Here’s the thing about the doco I’ll be Gone in The Dark: the documentary isn’t just about Michelle McNamara and her work. It’s about the victims too, giving them a voice and a face when before they may not have had that chance. (this is McNamara’s article in LA Magazine about the Golden State Killer/ East Area Rapist)
I didn’t expect that — and it makes it all the more powerful a telling. McNamara is the drawcard, and the doco puts her front and centre in the beginning — introducing viewers to who she is, why she fell so hard for true crime and her relationship with Patton Oswalt. But it is also confronting in how it explores the difficulty of her relationship with her mother — to the point that her mum made her cry on her wedding day. As much as the victims of the East Area Rapist are laid bare in a sense, so is McNamara — in her own words and by the cause of her death (the different drugs she was taking) revealed in the series.
As much as knowing who this amazing woman was, and how she inspired and made supporters out of the cops she was working with, it’s the victims, the cops who investigated the cases in the 1970s and De Angelo’s family that affected me the most. There’s Victim 10, Kris Pedretti , who starts the series explaining how she hid what happened and how her family (her father) didn’t want her to talk about it to anyone, including her friends. And she looks broken in the beginning , and you can tell how much she wanted to talk about it — but by the end when she and the other women meet at De Angelo’s trial and see that they have each other, she’s a different person entirely, and it’s such a sad sort of club to belong to, but you can see the strength these women draw from each other. Sadly, of the women in the series, only one of their marriages stayed together, and I’m not sure how.
The other thing the show explores is society at the time — the victim blaming, the PSAs of a woman looking too inviting when she goes window shopping at night. OR the video of a group of rapists talking about how and why they attacked women — their faces aren’t hidden, and they genuinely don’t see that they should be ashamed of what they’ve done. It’s brutal, and I can’t believe the shit these victims had to endure back then.
But then, there are the cops who pursued this case and couldn’t find him, and wanted to — their roadblocks and their fight to get this case solved.
I was impressed that the series managed to talk to De Angelo’s family — 2 members in particular who loved De Angelo because he was family and are trying to make sense of what he did with the man they thought they knew.
Sighs. It’s emotionally exhausting, but to me, McNamara might have been a drawcard, but she was no means the most important part of this series.
Anyway, that was my jumbled review. It’s one of those series that has so many elements that just grip you, and you want to cover them all in a review, but you just sound disjointed!
And that’s enough of my tv watching this week! Check out what I am waiting on this week:
The Friend Scheme
Part thriller, part romance, The Friend Scheme is another twisty #ownvoices YA novel from Cale Dietrich, author of The Love Interest.
Seventeen-year-old Matt is the son of one of the most powerful criminals in the world – and everyone expects him to follow in his father’s dark footsteps. But his father’s world has never suited Matt. His desire for a different life grows when, one night, he meets a boy named Jason. Smart, chaotic, and as disinterested in a life of crime as Matt is, the pair quickly become friends. And when Jason comes out to him, Matt thinks they have a shot at becoming more than that, revealing a part of himself he has long repressed out of fear of his father.
As Matt and Jason’s connection grows deeper, Matt grows suspicious of his new friend’s motives. He really does seem like the perfect boy – maybe even too perfect, especially when he starts encouraging Matt to disclose details of his father’s empire. Now Matt must figure out if he can trust his new friend, or his father’s plans for him…and must decide if he can ever do the impossible and come clean about who he really is, and who he is meant to love.
The cover makes it look like they’re either hipsters turned up to the nth degree, or two characters from a future dystopia — it’s the hair I think. However, the blurb is incredibly intriguing: what is Jason hiding? Is he a plant to get to Matt’s father?
Take it Back
A shocking, twisting courtroom thriller that keeps you guessing until the last page is turned.
The Victim: Jodie Wolfe, a physically flawed 16-year-old girl accuses four boys in her class of something unthinkable.
The Defendants: Four handsome teenagers from hard-working immigrant families, all with corroborating stories.
The Savior: Zara Kaleel, a former lawyer, one of London’s brightest legal minds, takes on this case. She believes her client, even though those closest to her do not.
Together, they enter the most explosive criminal trial of the year, where the only thing that matters is justice for Jodie. But this time justice comes at a devastating cost.
Whew, that blurb says it all.
