Sunday, March 18, 2018

Finished (E-Reader): "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" - Michelle McNamara


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I found this book ("I'll be Gone in the Dark") through TV interviews with the author's husband Patton Oswalt, who I've seen in various shows over time (e.g. Lewis Black's game show, Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.).

The book is part auto-biographical about McNamara's quest to solve a number of "cold" cases of rape and murder in southern California from the '70s onward; part biographical outlining the various official and unofficial folks who investigated the same cases over time, and part old-fashioned murder-mystery as the cases are spelled out and clues provided to discover the "responsible".
McNamara herself dies before finishing the book, so her research partners finish up the final chapters from her notes and drafts.

The story is compelling - you want to follow the pieces to catch the bad guy - you know enough to understand the damage caused, and speculations of why various profiles fit the offender, only to have hopes dashed as DNA evidence proves the "perfect" candidates are not actually the guilty party.

Definitely a worthwhile read, though you will find yourself closing blinds, and looking out into the dark backyard a little differently afterward.

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