Patton Oswalt & Gillian Flynn

Fans of true crime have a dark murder mystery to discover in I’ll Be Gone in the Dark. But the author, the late Michelle McNamara, dug so obsessively into this
case, it consumed her as well. The layers of suspicion and pursuit are relentless. Meet McNamara’s husband, the entertainer Patton Oswalt at our special event. In conversation with bestselling author Gillian Flynn.

About the Book: “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark will undoubtedly be stocked in the True Crime section, which is fine, but in so many ways it’s a brilliant genre-buster. It’s propulsive, can’t-stop-now reading, which makes it all too easy to ignore the clean and focused writing.

What readers need to know—what makes this book so special—is that it deals with two obsessions, one light and one dark. The Golden State Killer is the dark half; Michelle McNamara’s is the light half. It’s a journey into two minds, one sick and disordered, the other intelligent and determined. I loved this book.”   —Stephen King

A masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer—the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorized California for years—from Michelle McNamara, the gifted journalist who died tragically while investigating the case.

“You’ll be silent forever, and I’ll be gone in the dark.”

For more than ten years, a mysterious and violent predator committed 50 sexual assaults in Northern California before moving south, where he perpetrated ten sadistic murders. Then he disappeared, eluding capture by multiple police forces and some of the best detectives in the area.

Three decades later, Michelle McNamara, a true crime journalist who created the popular website TrueCrimeDiary.com, was determined to find the violent psychopath she called “the Golden State Killer.” McNamara pored over police reports, interviewed victims, and embedded herself in the online communities that were as obsessed with the case as she was.

At the time of the crimes, the Golden State Killer was between the ages of 18 and 30, Caucasian, and athletic—capable of vaulting tall fences. He always wore a mask. After choosing a victim—he favored suburban couples—he often entered their home when no one was there, studying family pictures, mastering the layout. He attacked while they slept, using a flashlight to awaken and blind them. Though they could not recognize him, his victims recalled his voice: a guttural whisper through clenched teeth, abrupt and threatening.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark—the masterpiece McNamara was writing at the time of her sudden death—offers an atmospheric snapshot of a moment in American history and a chilling account of a criminal mastermind and the wreckage he left behind. It is also a portrait of a woman’s obsession and her unflagging pursuit of the truth. Framed by an introduction by Gillian Flynn and an afterword by her husband, Patton Oswalt, the book was completed by Michelle’s lead researcher and a close colleague. Utterly original and compelling, it is destined to become a true crime classic—and may at last unmask the Golden State Killer.

About the author: Micelle McNamara’s website TrueCrimeDiary.com, a must-read in the crime world, is followed by everyone from Conan O’Brien to Gillian Flynn. McNamara had an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Minnesota, and she had sold television pilots to ABC and Fox and a screenplay to Paramount. She had also worked as a consultant for “Dateline NBC.” Until her death, she lived in Los Angeles. She is survived by her daughter, Alice, and her husband, Patton Oswalt.

About Anderson’s Bookshop: Patton Oswalt’s upcoming visit is part of Anderson’s Bookshops’ calendar of special author events. Anderson’s Bookshops specialize in book sales, author events, book signings, and building a sense of community, learning and fun. The store has been helping Naperville readers for six generations. Additional locations include Downers Grove, at 5112 Main Street (630)-963-2665 and La Grange, at 26 S. La Grange Rd. (708) 582-6353. A toy shop, Anderson’s Toyshop, at 111 W. Jefferson Ave., in Naperville, opened in 2016. Key to Anderson’s success has been special author events, like the Friday, March 2 program at Community Christian Church with Patton Oswalt and moderator, Gillian Flynn.

Fans of true crime have a dark murder mystery to discover in I’ll Be Gone in the Dark. But the author, the late Michelle McNamara, dug so obsessively into this case, it consumed her as well. The layers of suspicion and pursuit are relentless. Meet McNamara’s husband, the entertainer Patton Oswald at our special event. In conversation with bestselling author Gillian Flynn.