Listen free for 30 days

1 credit a month, good for any title to download and keep.
The Plus Catalogue—listen all you want to thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts, and audiobooks.
$14.95 a month plus applicable taxes after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
I'll Be Gone in the Dark cover art

I'll Be Gone in the Dark

Written by: Michelle McNamara
Narrated by: Gabra Zackman,Gillian Flynn - introduction,Patton Oswalt - afterword
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $40.01

Buy Now for $40.01

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

The basis for the major six-part HBO documentary series.

Number one New York Times best seller.

A best book of the year:

Washington Post | Maureen Corrigan, NPR | Paste | Seattle Times | Entertainment Weekly | Esquire | Slate | Buzzfeed | Jezebel | Philadelphia Inquirer | Publishers Weekly | Kirkus Reviews | Library Journal | Bustle

Winner of the Goodreads Choice Awards for Nonfiction | Anthony Award winner | SCIBA Book Award winner | Finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime | Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence

The haunting true story of the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorized California during the '70s and '80s, and of the gifted journalist who died tragically while investigating the case - which was solved in April 2018.   

Introduction by Gillian Flynn 

Afterword by Patton Oswalt

“A brilliant genre-buster.... Propulsive, can’t-stop-now reading.” (Stephen King)

For more than 10 years, a mysterious and violent predator committed 50 sexual assaults in Northern California before moving south, where he perpetrated 10 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". Michelle pored over police reports, interviewed victims, and embedded herself in the online communities that were as obsessed with the case as she was.

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. Utterly original and compelling, it is destined to become a true-crime classic - and may at last unmask the Golden State Killer. 

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio. 

©2018 Tell Me Productions (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

What the critics say

"Narrator Gabra Zackman delivers this terrifying account... Her calm, objective voice makes the minute details of GSK's 50 sexual assaults and 10 murders in California chilling.... McNamara's research makes for intriguing listening, thanks to Zackman's restrained, intelligent presentation of the grim details." (AudioFile)

Featured Article: 20 Best True Crime Audiobooks for Your Inner Detective

There is nothing more thrilling than the unfolding tale of a true crime story. Whether an unsolved mystery, a deep dive into a criminal mastermind, or a look at an infamous serial killer, true crime is gripping, captivating, and engrossing. The best true crime audiobooks will have you on the edge of your seat, anxious for more. Add to that an emphatic and powerful narrator, and you simply won't be able to stop listening. Here are the 20 best true crime audiobooks to satisfy your inner detective.

What listeners say about I'll Be Gone in the Dark

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    893
  • 4 Stars
    251
  • 3 Stars
    65
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    16
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    773
  • 4 Stars
    227
  • 3 Stars
    53
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    15
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    795
  • 4 Stars
    185
  • 3 Stars
    65
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    14

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Confusing as an audiobook

I think this would have been better to read in book form and not as an audiobook. It was hard to follow.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Stunningly Written and Incredibly Illuminating

I have read many, many true crime books over the past decade and this is probably one of the best. The pros is beautiful and it is not to detail heavy— there are enough memoir type instances that make it easy to fully comprehend the enormity of the EARONS/GSK case and the all encompassing search Michelle McNamara undertook.
I have recommended this book to everyone I know— true crime fans and fiction lovers alike.
I just hope that wherever she is now, Michelle knows he has finally been brought into the light.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

amazing!!!!

One of the most spellbinding investigations I've ever heard. Almost cried when first person switched to third after Michelle's death. so happy they've caught him now. she would be so proud and pleased

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Blown away

Phenomenal book - gripping and incredibly written with passion, skill, and dedication, and only enhanced by an incredible performance by the reader. I had trouble putting it down, and only did so because I wanted it to last. Wil be listing to this one over and over.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Equally talks about the killer and the author

Excellent. A lot of chapters start with Editor's Notes explaining it was pieced together from the authors notes before she died. Then switches to third person near the end. It's a great read/listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Author is annoying

Meh at best.. To much about her personal life and not nearly as good as other books on gsk should have got btk instead of this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Engaging, suspenseful, Heart Wrenching

Knowing the author died before finishing this book, and before the killer was caught- is a punch in the gut while listening. She comes so close, she's on the right path, and it's sad to know she didn't get to live to see it.

The book tells like a story, easy to follow, with great narrators and anecdotes by various contributors. Hearing from her husband is really beautiful.

Absolutely worth the listen. Now excuse me while I go down the google search rabbit hole...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Riveting

An absolutely riveting and fascinating story! The single minded pursuit of the facts and the connection of details in such a large case is incredible! I could not stop listening!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Hard time getting into it…

I felt some pieces repeated as if they were giving new information and it was difficult to get excited about this book. Perhaps more information about the killer after apprehension.. it was okay, but I struggled to finish it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Struggling to finish

This book jumps back and forth so often that it’s impossible to keep track of the timeline. Had I known it was about the author just as much, if not more, then the Golden State Killer I would not have bought it. Wish audible had a return option.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Kat - Audible
  • Kat - Audible
  • 2018-03-02

