Whoa, "Be Gone"

I've written before about my interest in the true crime genre. Though I've talked mainly about podcasts, the same interest extends to books as well. And a particular one has been causing quite a stir lately: I'll Be Gone in the Dark, by Michelle McNamara.

The book chronicles a serial rapist and murderer that McNamara dubbed the Golden State Killer. Active from the mid-70s to the mid-80s, one criminal committed 50 rapes and a dozen murders. He operated in first northern and then southern California, and it was only with the later advent of DNA evidence that the two clusters were even linked as being the work of the same man. With particularly terrifying tactics and an alarming escalation of violence, he might well be the most heinous uncaptured criminal in the U.S. And few have ever heard of him.

McNamara's book on the subject vaulted to the top of the bestsellers upon its recent release, in part because of the thirst of true crime fans to learn about this largely unknown tale. It also no doubt got a signal boost from her husband, comedian Patton Oswalt, who pushed it on his social media feeds and toured extensively in support of the book. It also, sadly, may have gained prestige from the untimely (though natural) death of McNamara two years ago, before she could actually finish the book herself.

One thing is certain: Michelle McNamara was an extremely expressive writer. I'll Be Gone in the Dark is a chilling read. The mere facts of the GSK himself would be enough to raise goosebumps, but that's not to undermine McNamara's brilliant writing in recounting his attacks. Not that the book is all morbid thrills. McNamara tracks her own amateur obsession with the case, and writes extensively about the detectives who worked it. She makes intriguing "characters" of everyone, conveying personality and place with great effect. Where some true crime writing can seem clinical and detached, this book is taut and engaging.

But it's also a little disjointed. Though each episode McNamara writes about is perfectly drawn, at times they feel like perfectly realized islands unto themselves. They don't seem to be arranged chronologically, nor in any particular pattern I could recognize. At the conclusion of the book, I felt a bit as though I'd watched a season of a television series in a jumbled up order; I could recall everything with crystal clarity, but it didn't quite cohere as one tale. This I have to chalk up to the book's unfinished nature. Certain chapters are culled from McNamara's blog, or previously published magazine articles, while the very end of the book is finished by two other people who knew and worked with her before her death. It's hard to imagine that the book's intended "narrative" would have been so fragmented and hard to follow when she had such a facility with details. It's more likely McNamara just didn't get to finish it the right way.

The result is a true crime book that's just as much about the author as the criminal. This was the plan, even before McNamara's death, as you can tell from the middle section that's clearly all about her pursuit of the Golden State Killer. Not only is that an interesting approach in and of itself, but McNamara's writing makes you appreciate the human toll of the killer more than most books of this type do. The loss feels real.

I give I'll Be Gone in the Dark a B+. I feel certain if it could have been finished properly, it would have been an A. Nevertheless, it's a great read for anyone else intrigued by this dark genre.