I'LL BE GONE IN THE DARK: ONE WOMAN'S OBSESSIVE SEARCH FOR THE GOLDEN STATE KILLER by Michelle McNamara

 

As a true crime aficionado (which sounds very strange to anyone who doesn’t read true crime because why would you enjoy reading about people being killed?) I had heard of The Golden State Killer aka The East Area Rapist aka The Original Night Stalker. Not only did this guy have a lot of victims, he also had a lot of aliases. Having lived in southern California for a number of years, the case was often revisited in the local media and newspapers on anniversaries of the attacks and/or deaths and I followed them. Investigation Discovery also did a “documentary” on the rapist-murderer, as well as many other true crime programs.  So of course I wanted to read Ms. McNamara's book. 

Unlike some, or most, true crime books, this one does not progress in a chronological order. For instance, it starts with a 1981 murder rather than the actual start of the crime spree in the 1970s. The book continues to jump around, from the 1970s and 1980s to present day, throughout the book. If you prefer things orderly, this may upset you. If you don’t have an issue with the order of things, it may still be confusing. (Raising my hand here.)

This is obviously not a spoiler since it happened in 2016, but Ms. McNamara died before she finished the book. At times, the writing seemed disjointed, and I attribute that to her early death. Some of the chapters do end or begin with notations that the verbage was taken from her notes, which were more of a draft, and it does read that way in part.

This also shouldn’t be a spoiler, given the book’s publication date compared with the suspect arrest, but there is no true ending. The case was still officially unsolved at publication meaning a somewhat unsatisfactory ending. For some readers, that’s a no-go.

My biggest issue with I’ll Be Gone In The Dark is that it fizzled for me by the halfway point. The reading just felt laborious and I caught myself alternating between speed reading (to get to “the good stuff”) and my mind wandering.

Not that there weren't positive points on the book. I appreciated that Ms. McNamara excellently explained not only how the perpetrator got away with so many assaults for so many years but, as a reader, plopped you down in the Sacramento area circa 1970s. She also shared facts about the cases that had not been previously disclosed, again helping the reader to understand the nature of the time, place and attacks.

One of my greatest pet peeves about true crime writing is the negligence of the author to make the victims into real people rather than just a list of deceased persons. Ms. McNamara does reveal characteristics of the victims, good and bad, showing their humanity. She also writes of the domino effect the rapes and murders have on the survivors – – marriages destroyed, family members left devastated, without justice for their loved ones.

I greatly admire Michelle McNamara. She was a lifelong writer and she also wrote a true crime blog (True Crime Diary), so her passion was real. She was definitely a ride-or-die chick. (Heck, look at the byline of her book: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer.) To say she threw herself into this investigation 100% is no understatement. She lived and breathed this case, which couldn’t have been easy. By the way, she is also the person who coined the nickname “Golden State Killer.”

However, while I’ll Be Gone In The Dark has some solid parts and its publication was timely, given that the killer was arrested shortly afterward, I was left disappointed. I felt the book had the potential to be smashing, and a wonderful tribute to Ms. McNamara, but it fell short. Perhaps having the book organized into chronological order would have changed my view. I’m conflicted on this one because Ms. McNamara is a good writer and she tackles a fascinating subject but this one just didn’t work for me.

The book's summary claims the book is destined to become a true crime classic but I must disagree. It simply cannot be put in the same category as Helter Skelter, Fatal Vision or many of Ann Rule’s single-case books. I also don’t feel that In Cold Blood is a classic so maybe I just have no idea.

I'll Be Gone In The Dark is available for purchase at major booksellers and via Audible, if audiobooks are your thing.

FTC Disclosure:  I obtained this book at my local public library.  I was neither paid nor compensated for this review.