Centered around the death of 21-year-old Elisa Lam, a Canadian student visiting Los Angeles who seemingly disappeared from the Cecil Hotel on January 31, 2013, Jake Anderson relives the utter fascination both he and the public at large had with the strange circumstances surrounding this missing persons investigation.

I think many people who begin this book, like me, will have at least some idea how this case ‘ends’, in a sense. We know generally what happened to Elisa Lam, so is there a point in reading in detail what befell a young woman with her whole life ahead of her? Here, Anderson is attempting to make the case that there is value in examining not only her life and death, but the way we as a true-crime-obsessed society respond to the loss of a very real person.

I would generally agree with that assertion, but I still had trouble getting on board with this book. I don’t really think it accomplishes what it set out to do. I’m not going to spoiler tag this piece of information because I feel like at this point it’s common knowledge, but there’s no real evidence of any foul play in the case of Elisa Lam. There was a TON of speculation, which Anderson pours over in detail, even the completely batshit stuff. But the question becomes: Can you write an effective True Crime book if there was in fact no crime? I’m not so sure, and Gone at Midnight didn’t do much to change that impression.

Some of the best books in this genre are ones where the author is embedded in the story. They either have a role in the investigation or are somehow connected with the people and events being investigated. The book ends up being a natural extension of their involvement, and this is a distinction I wanted to make with Anderson. He may personally *feel* as though he’s a part of Elisa’s case, but he is not. Countless people all over the world are drawn to particular crimes, some to the victims themselves. This doesn’t mean they have more of a claim on writing about them at length. Anderson desperately wants to be on the inside of this investigation and clearly deeply identifies with Elisa, but the narrative he’s trying to weave here falls short because, in part, he’s outside of it.

To make up for the lack of facts he has to present the audience, Anderson seems to wander off on several tangents that have little to do with his chosen subject. Other infamous crimes are recounted to spice up a chapter or two. He fixates on elements like drones and tracking dogs which the police did not use in this case. He gives credence to the idea that there was some kind of paranormal intervention...i.e. ghosts. It makes him all the more difficult to take seriously. He also has a petty disdain for the police and investigators in this case, seemingly put-off because they wouldn’t give him, a total stranger, access to sensitive information about a woman’s death.

I just didn’t care for this book. I wouldn’t say it’s malicious in its intent, just there’s an exploitative quality I can’t quite ignore. Anderson talks a lot about his own mental health, especially whilst reading Lam’s social media posts where she references her own. Perhaps he could have used a similar platform to compare his own struggles with hers instead of trying to commodify it.

Being a fan of true crime books, I was excited to read the case of Eliza Lam, and it did great at developing the story, clear up to finding her dead in the cistern. It also did a great job at developing the chilling personality of the Cecil Hotel for someone who has never heard of it or its history. Ever been to a place which gives you absolute bad vibes when first stepping into it? I have. This book develops that feeling without ever setting foot into the place.

What I did not like about it was it seemed to be a jumbled up mess of the writer's thoughts without any real organization. It was more of a memoir about the author and the crazy things he did in order to write this book. I cringed when he said he stopped taking his medication for depression and drank a lot, then proceeded to go stay at this hotel. Don't tell me you're surprised when your mind starts playing tricks on you! I completely understand someone's needs for mental help as I was diagnosed with anxiety when I was pregnant with my now 5 year old. I had to stop taking my medication not long ago, because it dragged me down and made me tired, but some people need to stay on medication, and obviously this writer is one of them. It's nothing to be ashamed. I just wish he did not feel like he had to put himself into harm's way to maybe feel a closer connection to Eliza.

I started really loosing interest when they started looking into all the conspiracy theories, when they got into cults and aliens, I had to force myself to read the rest of this book because they had definitely gone too far. Thinking she was already dead and that the killers were using her like a puppet in the elevator to make the ever so famous video? C'mon! It seemed like people just wanted attention and to be famous, so they came up with something completely asinine idea to get there.

I wish the author and book would have figured out what really happened to her, but in all honesty, I do not think this case will ever be solved; too many coverups from the hotel staff and cops. I do, however, believe that someone did something to her, and that she was dead and sexually assaulted before she was discovered in the cistern.

While I’d heard a bit about this case and was excited to learn more, I was disappointed in this book. It jumped all over the place, was repetitive, and went on lots of tangents that I glazed over. For such a fascinating and tragic event, this book was boring. I recognize that the author realized his own mental illness while researching the case, but that could have been a separate book. The cover and description did not allude to how much of the book was not about the case itself.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book for an honest review.

