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Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
14 reviews
teganbeesebooks's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Sexual violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Murder, Stalking, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Violence
notlikethebeer's review
3.25
Something I've heard about this book, and part of the reason I wanted to read it, is that it's meant to be very victim-centric, in a way that true crime often is not. There definitely was a lot of space given to the victims, including narratives of their life before they became victims. However, I don't know whether I'd describe the victims as being centered as such. McNamara was definitely eager to talk about gory details. And that has made me question, even more, whether victims CAN be centered within the true crime genre.
I think, as well, I would have liked some more reflexivity. McNamara was so caught up in this "mystery", and at times she talked a little about the desire to know, the urge to solve a puzzle. I also appreciated that she thought a little about her own experiences, and their relevance. However I never really understood why this "story" in particular, or why to such an intensity.
On that note, it's hard not to read IBGITD and wonder a little about McNamara's life, and the others in her life. I wonder what her daughter's autobiography might read like: whether she feels she even got to share her mother with this obsession. It IS an obsession, that clearly infiltrated every part of her life. Of course, I'm an outsider, but it does seem that it wasn't to a healthy degree. I'm struck by the knowledge that McNamara is believed to have died from an accidental overdose from various drugs. I wonder how much of her obsessive drive to solve a mystery she initially had no stake in lead to that. It's easy, in reading IBGITD, to wonder whether there is any harm in 'civilians' becoming involved in investigations, if they have the skills and can genuinely provide a benefit. Thinking about McNamara's lack of boundaries is just one example of the harms this can bring (note, just one!).
I will allow that we don't know whether this was the book McNamara wanted to write. We can hope, and trust, that it was. But we don't know. And that makes it difficult to critique. However, I came to this hoping for something that might humanize the true crime genre a little more: that might provide me with some of the understanding I seek in myself, as well as more broadly. I came away largely empty-handed.
Graphic: Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, and Torture
lauren_drinkard's review against another edition
3.75
Moderate: Kidnapping, Stalking, Sexual assault, and Murder
roach_okay's review
4.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
perfectcupoftea's review
3.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Torture, Gun violence, Drug use, Death, and Kidnapping
polarbearisla's review
4.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, Rape, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Torture, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence
kkalicky94's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Rape, Grief, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Confinement, and Emotional abuse
nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Murder and Rape
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Stalking, Violence, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual violence
Minor: Pedophilia, Kidnapping, and Animal death
vanesst's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Death, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Body horror, and Stalking
Moderate: Torture, Gun violence, and Blood
Minor: Animal cruelty and Kidnapping
slutforhotwings's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Blood, Death, Torture, Stalking, Sexual violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, and Gun violence