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fangslibris's review against another edition
5.0
I started reading this when it was first published and quickly chickened out. Michelle's death was so heavy, especially given GSK's arrest shortly after publication.
For context, I find a lot of the current wave of true crime a bit ghoulish. Victims are little more than fun facts. The worst things that can happen to a person become backgrounds for comedy podcasts. But this book, Michelle's spirit, could not be farther from that energy.
Michelle respected the humanity of the case, doggedly determined to unmask GSK for the sake of the victims. She wasn't investigating in pursuit of glory or out of a gruesome fascination with violence. She devoted herself to meticulous research (unlike many aforementioned podcasts) and I admire her heart for the victims.
I wish she had been around to see it to the end. She gave so much.
For context, I find a lot of the current wave of true crime a bit ghoulish. Victims are little more than fun facts. The worst things that can happen to a person become backgrounds for comedy podcasts. But this book, Michelle's spirit, could not be farther from that energy.
Michelle respected the humanity of the case, doggedly determined to unmask GSK for the sake of the victims. She wasn't investigating in pursuit of glory or out of a gruesome fascination with violence. She devoted herself to meticulous research (unlike many aforementioned podcasts) and I admire her heart for the victims.
I wish she had been around to see it to the end. She gave so much.
alejaeger's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent book, knowing how the whole investigation ended surely made it that much more important and interesting to read.
Michelle's way of caring about the survivors and being sensitive in such a delicate investigation is unique.
The only thing is, and I don't know if it was the editors, Michelle, or even the translator responsible for the Portuguese version, but rape and sex are nowhere near synonymous.
Michelle's way of caring about the survivors and being sensitive in such a delicate investigation is unique.
The only thing is, and I don't know if it was the editors, Michelle, or even the translator responsible for the Portuguese version, but rape and sex are nowhere near synonymous.
blairfrank's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. I love McNamara's style of writing, but I found it difficult to follow because I had to constantly check the California map and cross reference detective names since I'm completely unfamiliar with the entire case (other than what I've seen in the news lately).
jansbookcorner's review against another edition
4.0
Well written book about the Golden State Killer. Interesting information thanks to those people who bordered on being obsessed with finding the guilty man. I found myself googling a few things to fill in the blanks. I can see how they got sucked into the rabbit hole.
thebookhaze's review against another edition
5.0
There was so much to process here. I loved how it was written and organized, and I love the biographical nature of the author writing down her thoughts about the case and including personal information and why it’s important to her. I care about the case because she cares about the case, and I think it’s important to have just as much highlight on the people who put the work into solving the case, as it is on the victims and perpetrators. There are so many crimes that go unsolved because sometimes people just don’t care enough, and perhaps it’s not always healthy for any one person to care too much, but I still respect that they do care.
I have seen some discussions online about how the author didn’t contribute to solving the case and didn’t even have the killer in her sights, and while the latter may be true, I don’t agree with the former. The fact that she kept the case active and in the spotlight (with her true crime blog), kept talking to detectives, witnesses, and victims, kept doing research and cross-checking data, kept bouncing ideas off of other people who were also still working on the case, is a huge contribution to making sure someone was taking action to find the killer, and to disregard that is ignorant and disrespectful.
It was horrifying to read about all the terrible things the killer did, and to so many victims. It was heartbreaking to read about the victims, the fear, the powerlessness, the devastation of so many families and those left behind. It was infuriating to think of all the close calls where they could’ve caught the killer but didn’t. And it’s so sad to realize that the author didn’t live to see the killer caught and her life’s work achieved. But I am glad that I finally read this book.
I have seen some discussions online about how the author didn’t contribute to solving the case and didn’t even have the killer in her sights, and while the latter may be true, I don’t agree with the former. The fact that she kept the case active and in the spotlight (with her true crime blog), kept talking to detectives, witnesses, and victims, kept doing research and cross-checking data, kept bouncing ideas off of other people who were also still working on the case, is a huge contribution to making sure someone was taking action to find the killer, and to disregard that is ignorant and disrespectful.
It was horrifying to read about all the terrible things the killer did, and to so many victims. It was heartbreaking to read about the victims, the fear, the powerlessness, the devastation of so many families and those left behind. It was infuriating to think of all the close calls where they could’ve caught the killer but didn’t. And it’s so sad to realize that the author didn’t live to see the killer caught and her life’s work achieved. But I am glad that I finally read this book.
lily_reads_it_all's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.5
ericaskytte's review against another edition
5.0
What an amazing way to tell such a complex and complicated string of events. I couldn’t stop once I started even though I already knew who the killer was. So interesting to hear all the different points of views, processes, and people involved in this case.