I'LL BE GONE IN THE DARK by Michelle McNamara ⭐⭐⭐⭐

(Original review written May 19, 2020)

Spoilers Ahead

In a book showcasing internet-sleuthing at its best, a woman lays out the case to track down one hell of a predator.

This is a true crime must-read, especially in the era of podcasts and blogs. It’s like “Cold Case Files” meets Devil in the White City, joining the meticulous research into crime scene minutia with illuminating, jump-off-the-page back stories of the perpetrator and victims. It’s hard-to-stomach material that -- based on McNamara's gifts -- is hard to put down.

McNamara excels in animating the lives of those involved with the added challenge of forty years passing — sometimes so well, that you become comfortable with her passages of recreated humanity, only to feel the harsh drop back toward the nightmare. And there is no lack of darkness in this case.

The author’s voice is sadly missed in some sections, spliced together from notes and files left unfinished. There’s some repeating of chunks that seem a little lost in the shuffle, and sections that lack coordination. But the passages that are whole illustrate the picture of a deeply talented writer and researcher. It’s clear from the comments of colleagues and friends that this was a case that she cared deeply about solving, to her core. The rest of us can only hope to find a cause we’d dedicate ourselves to in the same way.

I’d love to see what she would have to say about them finding the suspect, now in his 70s, and about her involvement in that success. It’s a deep burn to know she passed before she could see her hard work pay off with the big reveal at the end. And that it isn’t covered in the ending of her book. Hopefully that will change in the future.

At least her efforts have thankfully not gone unnoticed, and I’m sure even “the one” himself knows about the tireless writer that finally brought him down.