One elusive fiend, one determined journalist. This is the story of the Golden State Killer’s atrocities, how he was finally found out, and the woman who’s lifelong goal of catching him came to fruition.
A masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer--the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorized California for over a decade--from Michelle McNamara, the gifted journalist who died tragically while investigating the case."You'll be silent forever, and I'll be gone in the dark."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.At the time of the crimes, the Golden State Killer was between the ages of eighteen and thirty, Caucasian, and athletic--capable of vaulting tall fences. He always wore a mask. After choosing a victim--he favored suburban couples--he often entered their home when no one was there, studying family pictures, mastering the layout. He attacked while they slept, using a flashlight to awaken and blind them. Though they could not recognize him, his victims recalled his voice: a guttural whisper through clenched teeth, abrupt and threatening.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. Framed by an introduction by Gillian Flynn and an afterword by her husband, Patton Oswalt, the book was completed by Michelle's lead researcher and a close colleague. Utterly original and compelling, it is destined to become a true crime classic--and may at last unmask the Golden State Killer.
Michelle McNamara (1970-2016) was the author of the website Truecrimediary.com. She earned an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Minnesota, worked as a consultant for Dateline NBC, and had sold television pilots to ABC and Fox and a screenplay to Paramount. She lived in Los Angeles, and is survived by her husband, Patton Oswalt, and their daughter, Alice.
Gillian Flynn is the chief television critic at Entertainment Weekly. Her debut novel, Sharp Objects, was an Edgar Award finalist and the winner of two Dagger Awards. She lives in Chicago with her family.
Patton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, and New York Times bestselling author. He has released television specials and critically acclaimed comedy albums, including the Grammy Award-nominated My Weakness Is Strong. He put together the Comedians of Comedy tour and television series and he has held recurring character roles on many television shows. He has appeared in more than twenty films and has worked as a voice actor in King of Queens, Cartoon Network's Robotomy, and the Disney animated film Ratatouielle.
Poured Over is a show for readers who pore over details, obsess over sentences and ideas and stories and characters; readers who ask a lot of questions, just like Poured Over’s host, Miwa Messer, a career bookseller who’s always reading. Follow us here for surprising riffs, candid conversations, a few laughs, and lots of great […]
It’s time to put that linty sweater in the back of the closet for next winter and grab your umbrella — Spring has arrived, and this April is raining in some new releases that we just can’t stop talking about. From wildly hilarious essays and emotionally groundbreaking memoirs, a reimagining of an ancient Indian epic, and […]
If you’re reading this, congrats, you made it through the first month of 2019. Considering the state of the world, you deserve a reward for this feat of survival—and nothing’s better than a book. This month offers an insightful work of history about Wild Bill Hickock, the late Michelle McNamara’s powerful investigation into the Golden […]