I’ve always found the Elisa Lam case very fascinating, so I was beyond excited to read an entire book dedicated to it. This book was super intriguing and hard to put down. Anderson's research has also helped me come to a conclusion on what I think really happened to Elisa. I believe she died as a result of manslaughter, likely committed by a Cecil Hotel employee, which was followed by a cover-up on part of the Hotel and the LAPD (who gladly obliged, as they never liked to deal with cases that involved the Hotel because of its creepy history) - and it worked because they could rule her death a suicide by blaming it on her mental state at the time.

Anderson's research is phenomenal and he went to great lengths to make sure he covered all the important theories and facts. However, I did have a couple of issues with the overall book flow. First and foremost, I think the length of this book should be cut down a bit. Anderson frequently goes off on tangents that are either very loosely related to Elisa Lam’s case or simply not related at all, which makes some of these chapters so unnecessarily long & boring. Secondly, it feels like Anderson often uses Lam’s case to take the opportunity to talk about his own mental health issues. Normally, this wouldn’t bother me so much, but he seems to do it a lot, which detracts from the fact that this book is actually solely about Elisa Lam. Lastly, he often brings things up that he's already talked about, so it did get a little repetitive.

But... I'm giving a 4-star rating because of all the information he presents. It’s unlike anything else out there. He brings up very important facts and he points to potential evidence that hasn't ever been talked about or released. He also does a great job when describing the history of the Cecil Hotel & talking about why there are so many different theories about Elisa’s death. All in all, a really good true crime book. Very engrossing!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book. As a true crime fan, I was excited to learn more about a case that has attracted international attention!

I have been following the Elisa Lam case for several years now - and while this book provided some interesting details, it also provided far too much information about the author; the history of Los Angeles; serial killers; and random parts of the internet. At some points in the book, the case of Elisa Lam actually got lost amidst the noise.

Sadly, Jake Anderson actually does a great job of summarizing his own book when he writes "Is this just another example of humans finding meaning in the chaos? Or is there something significant to be found underneath the chaos?"

Despite all its potential, I couldn't find anything significant in this book.

I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest!
This was a good book !
This is a new genre for me.
In this book, the author takes us on a journey regarding Elisa Lam's death.
Her body was found floating in a rooftop water tank w/o setting off alarms.
Was that even possible ?
What really happened to Elisa ?
Loved the characters + the storytelling !
It has all the ingredients that you need for a good book!

DNF @ 15%

I kept trying to push myself to pick this up, but just couldn’t press any further. The writing leaves a lot to be desired; I didn’t feel engaged with the content at any point. It really felt like the author was just regurgitating info they found online, and jumping from topic to topic without much of an idea of where they’re going.

There were several points at which I had to wonder how much independent research they had really done. One of these involved a quote from Elisa’s tumblr, where some thought she could have been commenting on graffiti from the roof. But I recognized it right away — it’s literally a quote from the Game of Thrones books. Could she have just been reading asoiaf? Yes! There’s no way for me to know whether the author knew this but either they intentionally left it out to make it look like Elisa had written it herself or they didn’t do the bare minimum of research it would take to realize this was a popular quote from a popular book series.

Regardless, I just didn’t feel like putting time in energy into reading a book I wasn’t at all enjoying.

This must be the most exhaustive account of this sad death turned viral internet mystery. Anderson has pored through the forums and websleuth sites as well as Elisa Lam's own blog and writings to compile a comprehensive account of everything that's known around her life, her strange death, and the online obsession it gave rise to. So that was really fascinating, and absolutely well-deserved and long overdue. She was mentally ill but doing her best and it seems like everything around who she was has been lost thanks to the strange videotape of the day she disappeared and the circumstances around her body's discovery. The memoir portions were less appealing, and although it did help to understand something of why the author felt such a connection or kind of kinship to her, it didn't make for as compelling reading.

In 2013 Elisa Lam was a 21-year-old student who checked into a seedy ominous hotel in Los Angeles, a hotel with a history of violence, suicides and death, and she never checked out. What followed was probably the most bizarre investigation, one in which Elisa Lam in her death has been elevated to cult-like status.

After Elisa went missing and police were notified there was a search of the hotel. They could not find her. It was as if she had just up and vanished. A week later when tenants and guests began to complain about the odor and color of the tap water in their sinks, and someone went onto the roof to look into the water tanks, they discovered to their horror Elisa's naked body floating with her clothes beside her. And this is truly when the mystery begins and still remains unsolved. How did she get there?

