Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara

13 reviews

alisonfaith426's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Stalking

Moderate: Classism, Mental illness, and Sexual content

brynnbmn's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Torture, Murder, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, and Violence

hannahmcclee's review against another edition

I had a background of the case before reading the book so I knew what to expect. However, it was a slow read that gave a lot of graphic detail of the crimes. I just never felt like reading more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Torture, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Grief and Death of parent

chloenk_1011's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Sexual violence, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Blood, and Body horror

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Rape, Stalking, Torture, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Blood, and Murder

v_neptune's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Gun violence, Death, Cursing, Death of parent, Child death, Rape, Stalking, Sexual assault, Blood, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Miscarriage

i definitely feel like this book talks about these subjects in a way that is appropriate, thoughtful, nuanced, and shows care to the victims, and i didn't feel particularly triggered by the way these topics were discussed, but nonetheless it covers a lot of pretty dark subject matter

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

Michelle McNamara's work to hunt down the Golden State Killer is exceptional. Her dedication to the work and her writing style make the book an engaging read that made me want to keep reading long into the night despite the content. The sections compiled after her death were done with so much respect for her and her work show how much she meant to her friends, loved ones, and colleagues.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Gun violence, Body horror, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual harassment

moto1480's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

4.25

While this book is mostly a set of loose essays about McNamara's research into whom she later dubbed the Golden State Killer, what struck me the most was how much I felt I got to know her. If this is her literary legacy, it's a good one. That being said, folks hoping for closure to the case or to her life won't find it here. Although the edition I read had updates from 2018 detailing the Golden State Killer's capture, those parts feel a lot like the way that McNamara's death is treated: brief and curt, broken up into small pieces to consume. True crime aficionados will like this book for sure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Sexual violence, and Violence

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

Rating: 4/5 stars

If you don’t already know the story of Michelle McNamara, I encourage you to read up on her and her life/writing, but the nutshell version is this—Michelle was a brilliant and dedicated true crime writer/blogger who dedicated a significant chunk of her life to investigating the identity of the serial murderer/rapist she dubbed the Golden State Killer. Although Michelle passed away unexpectedly before GSK was identified (and before the book was completed) he was finally identified and apprehended in 2018. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark is a captivating and brilliantly written exploration of GSK’s crimes, a portrait of his victims, and an insight into the investigation that ultimately led to his arrest.

This was exceptional—though I’m still fairly new to the world of true crime I can already tell that this deserves a spot as one of the classics of the genre. It is incredibly well-written and detailed while still being compulsively readable and engaging. There are many reasons to be saddened by Michelle McNamara’s untimely passing, and one of them is the fact that we cannot look forward to more of her books. Indeed, the only part of the book that was less-than-stellar was the structure—undoubtedly due to the fact that Michelle never got to finish the book and much of it was pieced together from her notes or written after the fact by others—but the final product is still unquestionably good enough to compensate for this minor defect.

Recommended for anyone, but especially those who like: true crime; investigative journalism.

CW: Sexual assault/rape; murder/death; cruelty to animals.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, and Rape

annir's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Violence, and Vomit