish her manuscript about the slayer, but Michelle's husband - the actor/comedian Patton Oswalt - arranged for the book to be completed from his wife's copious notes and the magazine articles she'd published.

Patton Oswalt and Michelle McNamara

According to Wikipedia, California's Golden State K ...more

89 likes · Like · see review

Sep 15, 2018 Stacey rated it it was amazing

An unidentified man has committed 120 burglaries, 50 sexual assaults and 10 murders in the state of California during the 70’s and 80’s and seemingly disappeared. Michelle McNamara has dubbed him the Golden State Killer. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark details her obsession and passion with true crime and relentless effort to catch up with this elusive killer.

This was more than a book of documentation of research. It was a memoir of sorts. I felt a connection with Michelle as wrote about her personal l ...more

37 likes · Like · see review

Jun 30, 2018 Wendy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5000-books, wom-2018, jun-18

The haunting true story of the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorized California during the 70's and 80's and of the gifted journalist who died tragically while investigating the case - which was solved in April 2018.
A must read for fans of true crime!
Including a wonderful introduction by Gillian Flynn. ...more

16 likes · Like · see review

May 13, 2018 Melissa Rochelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, ebook, read-2018

I've rediscovered my interest in serial killers (everyone goes through this phase, right?). I enjoyed how this was more about the author's need to know more than following the killer. But I also CANNOT WAIT to see how everything ties together with the life of the man that's been arrested for these heinous crimes. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Aug 21, 2018 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

4.5 stars.

4 likes · Like · see review

Jun 27, 2018 Kathleen rated it liked it

Shelves: true-crime

Well, it really depends what you are after. Do you want to know about the killer and his capture? or Do you want to know about McNamara's obsession. If the former, I think you will be frustrated, but her writing style is, if not top-shelf, nearly there. If the latter go for it. We listened to it on a road trip and so we could not look at the maps and list of characters as often as I'd like. That may account for some of the confusion. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 03, 2018 Kris rated it really liked it

I went through a true crime reading phase in high school. But then it got too hard. I couldn’t stop thinking about how these were real lives and it was overwhelming. I decided to pick this one up, though. I heard about it after the author’s tragic death because I am a fan of Patton Oswalt.

I wish she could have finished it herself. I wish she could have seen him captured. McNamara writes true crime in the way it should be written. It is respectful and not at all exploitive. It is well-written and ...more

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