The book, Gone at Midnight chronicles Elisa Lam's movements as best as can be done both by eyewitness and social media posts, the history of the Cecil Hotel, where she stayed and was found dead, a hotel where not one, but two serial killers stayed, an odd video which was mysteriously posted of Elisa in an elevator at the hotel which may be her last movements just before her disappearance (a video which you can see on YouTube) and if you are going to read the book I suggest you view; many conspiracy theories, law enforcement suppression of evidence and lastly how mental illness may have played a role.

Up to today, although the coroner finally ruled the death accidental, only after he first ruled it as inconclusive, there are more questions than answers as to what happened to Elisa and how she ended up in a water tank on a roof even though the roof had been searched by police and dog sniffers a week prior to finding her.
Author Jake Anderson became obsessed with the case (and still is) after seeing the initial elevator video which shows Elisa's odd behavior. Was she being followed or was she having some sort of manic episode? Anderson then found out the tape seems to have time missing from it. Why? He then began looking at Lam's on-line social media presence which was abundant. And stopped abruptly two days before her death.

He seems to find evidence of police/corporate conspiracy at the Cecil Hotel as well as evidence suppression. With no official from the police department or the hotel willing to talk to him about anything, Anderson begins looking on the internet at website conspiracy sites and finds a plethora of information, some real and some outlandish. He then must sift through the reality versus the imagined.

Gone at Midnight, although a true story, reads like a psychological horror novel. Anderson meticulously takes the reader through the evidence, or lack of, the witnesses, some whom have disappeared, and the emotional mental journey Elisa Lam seemed to be on at the time of her death.

Will there ever be any type of resolution as to what really happened to Elisa Lam? If Jake Anderson has his way there most certainly will.

Thank you to #NetGalley #Citadel #JakeAnderson #GoneAtMidnight for the advanced copy.

The good: Very well researched and brought up interesting facts to be considered in relation to what could have been the truth about this case. While there is still no definitive answer, the author discovered many new facts that hadn't been posited up to this point.

The bad: Extremely repetitious. Many facts presented in the narrative were repeated so many times that I found myself skimming many pages, which is an atypical action for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Elisa Lam’s death and the mysterious circumstances surrounding it have always held my interest. When I saw there was a book coming out that dove into the events of her death, I knew I had to read it. Dare I hope that this book contains the answers that we all have about her death? I dove right in and tore through this book because I had to find out. While the book didn’t contain all of the answers I was looking for, I definitely gained a lot of new insight into Elisa Lam’s death that I didn’t know previously.

The Content: For the most part, the content was good. There was a lot of information that I hadn’t known and I found myself fascinated by some of the revelations the author revealed. I really liked that he included a lot of information about mental illness and thought that it was wonderful that he was such an advocate for people suffering from it. There were parts of the book that just didn’t resonate with me and started to get a little out there. A lot of the stuff about conspiracy theories and some of the theories that people came up with were so far-fetched and I just thought too much time was spent talking about them.

The Flow: It was a little bit scattered and I felt like there was too much jumping from one subject to the next. However, I read this book fairly quickly and felt most of the information was concise and to the point. There were some areas that became a bit long-winded and I don’t think added to the overall quality of the book.

The Writing: The writing was okay. I think the author spent a little too much time talking about himself and his emotional connection to the story. A small blurb would have been okay, but I’m really here for information about Elisa Lam. As I said before, his writing was a little scattered. I think this would have been executed much better if the content had been a little more structured.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Citadel Press for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review*

This is the tragic and sad case of Elisa Lam, a 21 year-old student from Vancouver who was on her solo West Coast tour in California, and was last heard on January 31, 2013, after checking in the Cecil Hotel (a.k.a. "Suicide Hotel). This hotel is infamous for its many suicide cases, brutal murders and also known to be the residence of two notorious serial killers, Richard Ramirez, "The Night Stalker" and Jack Unterweger, "The Austrian Ghoul".

19 days later, maintenance worker, Santiago Lopez made a grim discovery of Elisa's nude body in one of the 10-foot-tall water tank on the hotel's roof when he was investigating about the complaints of foul-smelling, dark and discolored tap water. After so many years, the circumstances surrounding Elisa's death is still a puzzle and mystery, in particular the eerie surveillance video of her erratic behaviour in the hotel's elevator, which was released by the police during the search for her. What caused Elisa's death - murder, suicide or paranormal activity?