The Unravelling of Cassidy Holmes
In vein of Daisy Jones & The Six and Everything I Never Told You, this debut novel probes the dark side of fame after a former pop star ends her own life.
Cassidy Holmes isn’t just a celebrity.
She is “Sassy Gloss,” the fourth member of the hottest pop group America has ever seen. Hotter than Britney dancing with a snake, hotter than Christina getting dirrty, Gloss was the pop act that everyone idolized. Fans couldn’t get enough of them, their music, and the drama that followed them like moths to a flame—until the group’s sudden implosion in 2002. And at the center of it all was Sassy Cassy, the Texan with a signature smirk that had everyone falling for her.
But now she’s dead. Suicide.
The world is reeling from this unexpected news, but no one is more shocked than the three remaining Glossies. Fifteen years ago, Rose, Merry, and Yumi had been the closest to Cassidy, and this loss is hitting them hard. Before the group split, they each had a special bond with Cassidy—truths they told, secrets they shared. But after years apart, each of them is wondering: what could they have done?
Told in multiple perspectives—including Cassidy herself—and different timelines, this is a behind-the-scenes look into the rise and fall of a pop icon, and a penetrating examination of the dark side of celebrity and the industry that profits from it.
This does sound like a riveting examination of celeb culture with all too familiar comparisons to real celebs. And, I am most curious about Cassidy’s own perspective in this. What does a dead woman have to say about her life?
The Afterlife of the Party
The bestselling author of the Dead Is… series is back with a snarky, hilarious take on the vampire romance novel.
When my best friend Skyler told me about this party in the Hollywood Hills, I was less than enthused. As it turned out, my feelings were more than justified. That party ruined my life.
Tansy didn’t even want to go to the party. It’s hard enough living in one of your best friend’s shadows and secretly in love with your other best friend.
And now she’s leaving it a vampire.
Now her best friend Skyler is stuck on the road trip from hell, on tour as a groupie with a literal band of vamps. Tansy sets out with Vaughn, her other BFF turned maybe more, to save Skylar’s life and take down the band. But when they find themselves in the middle of a vampire war, will Tansy be able to make the ultimate sacrifice to save her friends?
Alright, if I am going to read a vampire romance novel, I would like to sink my teeth into this one *lmao*
Oh man, I’m stopping on that punny note.
Taking It Back sounds like such an intense read!
Right!! I can’t imagine what the ending is going to be and it kind of makes me afraid of it too.
I really need to watch I’ll be Gone in The Dark. I’ve been meaning to forever so thanks for the reminder. 😛
It was unexpected, but so good.
I am interested in seeing how all these new vampire books pan out. I know there are many readers who have missed them, and The Afterlife of the Party sounds promising.
Are they having a bit of a resurgance? I didn’t realise! I like this one bc it sounded quite funny.
I’ve not watched I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, but I have been interested in Michelle McNamara.
It really is quite powerful — and I was impressed by teh book and blown away by the doco.
Sounds like a really powerful documentary! Can’t wait to check it out.
It really is!
I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who absolutely loved I’ll Be Gone in the Dark. It was such an incredible series!
OMG YES YES YES! I was surprised at how much they packed into scuh a few episodes!
I got an arc of The Afterlife of the Party just this week. Doesn’t it sound fun? I’ve also been seeing the Cassidy Holmes book everywhere and really need to get a copy in my hands soon. Also sounds like I need to watch that documentary. You’ve sold me on it!
So damned lucky, Barb! Afterlife of the Party just made me grin from reading the blurb alone. Cassidy Holmes really piqued my interest too — Daisy Jones was a title I never got around to, so I am hoping to get to this one. The doco is just WOW. It seriously is.
I didn’t know there was a doc for I’ll Be Gone In The Dark! The book is still sitting on my TBR shelf. I’ll probably read it for Nonfiction November. I guess I’ll have something to watch afterward!
I hope you enjoy both — seriously both were so good!
Wow, that sounds like a pretty powerful documentary. The Unravelling of Cassidy Holmes was my Book of the Month pick for August. I was drawn to it because of the comparison to Daisy Jones, which I loved.
I haven’t yet read Daisy Jones — this was a major reason Cassidy Holmes caught my eye. And the mystery of course. The documentary was amazing — and I was entirely a wreck by the end. Worth it though, so worth it!