Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

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

16 reviews

lauraportalupi's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

2.75

Eh. The last few sections probably lowered my rating. Also, there are some disturbing and problematic uses of language related assault and mental health that should never have made it to print. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, Death, Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, and Misogyny

chealey14's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Murder, and Sexual assault

Minor: Death of parent

lakinlindsey's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Death, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail

alisonfaith426's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Stalking

Moderate: Classism, Mental illness, and Sexual content

miggyfool's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Rape, Blood, Gore, Grief, and Sexism

weird_but_fucking_beautiful's review

dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

3.5

I appreciate Michelle’s persistence and dogged determination that she devoted in her later life in the pursuit and capture of the man she dubbed the Golden State Killer. The beginning of this book reads like a novel, it is both engrossing and chilling. It is as it gets pieced together by others through her case notes that it loses its grip and became a dry textbook narrative.  I mean no detriment to the wonderful folks who stepped in on Michelle’s behalf to finish this book. It just shows what an amazing talent she had for story telling and what a lasting gift Michelle gave the world through her writing. I am a huge proponent for “ the book is always better”, but in this case I enjoyed the HBO series far more. 

 

I’d like to express my deepest condolences to the McNamara/Oswalt families. Michelle would’ve been beyond thrilled to see that the jaws of justice finally snapped shut around the neck of GSK’s reign of terror and anonymity… 

somehow though I think she already knows. 

Rest easy gentle and sweet lady.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Stalking

faithaforman's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious medium-paced

5.0

Incredible read that is both informative and powerful. The book delves into not only the dark deeds of the GSK, but also the authors foundational experience with true crime and her admitted obsession with seeing the GSK identified and hopefully brought to justice. The stories of the crimes are not just goeg details, but humanizing portraits of normal people who went through something terrible. I cannot recommend tho book enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Stalking

oldladysadie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

A haunting and intensely reflective read. I read the updated edition with appendices related to the GSK’s subsequent arrest, and highly recommend it. Patton Oswalt’s afterword and postscript brought tears to my eyes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Stalking, Violence, and Rape

Moderate: Misogyny

kingrosereads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

True crime book depicting the crimes and investigation of the Golden State Killer that terrorized Californians from San Francisco to Los Angelos from 1976 to 1986. At the time the book was published, these crimes were unsolved. 

This book was also a memoir of author, Michelle McNamara, who died in the pursuit of uncovering GSK’s identity. McNamara died in 2016 before her book was completed and before the Golden State Killer, Joseph DeAngelo, was arrested in 2018. Researcher, Paul Haynes, and investigative journalist, Billy Jensen, finished the book for McNamara with an afterword from her husband, Patton Oswalt, and updated news articles about the capture and arrest of Joseph DeAngelo. 

McNamara coined his moniker, Golden State Killer. Originally, he was known as the East Area Rapist (EAR) when he raped over 50 people, and then would become known as the Original Night Stalker (ONS) when he killed over a dozen people. It’s 21st century technology that connected the rapes of EAR with the murders of ONS. There wasn’t two offenders, just one, and he’d become known as EAR-ONS until McNamara renames him. 

I truly loved this book, and I know that’s a weird thing to say, but it was genuinely good, addictive even. I watched the HBO docuseries two years ago and it very subtly creeped me out. It wasn’t until I tried to sleep that night that I realized how anxious I was. I kept getting up to check the door was locked without thinking why I had the urge to do so. The same with this book. There were a couple of nights I triple checked the locks or thought I heard a noise. And it’s not just the crimes of GSK that have me unsettled, and trust me, the crimes are truly at a level 100 on the creep factor, but it’s the way McNamara writes the book. The several times she addresses the killer himself, a man without a face for her, just had the hairs on my neck standing up. I’ve listened to a few true crime podcasts on this case and even discussed it in my undergrad studies, none of those elicited this response. It’s all McNamara and her incredible ability to tell a story. 

It was already creepy as it was, but I wished it contained more of what he did before he attacked these people and also highlight the survivors. The main focus was on the investigation and the investigators which I thought was a great take instead of hyper-focusing on the crimes themselves. It feels respectful to the victims and the survivors while educating the public on the events and investigation, while getting across the urgency to help find this killer. 

I also think the memoir chapters added something special to this book. It helped me to connect to McNamara and even the other investigators (law enforcement and civilian) on the case. 

It was hard to put down. Completely riveting and an excellent example of true crime reporting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Death, Sexual violence, Child death, Blood, Murder, Rape, Sexual content, Misogyny, Confinement, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Stalking, Torture, and Gun violence

erikawynn's review

dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

1.0

This is alllllllll about the cops on the case and not at all about the victims and it’s entirely uncritical about the policing involved, even when describing some disturbing victim-blaming. In the afterword, Patton Oswald even writes that Michelle McNamara had “a true cop’s heart and mind.” I’m not a big true crime fan but have been impressed by some victim-centered takes on the genre (like the podcast Truer Crime) and this book was everything I dislike about the genre.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Death, Blood, Violence, Rape, Murder, Torture, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, and Stalking

Moderate: Racism