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

Written by Michelle McNamara

Narrated by Gabra Zackman, Gillian Flynn and Patton Oswalt

THE BASIS FOR THE MAJOR 6-PART HBO® DOCUMENTARY SERIES

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR:

Washington Post | Maureen Corrigan, NPR | Paste | Seattle Times | Entertainment Weekly | Esquire | Slate | Buzzfeed | Jezebel | Philadelphia Inquirer | Publishers Weekly | Kirkus Reviews | Library Journal | Bustle 

Winner of the Goodreads Choice Awards for Nonfiction | Anthony Award Winner | SCIBA Book Award Winner | Finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime | Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence

The haunting true story of the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorized California during the 70s and 80s, and of the gifted journalist who died tragically while investigating the case—which was solved in April 2018.

 The haunting true story of the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorized California for over a decade—and of the gifted journalist who died tragically while investigating the case.

Introduction by Gillian Flynn • Afterword by Patton Oswalt

“A brilliant genre-buster.... Propulsive, can’t-stop-now reading.”   —Stephen King

For more than ten years, a mysterious and violent predator committed fifty sexual assaults in Northern California before moving south, where he perpetrated ten sadistic murders. Then he disappeared, eluding capture by multiple police forces and some of the best detectives in the area.

Three decades later, Michelle McNamara, a true crime journalist who created the popular website TrueCrimeDiary.com, was determined to find the violent psychopath she called ""the Golden State Killer."" Michelle pored over police reports, interviewed victims, and embedded herself in the online communities that were as obsessed with the case as she was.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark—the masterpiece McNamara was writing at the time of her sudden death—offers an atmospheric snapshot of a moment in American history and a chilling account of a criminal mastermind and the wreckage he left behind. It is also a portrait of a woman’s obsession and her unflagging pursuit of the truth. Utterly original and compelling, it is destined to become a true crime classic—and may at last unmask the Golden State Killer.

Cover Art 2020 © Home Box Office, Inc. All Rights Reserved. HBO is service marks of Home Box Office, Inc.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Feb 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9780062798695

Michelle McNamara

Michelle McNamara (1970–2016) was the author of the website True Crime Diary. She earned an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Minnesota, and had sold television pilots to ABC and Fox and a screenplay to Paramount. She also worked as a consultant for Dateline NBC. She lived in Los Angeles and is survived by her husband, Patton Oswalt, and their daughter, Alice.

Reviews for I'll Be Gone in the Dark

[Robert Lopez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Where can I find the supplemental materials for this title?

[Beth Welshons · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is true crime at its best. Did NOT like the narrator.

[Brandy Churchill · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing insite into a horrific series of crimes, so happy that he has been caught.

[Abhiram · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Its really great and i would really appretiate the writter Michelle McNamara for such a wonderful story

[Matthew · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow. That was very good.
Very. Very. Good. And timely.

[Cristina Sousa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Um livro fantástico, que merece ser lido e celebrado. Amazing!

[Ledah Maphalala · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Michelle died,but behind her death remains indeed a great mark of inspiration to many.

[Amanda N Harder · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic. They did such a great job taking her partly finished work and putting it together so beautifully. Narrator did a great job reading.

[Lynne Wiesman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Michelle was a great writer and so thankful that her life's work was finished!

[Steve lind · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent book, very well written. totally kept me engaged at all times. The reader's voice was an easy listen as well.

[Sammy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

first off this book was well written. it's point of view is personal rather than technical, like the Atlantic as apposed to Bloomberg, but not so personal as the New Yorker. it's a good place to be, especially as the killer was identified a couple years later using a technique hardly mentioned in the book, identifying someone never mentioned, although some of the identity markers guessed at in the book were correct.

and that's the other thing. I picked up the book knowing that the culprit had been found and enjoyed reading a prospective of detection rather than biography. a true serial killer detective story which was still ongoing! Midway through I read up on the details of the actual killer ( though I find it hard to look at his face) in order to better compare to the books surmises. and that's the thing I mentioned: the author as well as authorities and volunteers spent probably a million hours looking into the case over forty years and in the end added nothing whatsoever to it's solution. all the Holmes and Poirot style sluething added nothing and the case was solved for about a hundred dollars and a one weeks wait.

in conclusion I would read it again, though it's too long by about a third.

good work ? to all involved. I think it wonderful that society will continue to track down cold cases of this sort for over an entire professional career lifetime.

[Olivia Enroos · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My favorite part about this book was how creepy and disturbing it felt to read it. It was a little hard to understand because I felt like there were lots of names and jumping from one thing to another. But nevertheless, a great book!

[Kristin Saybe · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a great book... so heartbreaking to know that Michelle won’t be here to write more.

[Kate Winward · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Michelle’s writing is phenomenal. I got chills at the end.

[Kate Colgan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Michelle’s research, determination and her writing all make this book so good. It’s a horrifying subject and I do like how she doesn’t dwell on the gore and horror as much as the human element. She most definitely helped keep this case in the public eye and it’s a testament to her character that she worked as closely with LE; they don’t usually let the general public get too close. I also loved Patton’s epilogue! Way to go Michelle, you did it, you did help, there’s no doubt in my mind.

[William Stafford · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So well written it was hard to stop reading. Michelle is a wonderful storyteller.

[Coleen Ohm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you are a fan of true crime or an amateur slooth, this is a fantastic book for you to read.

