Between 5:30-6:00pm on the day of the event, tickets will only be available for purchase at the door. This event is sponsored by WBUR. Patton will speak in conversation with Here & Now host Robin Young about I'll Be Gone in the Dark, written by his late wife Michelle McNamara.

A masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer—the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorized California for over a decade—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 fifty 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.” Michelle 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 eighteen and thirty, 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.

Event Guidelines:

- Tickets may be purchased online or in-store.
- Price includes: 1 ticket to Patton Oswalt's talk + 1 copy of I'll Be Gone in the Dark.
- You may pick up your copy of I'll Be Gone in the Dark at the Coolidge Corner Theatre on 3/1 or at the Brookline Booksmith before the end of March 2018.
- The reading will take place at the Coolidge Corner Theatre at 6pm.
- The line at the theatre will form at 5:30pm.
- Present your Eventbrite ticket for entry to the theatre.
- Patton and Robin's conversation at the theatre will last one hour.
- This event does NOT include a signing or meet & greet.

For disability accommodations, please email events@brooklinebooksmith.com

FAQs

Will Patton be signing books after the event?

There will be no book signing or meet and greet.

Where can I park during the event?

Nearby metered public parking is available behind the theatre (on Centre Street one block from Harvard Street) and along Beacon Street. Meters are free after 8:00pm and on Sundays and holidays. Please note that the lots tend to fill up on weekends or during large events, so please plan a little extra time to find space. We strongly recommend public transit for events and films you anticipate will be very busy! Additional parking at an hourly rate is available across Beacon and Centre Streets at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel garage on Webster Street.

What are my transportation options for getting to and from the event?

BY TRAIN: take the Green Line (C branch to Cleveland Circle) trolley from downtown to Coolidge Corner via Beacon Street. The Coolidge Corner stop is at Harvard Street, 5-10 minutes from Kenmore Square.

BY BUS: take bus #66, Dudley/Harvard Square. All buses and trolleys stop at the Harvard Street/ Beacon Street intersection.

BY CAR: see below

From Mass Pike, I-90 East (Newton and points West): Take exit 18 Allston/Brighton. As you exit tolls, stay to left for Allston exit and merge with Cambridge Street. Follow until you reach Harvard Avenue on your left, after the overpass turn left at the "Pizzeria Regina" sign. Take the left onto Harvard Avenue and follow through Allston and across Commonwealth Avenue, continuing for about 1.5 miles. Just before reaching the major intersection of Harvard and Beacon Street, you will notice the giant theatre marquee on your right.

From Mass Pike, I-90 West (Boston): Take exit 20 Brighton/Cambridge. As you exit tolls, keep to your right around the off-ramp for Cambridge Street. Follow until you reach Harvard Avenue on your left, after the overpass turn left at the "Pizzeria Regina" sign. Take the left onto Harvard Avenue and follow through Allston and across Commonwealth Avenue, continuing for about 1.5 miles. Just before reaching the major intersection of Harvard and Beacon Street, you will notice the giant theatre marquee on your right.

From Interstate 93: Take the Storrow Drive exit and follow to Storrow Drive. Take Storrow Drive to the Kenmore Square exit. As the exit splits, stay in the right hand lane. Take the first right onto Beacon Street. Follow Beacon Street through Kenmore Square (past the legendary Citgo sign), staying in the center lane. After you cross the overpass, keep going straight ahead, following the trolley tracks along Beacon Street until you reach the intersection of Beacon and Harvard Street, landmarked by a large Tudor style building with a clock tower (and a Walgreens) on the corner. You'll see the theatre one half block up Harvard, but continue on Beacon to Center Street and turn right to access the parking lot behind the building.

From Route 9: Route 9 inbound to the Brookline Village/Harvard Street intersection. The Brookline fire station is on your right. Go through the intersection and take a right immediately after the fire station, and loop around the back. You can now turn right and cross back over Route 9 onto Harvard Street. Follow Harvard Street through Brookline Village, about one mile to Beacon Street. Cross Beacon Street and you will immediately see the theatre marquee on your left. Parking is along Beacon, or go around the block and enter the lot behind the theatre on Centre Street.

Photo credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic