Publisher and Publication Date: Harper. February 27, 2018.
Genre: Nonfiction. True Crime.
Pages: 352.
Source: Library.
Rating: Excellent. Recommend.
Audience: True crime readers.

Amazon The hardcover is cheaper than the Kindle on the day of review posting. Hardcover is $13.99. The Kindle price is $14.99.

 
The background on the book is a fascinating tale itself. A young woman, Michelle McNamara,  who has a detectives keen eye for investigative work who tirelessly studies the cases of the Golden State Killer. The name, Golden State Killer, was originally named the East Area Rapist. He attacked and raped women and girls inside their homes, often stealing personal items from the victims. In the later years, the attacks were against couples in their homes. He separated these couples in order to inflict heavier fear and trauma. There are 50 rapes and 10 murders attributed to The Golden State Killer. The time period for the rapes was 1970’s and 1980’s. The assaults took place in Northern California.
On a side note, Michelle McNamara died in her sleep before finishing the book. Her small team of researchers finished the book. The book was published two months before a man was arrested for the crimes of The Golden State Killer.

Further link: From CBS, 48 Hours. This is the entire episode of The Golden State Killer.

I stayed up late two nights in a row to read this book. I kept thinking, “Girl, this is not a book to read before bedtime.” However, I was not able to put the book down except by sheer will power.

Several reasons led me to award this book excellent:
•Michelle McNamara’s life story. Especially the event leading her to have a strong interest in investigative journalism.
•Meticulous time consuming map work to trek the rapist’s crimes in Northern California.
•Interesting, yet, small information from the victims that were in fact big information. For example: the perpetrator had a foul undefinable odor.
•Crime statistics that escalated from 1968-1980.
•Information regarding the perpetrator’s escalating violence; and the planning out of the crimes and possible links to a window peeper before the rapes began.
•The DNA program that began in the late 1990’s helped the investigation.
•What sets apart this offender than other offenders?
•Information about those who rape and murder. A brief analysis of these types of criminals.