Women in Horror Month: A Review of “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” by Michelle McNamara
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
By now, the events surrounding this book have become almost more famous and well known than the book itself. Michelle McNamara was working on I’ll Be Gone in the Dark at the time of her death, and two years later the Golden State Killer – a term coined by McNamara – was arrested. Although police claim the book gave them no leads, it’s hard to see that being true when you dig into some of the theories and ideas she put forward. The police even used the same term for the killer that McNamara coined.
The book is a bittersweet experience. I listened to the Audible version, narrated by Gabra Zackman, who does a brilliant job with McNamara’s words. There is also an afterword by Patton Oswalt, who narrates it, and the love they shared comes through both when McNamara mentions him, and in his afterword. Yes, I finished the book with tears in my eyes. It’s so difficult not to.
Throughout the book there are moments when there are pauses in the narration, to fill in information McNamara had not committed to the page when she died. Similarly, the ending is rounded out by a few people who were assisting with her research. Throughout, McNamara’s passion and dedication to catching this killer is clear. Her work is methodical, taking us through the timeline of events with detailed explanations of how they have this information – usually via a mixture of evidence and eyewitness and survivor accounts. She also brings in elements from her own life, touching on her day-to-day experiences and what it’s like trying to raise a family while steeped in this darkness.
It's a very personalised true crime account, and McNamara doesn’t shy away from telling us how tracking this killer, reading so much and studying the photographs has impacted her. It really is an excellent, very well put together book, and if you’re a true crime fan who hasn’t yet checked this out, it’s definitely worth a go, with the audiobook being one of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to for a while.
Grade: A
Review by Elle Turpitt
Twitter & Instagram: @elleturpitt
I purchased this audiobook using an Audible credit.
