I'll Be Gone in the Dark

Michelle McNamara's posthumously-published “I'll Be Gone in the Dark” has been on a hold list at the library for months. Argh, the wait! The excellent introduction by Gillian Flynn of “Gone Girl” fame ratcheted up my anticipation of a roller coaster ride.

Here we have a woman a few years older than me from the Chicago area who ended up in California, whereas I'm from California and live outside Chicago. Tenuous, but a connection that drew me in even more.

And the first few chapters delivered. Ms. McNamara did an excellent job deceiving her interest in solving crimes at a young age and how she became enmeshed in unraveling the identity of the East Area Rapist, Visalia Ransacker, and Original Night Stalker, later dubbed the much-snappier Golden State Killer by the author.

There are many moments the author's attention to detail combined with the ability to describe people and events that brings you right into the houses of the taped and murdered Californians. Yet, what brought the book's quality down was the uneven pacing and major holes and reporting of certain portions that likely would have been evened out had Ms. McNamara not died unexpectedly while working on this book. I applaud her husband, Patton Oswalt, for bringing his wife's partially-finished work to the reading public. Had the author had a chance to complete the book, it certainly would have been a 4- or 5- star book.

What is most satisfying is that the target may have been found through DNA research and the author's investigative work, along with other co-investigators like Paul Haynes, who helped to fill in a few sections. While the authorities may not be able to prosecute the suspect for around 100 burglaries and 45 rapes, they may be able to punish him for 13 murders. If DeAngelo is ultimately proven to have committed all of the crimes, will we find out why he started the Visalia ransacking shortly after he was married in 1973 and will we find out what made him stop in 1986? Or, did he take on a different approach? Perhaps, we won't get the answer to those questions, but Ms. McNamara would be pleased that she played a role in bringing him in.