True crime is a genre that tells a story of a real life crime in a way that makes the audience wanting more, whether it’s through a work of writing, television, movie, podcast, or any other production. The genre of true crime has evolved over the years in many ways and instances. The book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark tells the story of a writer, Michelle McNamara’s, obsession with a certain rapist and killer she dubbed “the Golden State Killer,” and the telling of the murders and the investigation behind this murderer. McNamara makes her story of this murderer intriguing to readers by setting up the book like a puzzle and she continues to fill in the pieces with every chapter. McNamara uses many other devices and techniques to make the story she is telling informative but also fascinating, and in doing so she shows how true crime has changed and grown over the years. This novel, along with other new productions in the true crime genre, dives into how the true crime genre has evolved and all the new advancements we’ve made in the last decade alone.
The book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark is just one example of a production that has come from the true crime genre, but it is also one of the most influential ones. It tells the true story of the “golden state killer,” who killed up to at least 13 people and raped over 50 women, and how he got away with doing so for such a long time. McNamara includes an abundance of research that she did herself and research done by others as well in her story to make it credible, and included her own personal narrative to the book as well. McNamara sets up the book in a way to make it all flow together and make the story cohesively told. While telling the story of the “golden state killer,” she makes the readers sympathize for the victims and their families due to the way she tells their story, making sure she includes information that will draw out the emotion in readers. This is different from the book In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, because in that “nonfiction novel,” Capote sympathizes with one of the killers instead of the victims. McNamara and Capote’s writing styles are vastly different, and after reading both books you can see just how much writing has changed over the years, given that In Cold Blood was published in 1965 and I’ll Be Gone in the Dark was just recently published, following McNamara’s sudden death in 2016. Not only has the writing style evolved over the years, but true crime as a genre in general has evolved over the years as well.
When true crime started out, it was more so a type of television that was browsed upon at night and didn’t really get much recognition. People were intrigued, but they didn’t have the sense of “addiction” to it as some may have today. When it first started out, it was to cover cases and to tell the stories of the unsolved mysteries behind the investigations. This has now turned into true crime productions being the telling of unsolved and solved cases. This has changed due to the new advancements we have today to solve crimes. An example of this, which is shown in I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, is how we now have DNA testing. DNA testing is an advancement that can link the killer to the victim, which was the case for the investigation and story told by McNamara. It’s improvements like these that have made true crime evolve to become more related to solving crimes instead of just publicizing them. Advancements in the process behind solving these cases isn’t the only thing that’s evolved in the true crime genre, so has the admiration.
The true crime genre started out as a fascination with people, which it still is today, but it has come to be more than just a fascination. Productions made in the true crime genre today have up to millions of viewers and the fan bases for these productions have turned into a phenomena. These productions have even gone on to get nominations for academy awards, and in some cases, have won. An example of this is the mini-series that came out regarding the O.J. Simpson trial, O.J. vs. The People, and the media and viewers raved about it. Everyone was instantly drawn to it and they went on to win an Emmy and Golden Globe for “Outstanding Limited and/or Mini-series.” This type of recognition has gone to show just how popular true crime as a genre has become and why people are so drawn to it. So, when I’ll Be Gone in the Dark came out, it was at the time when true crime was at its peak and many people were instantly attracted to reading this book. Even though McNamara is not alive to see how well her book is doing, she continues to receive recognition for her hard work revolving around this case and has become an inspiration to many other writers and investigators since the publication of her book.
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark has become a huge asset to the true crime genre and has helped to make this case more well-known than it already was to give a sense of closure and relief for the families, friends, investigators, and other wrongfully accused suspects related to this case. With the fascination around true crime nowadays, it has opened up to the discovery of more advancements to solving cases, and this will only continue to grow as more true crime productions become made and publicized.
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