I'll Be Gone in the Dark

Far from a typical true-crime recitation of facts and interviews with investigators, this is the very human story of an admirably obsessed woman's quest for the truth and justice. The facts and figures are still there, but McNamara's determination to identify the killer with no name, save for the nickname she tagged to him, is the real and highly intriguing story here.

“You'll be silent forever, and I'll be gone in the dark,” you threatened a victim once. Open the door. Show us your face. Walk into the light. - Michelle McNamara, I'll Be Gone in the Dark

This book hit me hard. I remember exactly where I was when I heard the Golden State Killer was arrested. I was in the library, working on an assignment at the time. I decided to take a short break and it was all over twitter— “Golden State Killer caught after 25 years” My heart was in my throat— I was elated. In fact, I remember making a noise quite loudly and saying something like “ohmygodnowaynowaynoway” Yes, people turned to stare.

And then I cried for about fifteen minutes. Full on sobbed. Mind you, I live half a world away and I wasn't alive when his crimes took place. So, I have no personal connection to this case. Yet, I couldn't help but feel an immense amount of relief and a sense of justice for the victims and their families.

I have nothing but good things to say about this book. It was written in a way that was accessible and informative at the same time. McNamara's writing style was great and often chilling. A really good read for fans of true crime.

Summary: Michelle McNamara lays out the facts surrounding the crimes of and investigation into the Golden State Killer (a name the author herself gave the criminal who had been known as both the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker before DNA evidence revealed that these were, in fact, the same person).

I'm definitely the minority in this one. Though certainly not a fault of this book, it was very unenjoyable for me because so much of it talked about possible methods of hunting the culprit down, and when I'm reading this that had already happened. Obviously, that's not the book's fault, but by the end I felt like I hadn't taken anything new away. Also, I think I'm the only person who isn't a fan of the writing of this book. I'm not sure if it's because of how it had to be pieced together, but it felt very jumpy and all over the place and I frequently had to reread to figure out how we got to talking about a topic so suddenly. Just not for me.

 Cristo santo. No me esperaba que fuese tan duro de leer. Es true crime bien hecho, sin romantizar al responsable, narrando siempre desde la perspectiva de la victima. Lo único que no me gustó, pero que no hay con qué darle, fue la falta de edición, totalmente entendible considerando que la autora falleció durante la investigación y esto no es algo que puede venir Brandon Sanderson a terminar. Es una historia real sobre un caso que todavía no se cerró. La puerta está abierta para que cualquier persona pueda acercarse e intentar ayudar a descifrar quién carajos fue este joputa. 

Michelle McNamara was a dogged researcher. I think anyone would be hard-pressed to say that her research, determination, and the fact that she even coined the name Golden State Killer didn't play a role in his eventual arrest. I'm sorry she didn't live to see it.

As an aside, I read Billy Jensen's book, Chase Darkness with Me, just prior to reading Michelle's. They were friends and he makes many mentions of Michelle and the GSK case in his book. If you enjoy this book, I'd highly recommend Jensen's.