A haunting masterpiece

As a fan of the true crime genre and Michelle's fantastic blog, I was so excited for this book -- and devastated to learn of Michelle's sudden death in 2016, when she was still writing it. As Gillian Flynn notes in the forward, a lot of us grapple with our fascination with true crime, and one way to approach it is by seeking justice, truth and compassion rather than voyeurism, misinformation and shallow answers. Michelle was always a crusader of the highest order, and her obsessive sleuthing and thoughtful reckoning of her own motivations (“We, who hunt him, suffer from the same affliction. He peered through windows. I tap ‘return.’ ”) shine through here with fierce humanity. If you don't about the Golden State Killer, also known as EAR/ONS, "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" will pull you into the story of the faceless monster behind one of America's most notorious and horrific unsolved cases, but it is Michelle's voice that stays with you in the end. This book is a rare gem of dogged research and masterful writing that elevates it to the top tier of true crime. A special benefit of the audio version is hearing Gillian Flynn’s forward and Patton Oswalt’s moving afterword in their own voices. (It is also thanks to Oswalt, researcher Paul Haynes, and investigative journalist Billy Jensen that the book was completed.) I hope its legacy leads to what Michelle wanted most of all: an answer, and justice for the victims.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

218 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Trixie Runnin'
  • Trixie Runnin'
  • 2018-03-04

Wonderful Listen to Scare Yourself in the Dark

Loved it! It was like listening to a police documentary with a soap opera story in the undertones. It is definitely a "foreground" book--I made the mistake of trying to do some work and cooking while listening... wound up with a pot of burnt noodles, a flashing cursor burnt into my retinas and three chapters in need of a complete rewind!
This is definitely a "coffee and cold rainy window" type listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

202 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Jenna
  • Jenna
  • 2018-03-14

If only...

If only Michelle had lived to see this book published. If only she had known how successful this book would go on to be. It’s beautifully written and beautifully researched. She gives details and makes her journey personal to the reader. She kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time, but with every word I read my heart broke, not just for the victims and their families, but because Michelle had no idea the impact this book would have.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

104 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Teresa Gregory
  • Teresa Gregory
  • 2018-03-14

I Wanted to Love This Book

Knowing the back story on this book, I really wanted to love it. I knew that the author had died suddenly, that the book was unfinished, but that the author's husband and associates wanted her work published. What she wrote is beautiful. The problem is, I thought this book was closer to publication than it was. Throughout, in chapters written by Michelle, there are editor notes about information that she had not included, some where her opinion had changed. Then there are whole chapters gleaned from a magazine article she had written or things that she excluded from the magazine article. The one chapter I did like was where she met an investigator and they toured one of the areas. This chapter was just the transcribed dialogue between them in the car which she had taped.

Michelle's chief investigator wrote the last chapter and told about all the information she had recently acquired that she was sifting through. He tried to wrap it up, but couldn't. I wondered why they bothered to put this book together and publish it. I understand that all who loved her wanted her words out there. But then I thought perhaps the real purpose was to get the word out and solve the case. That would be Michelle's true legacy.

Final thought: this book made me yearn for what it could have been had Michelle been the one to finish it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

90 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Elizabeth
  • Elizabeth
  • 2018-03-04

A story that leaves a scream stuck in your throat.

Gripping, chilling and absolutely engrossing, Michelle McNamara’s obsession to find the killer is a triumph. I couldn’t stop listening and finished this in a day. McNamara keeps you thinking, guessing and piecing together clues as well as interweaving her own life story into this finely shaped puzzle that will set your mind on fire. Thank you Patton Oswalt for completing this to perfection and amazing narration by Gabra Zackman.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

79 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for e.salmeron
  • e.salmeron
  • 2018-03-04

Masterpiece

Michelle McNamara has incited a flame that will lead to the finding of the Earon, of that much I am sure. Magnificently written, and emotionally gripping.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

34 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Lindsay
  • Lindsay
  • 2018-04-06

Too special to not try

Where does I'll Be Gone in the Dark rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

"I'll be gone in the Dark" definitely ranks highly among all the audiobooks I've listened to, but it is one of the best true crime books I've read.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

The most interesting piece to me was learning about DNA testing and how much the process has changed since these crimes occurred.

Any additional comments?

I purchased this book after listening to an interview with Patton Oswalt talking about getting this book published after Michelle MacNamara died. While I enjoy true crime, this book was also special because of the lives Michelle touched and devotion to her project. Great true crime read, but oh so frustrating because there is no end yet.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

30 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Alette
  • Alette
  • 2018-03-27

loved it!

I really enjoyed this audiobook! the narrator is amazing, and the story itself is very interesting. it’s written in a clever way that gives you the facts, but in a way you’ll remember them and actually enjoy hearing about them, rather than lists of things for you to remember

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for R
  • R
  • 2018-03-01

Wanted to love this one...

Gabra Zackman was a mistake as a narrator. Her voice is so steady that you feel next to no emotion listening to the book and the actual events leave very little, if any, impression. It all just fades into white noise. I will still try to read this in print out of interest in the case and loyalty to the author's family/story, but my enthusiasm has been lessened.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Lauren S.
  • Lauren S.
  • 2018-05-31

I really wanted to like this..

I wanted to love book but felt disappointed by the disjointedness of the book, which jumped around an exhausting amount. While the prose was artful, the substance was lacking and at times repetitive.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

25 people found this helpful

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for VR
  • VR
  • 2019-06-07

Fantastic audiobook

Fantastic research work wrapped up in a captivating narrative. Michelle McNamara's life work. 5 stars.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Noor
  • Noor
  • 2022-03-19

Genre defining Book

One of the best True Crime Books OF all Time
Although it consumed the late Michelle to a dangerous Point , i hope her soul finds peace knowing that he was caught and he'll rot in prison , if it wasn't for her i beleive he wouldn't have been caught , give it a listen it's fantastic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

.