First of all, I love reading books by journalists as they are always well-researched, and this book is of no exception. You know that Anderson did an in-depth research as this book is replete with information about the history of the Cecil Hotel, Elisa's psyche, parapsychology, websleuthing, conspiracy theories, corruption in LAPD and the coroner system, and so forth. There are a lot to take in this book yet every bit of it is pivotal to the case. Secondly, this is a part true crime, part psychological memoir and I enjoyed the mental illness discussion in this book as it is something that I am passionate about. What I also liked about this book is that one of the sources for this book is from notes and posts by Elisa on her Ether Fields blog. It is haunting yet you are able to understand what Elisa was going through in her life. However, as much as I enjoyed this book, I have to say that there were some parts that felt repetitive and dry.

That being said, overall, this is a riveting book that delves into many aspects of this case. It is a must read for true crime junkies out there! And even if you're not into true crime, the mental illness and criminal conspiracy in this case is an eye-opening one. After reading this book, I can safely crossed out the role of paranormal activity in Elisa's case. If you disagree with me, read this book and draw your own conclusions!


"We live in a surveillance grid in which the federal government, law-enforcement agencies, and corporations claim to have the legal right to track our every movement, read our private messages, and harvest and sell our meta-data. Yet when private citizens and advocacy groups request transparency from police, feds, and executives, they receive draconian evasion."


Pub. Date: Feb 25, 2020


***I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from Kensington Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed in this review are my own and was not influenced by the author, publisher or any third party.***

really impressed by the way this didn't blame the victim. gave a well rounded argument against suicide witch i think is the best way to look at this true crime. very smart and easy to get through. honest and quick read.

There is always room on my shelf for a true crime story. Although this story is local to me and took place in the last few years, I had not heard of the mysterious death of Elisa Lam or the internet frenzy around the many theories that are swirling in the wake of this investigation. The book initially piqued my interest, but then the author became unreliable to me as he began to unpack his own mental health issues and his trips down several drug induced rabbit holes. I found it hard to follow the original story as it was so mixed up in his own journey. I am still curious about this story and hope Netflix picks it up as a documentary. This was an ARC provided by Net Galley – Thank you!
#netgalley #goneatmidnight

I love true crime books and the premise of this one intrigued me. Unfortunately, I could not get into this book. The writing was stilted and the author went off on many tangents. There were many long stories about the hotel and how different criminals has stayed there or bad things had happened there. I just didn't get the connection between these and the case at hand. The writing style felt very dry and textbook like.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence my review in any way.

Heavily researched history of the ongoing case of Elisa Lam, the young Chinese woman who disappeared from her L.A. Hotel. Jake Anderson covered every possible angle of the case, and yet, we still don't know how or why Elisa Lam died.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I am a true crime fanatic and have enjoyed listening to podcasts about this case, but the book didn't grab my attention. I did not finish this book due to lack of interest. The author's writing style made it hard for me to get lost in the story.

Elisa Lam is a 21 year old student who goes to Los Angeles and stays at the Cecil hotel. This aging hotel does not have a good reputation as there have been some disturbing occurrences including suicides. Many of the residents live there full time and some were living there on January 31st 2013, when Elisa disappeared. The police were notified and searched to no avail. Later a disturbing video was released
It shows Elisa alone in an elevator. She seems to be pressing several buttons, but the elevator doors do not close. Then she walks away. This was the last sighting of her until.her body was discovered in a water tank.on the rooftop of the hotel - a place supposedly already searched by the police. This cold case true story will keep you reading wondering what happened to Elisa.

这本书（Gone at Midnight: The Mysterious Death of Elisa Lam）是在十分安静的几天里读的。那几天卧床，能静静地追忆2013年时脑海里对Elisa Lam这个案子的印象。即使病榻上与世界的关联几近寂寥，但外界并未有任一放缓脚步的迹象。这反而让我有了稍稍转身顾盼的机会。管他的，让我自己先放慢脚步。在一个被作者称为“二十一世纪最神秘的悬案”分析里，我随之对“心理健康”、“执法机关犯法、腐败、掩盖事情”、“公平、正义”、“阴谋论”等等进一步有了了解，并引发了思考。
The Style of Writing-文风、流派