[Courtney Alynne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully written, loved listening to the audio book and listening to Michelle's story she researched for so long. What an amazing woman. I couldn't help but tear up when Patten spoke. Loved this book.

[jershon26 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It’s an interesting read and the writing style is fantastic. The book should be called “Don’t Be Alone in the Dark” because the author in her writing style evokes a feeling of creepiness within the reader (although that’s obviously not her intent). I especially liked the epilogue section, which included Michelle’s final words to the GSK and a wider discussion of the impact of her work on the case.

It’s a good book but I found myself kind of losing interest towards the end with all the details and intricacies of the case. I also felt the structure was all over the place. I’m not convinced her work directly contributed to the GSK’s arrest, but I do agree that her book was instrumental in bringing this case to the public eye after decades of it going cold.

Overall good read and I’d recommend to true crime fans. There are some evil people lurking in the darkest corners of our society, and I think this book reminds us that we should be aware of that fact.

[tess_w · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A true crime story concerning the "Golden State Killer" or "EAR" --east side rapist. I was somewhat disappointed and probably would not have read this book had I known the author died after completing 2/3 of the book. The last 1/3 of the book was undertaken by some friends and mostly just lauded the author's previous work. The book was published 2 months before the killer was arrested; so I actually had to search online to find out about an arrest. 456 pages

[Corey de Rohan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book. Highly recommend. The narrative is full of facts yet reads like a novel.

[Brianna Flores · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So so good. I didn’t expect this to be such an easy and sometimes scary read but Michelle’s writing just sucked you in.

[Maryam · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a brilliant work of investigative journalism, told with great attention to detail, perceptiveness, and most important of all - empathy.
The audiobook was fantastic. Gabra Zackman's voice is soothing and clear. Would highly recommend.

[aug3zimm-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm very mixed on this one. The writing style is really engaging - when it is fully the author's style. The chapters pieced together after her death don't pull me in as much, but they don't disrupt the flow either. It just seems like there are some really great chapters and some okay chapters. But the great chapters are really great. But it didn't work for me with this topic at all.

For a massive, confusing case spanning decades, I need something to help clarify and provide structure. This book was not it. It jumps around too much and felt very disjointed. I think of lot of that is due to the non-linear structure of the book. It goes from the 80s, to the 2000s, to the 70s, to the 90s, to the late 80s, to the early 80s, then to the 90s... I couldn't remember when each case was in relation to other cases and could find no reason why the attacks were presented so out of order.

Of course, the book could also feel disjointed because it was unfinished when the author passed and the editors were just not up to filling in all the blanks. One chapter was particularly jarring - Ventura, 1980. It's a short-ish chapter that ends with a long editor's note that includes The Ventura investigation was unquestionably the most labyrinthine of all the stand-alone investigations. Michelle had planned to cover it at great length, but Ventura is only lightly represented in the book.... For a more complete account of the Smith investigation and the case against Joe Alsip, Colleen Cason’s series “The Silent Witness,” published in the Ventura County Star in November 2002, is an excellent reference.Seriously? I mean, I understand WHY, but seriously? If the editor is just going to throw their hands up and punt like this, then I can too. I read a bit past this chapter but ultimately decided half way through that I wasn't going to finish this book.

So why give a book I did not finish 3-stars? Ironically, for one of the chapters that felt the most out of place to me. It's the chapter about the author - growing up, getting married, being obsessed with true crime, and the original unsolved murder that sparked her interest in the topic. It's one of the longer chapters in the book and appears out of nowhere sandwiched between chapters on GSK attacks. She writes about her relationship with her parents, fighting with her mother at her wedding, random notes her dad has written... Completely out of place. However, this chapter was also one of the more engaging, flowing chapters in the whole book. It was more suited to a biography or a preface (or even fiction) than in the middle of a true crime book, but it was still strikingly well written and engaging for me. If this book had been written on a different topic, something more suited to the random meanderings, I would have been all over simply because of the writing.

But it wasn't, so I'm not.

[aljaira · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The book is totally deserving. I loved them, and I think they are must read. If you have some great stories like this one, you can publish it on Novel Star, just submit your story to [e-mail] or [e-mail]

[Doris Jarquin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was an incredible read. I was hooked! Simply incredible.

[Jennifer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Riveting, however the narrator's pronunciation of "Sacramento" ("Sacramenno") irked me throughout, and now that the GSK has been apprehended, it would be a good addition to include any statements he has made. Perhaps in a later edition. Still, couldn't put it down, and finished it in 48 hours.

[claire9y · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I listened to the audio book version, but to really appreciate the details, it really needs to be read. I often got lost listening to the intricate details of the case and felt that at least by reading it, I could always to back and re-read certain paragraphs to digest all of the information.

"I'll Be Gone in the Dark" is one of the better true crime novels due in part to the author's own involvement in the investigations into the 40-year old case.

The author died before she finished writing the book. However, an investigative journalist and a book researcher managed to complete the book using the author's extensive notes and 3,500 hard drive files.

The book was published in Feb. 2018 and the case was unsolved at that time...until April 2018 when a suspect was taken into custody.

Did the author's investigations and book aid in the apprehension of the "Golden State Killer"? Read the book and you decide.

[Kris Galvan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Loved the HBO documentary, but didn't love the audiobook. However, there is no doubt Michelle McNamara had her finger on the pulse of the EAR , and I admire her hard work and dedication to the case.

[Liz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is amazing how much detail and research went into this