Video Book Review: I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara, Plus Three True Crime Recommendations

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
Michelle McNamara
Published February 2018
Harper

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, a notable entry in the true crime genre, showcases a bad man and, more indirectly, the woman who obsessively tracked him.

Michelle McNamara was part of a group of true crime followers who investigated the east area rapist, dubbed the Golden State Killer. He left a trail of at least a dozen rapes and murders across California over the course of at least a dozen years.

McNamara’s relentless detective work doubtless contributed to his recent capture and arrest. But it also took its toll on the author. Though she passed away, McNamara’s words leave a legacy of diligence and justice.

Want more? Here are three solid true crime options for your inner detective.

American Fire by Monica Hesse

A couple set dozens of fires across a small rural county. Remarkably, there were no fatalities. But the financial burden, destruction of a historical (albeit abandoned) landmark, and unease it instilled in the citizens of the area made them far from victimless crimes. Click here for my full review.

Missoula by Jon Krakauer

A college campus in Missoula has an alarmingly high rape count. A big part of the problem is college boys and men not respecting consent. Another problem: a deeply instilled culture that excuses the male’s behavior and puts the onus and blame on the female.

Devil in the White City by Eric Larson

Architecture and murder. It seems like an unusual pairing, but it works so well. Larson shows dual period in the 1890s: the pratfalls of building The Chicago World’s Fair, and the mass carnage happening only a few miles away in the murder castle built by H.H. Holmes.

One more from my TBR:

The Good Nurse by Charles Graeber

A nurse murders his patients. A lot of them. And somehow, he keeps getting hired. It’s a commentary both on the nature of psychopathy and the severe shortage of nurses that causes hospitals to forego adequate background and reference checks and overlook red-flag behavior.

Watch this and other bookish videos on my Read Remark YouTube channel.

Music credit: bensound.com