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A review by itshrewsbury
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
4.25
Part memoir, part true crime story, “I’ll be gone in the dark” was a very interesting audiobook. Listening to this book was like listening to a 10 hour long true crime podcast, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. More than anything, this book made me think about our relationship to true crime as a genre. McNamara is a great example of how non-professionals can have great passion and reach when it comes to getting things done. Though McNamara did not reveal anything in her book that led to the eventual capture of the EAR/GSK, her coining of his nickname, her relentless drive to get the case solved, kept it alive in the minds of many, and that can mean all the world of difference when it comes to getting cold cases solved. However, consumption of true crime has increasingly made me uncomfortable, especially these large heinous cases. That said, I can tell McNamara put a lot of effort into making the victims stand out, rather than their murderer and abuser. So really, mixed emotions haha
I can really feel Truman Capote’s influence in the way McNamara writes.
It’s insanely tragic that McNamara dedicated so much of her time, energy, and effort to the case, just to pass before her book could be finished and the killer revealed, and sadly, for me, the book suffers because of that. However, i think it takes a very special person to get so many people to come together after your death to make sure your passion, your work, is put out there in the end. And given the forward, the afterword, and the editor’s note chapters, she was that v special person.
I can remember when the GSK was found, a grandpa now, hiding amongst the middle class of California. I had listened to a much less in-depth podcast about his crimes and about two weeks later, an update was issued by the podcast detailing his capture thanks to DNA tracing and databases. Which, point to McNamara, she believed DNA evidence would be his downfall eventually.
I can really feel Truman Capote’s influence in the way McNamara writes.
It’s insanely tragic that McNamara dedicated so much of her time, energy, and effort to the case, just to pass before her book could be finished and the killer revealed, and sadly, for me, the book suffers because of that. However, i think it takes a very special person to get so many people to come together after your death to make sure your passion, your work, is put out there in the end. And given the forward, the afterword, and the editor’s note chapters, she was that v special person.
I can remember when the GSK was found, a grandpa now, hiding amongst the middle class of California. I had listened to a much less in-depth podcast about his crimes and about two weeks later, an update was issued by the podcast detailing his capture thanks to DNA tracing and databases. Which, point to McNamara, she believed DNA evidence would be his downfall eventually.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Torture, Murder