Her work and notes did not directly, or even indirectly, lead to the capture of the Golden State Killer. Genetic genealogy led to his capture. They uploaded his DNA profile to a DNA database, where they found several distant relatives. They then used genealogy to trace them all back to a common source, and from there created a list of possible suspects. They then used what they already knew about the Golden State Killer to eliminate possible suspects until only Joseph James DeAngelo remained. This was a shitload of work done by investigators, and Michelle McNamara had nothing to do with any of it

She didn’t help solve the crime

I understand where you’re coming from, but I don’t think the book was ever actually supposed to be about the Golden State Killer; it was supposed to be about Michelle McNamara’s obsession with the Golden State Killer. Though the marketing has always pushed it as true crime. I too had problems with the book, but ultimately felt is succeeded as a self examination

I don’t want to speak Ill of the dead, but Michelle McNamara wasn’t any closer to solving this case than any of the thousands of other internet sleuths that have been obsessing over EAR/ONS for decades. Her one and only contributing was coining the term “Golden State Killer”. Her writing helped to renew interest in this old case, her untimely death amplified that interest, and the Golden State Killer was caught right about the time her book was being readied for publication. For these reasons a lot of people ended up thinking she had actually solved the case

The only real rule I have as far as covers go is that I try to avoid movie tie-in covers if possible

If you’ve ever tried an AI art generator then you’ll understand that the AI isn’t performing the act of creation, only the act of production.

Actually Twins was released in 1988. Great movie

I agree with this. I still thought the book was worthwhile, especially in its blunt honesty about the burgeoning sexuality of a young gay man. But Vuong is a poet, and you could tell that this book was written by a poet. That’s not a good thing. One shouldn’t approach the writing of a novel as if it were a long prose poem. Every other aspect of this novel suffered for Vuong’s focus on the prose, and as you pointed out, some of the lines he came up with are immature and cringeworthy. Some of those lines might work in a poem, but are glaringly misplaced in a work of narrative prose

No. The book is about the struggle of the individual against an uncaring and cruel system designed to force conformity. McMurphy isn’t mentally ill; he’s human