作者在文末记中写道，这本书并不是一般的“真实罪案（True Crime）”记录，而是杂糅了十分个人的情绪在里面。作者在详细论述案情的时候，及早地指出了Elisa Lam有Bipolar病症。她本人也曾在Tumblr上详细记录自己与抑郁症及Bipolar病症共生的痛楚与挣扎。作者自己也有着相似的病症，并在私人查案时渐渐对Elisa Lam的案情产生了共情，希望为逝者找到真正的公义。但也正是由于此类心绪才会令这本书与真实罪案记录有所出入，不太一样：它没有完全绕着Elisa Lam案件的来龙去脉写成，而是用了相当大的篇目穿插作者自身与Bipolar及抑郁症抗争的细节。有时候读起来会觉得细节过多，其实也许能将其放入“文末记”里一并道来。在这里，还是尊重作者的安排。

令我更觉得值得推荐的是作者的文风，其文风严慎，即使再个人化、细述共情心绪，也很经得起推理、论证。

案件本身引起的广泛关注

2013年Elisa Lam住进了曾经令无数人纷纷死去的Cecil Hotel。Cecil Hotel除了目睹过一定数量的自杀者外，还是两位遗臭万年的连环杀手——Jack Unterweger及Richard Ramirez——连续作案的住所。

本应该按时离开Hotel的她却被报行迹无处寻觅。几星期过去了，在对Cecil Hotel饮水质量的抱怨进行查看时，水管工在顶楼贮水箱里发现了Elisa Lam的尸体。尸体全裸，旁边漂有衣服。

LAPD查案期间，有一段Elisa Lam在Cecil Hotel电梯里的视频被传上Youtube，这不仅引起了百万网友的观看，也引来了网上侦探的重重分析。许多道不明的想法随着视频的疯传而被人们接受。然而，LAPD以Elisa Lam的心理病症为由将案子最终定为意外。

很多抱着为这个女孩找到应得的公义的心情展开了网上及实地的侦查，本书作者也一样，甚至于2018年众筹拍摄了纪录片，意求在找到线索的基础上还女孩一个迟到的正义，并完成了这本书的创作。

关于阴谋论及其它越过自然解释之外的理论

Elisa Lam案件的特殊之处还在于Youtube上的那段视频片段激发出来的讨论。作者在书里前边的位置已经提到很多阴谋论，有撒旦人祭的，有非自然力的等等。然而，作者成功地道出了这样一个显而易见的道理：当人们对官方结论不满意时，也当人们觉得官方（LAPD）刻意隐瞒了什么的时候，阴谋论般的猜测才会层出不穷。作者也列出了一些几乎无法用“巧”字来解释的阴谋论，甚至有人用从前的诗看出内里藏着Elisa Lam的拼写，于是将Cecil Hotel描述成一个迷之禁地。由此放大来看，不透明和有限的了解度才令阴谋论有了发挥的余地。越是这样，离理性越远。

心理健康

作者在本书用了极多篇目分析案情，叙述实地采访、查实，也极细致地基于Elisa Lam的Tumblr、Blog、Twitter分析了心里健康的重要性及与本案之关联。作者引证了Freud、Carl Jung等心理学理论奠基人，从心理学的角度平衡地分析了Bipolar的一些症状，让案情里的逝者拥有更多的理解。

作者认为，Elisa Lam的心理疾病被LAPD利用了，才以“意外”为此案划了“终了”符。心理疾病自是不能忽视，不过也不应该成为LAPD的掩护。

因为对抑郁症及Bipolar的理解越多，对LAPD的解释及证人证物上的重重疑云则越来越多质疑。这里作者写到了很重要的几重疑云：

LAPD深陷多个腐败丑闻，与Cecil Hotel管理层过从亲密，且未受应有的监督。
发现尸体的证人得到一大笔钱，离开了美国，无人找得到。
Cecil Hotel在案件发生期间完成了很大的一个并购案。
此类事件，不胜枚举。值得称赞的是，作者并没有在无直接证明的联系的前提下盖棺定论，而是本着严谨的态度寻求对此案的重新审理。

看完书很佩服作者投入这么多的时间、精力、人力、物力、财力，为Elisa Lam寻找迟到的正义。案子未必会重审，但这本书赋予希望了解这个案子来龙去脉的人以最全面的分析。这里我们看到了正义、公理在普通人心里的分量，它是那一丝的希望，依旧引领着追逐它的人。

Like thousands of others, I've seen the infamous elevator of Elisa Lam at the Cecil Hotel. Ever since then, the mystery of what happened to Elisa has always bothered me. It's a case that bothered author Jake Anderson as well. In Gone at Midnight, Anderson goes through the elevator footage, the history of the Cecil Hotel, the investigation (or lack thereof) by the LAPD, as well as his own personal struggles that were similar to Elisa's. I was expecting to read another account of what is already known of the case, but Anderson went above and beyond. He interviewed former tenents of the Cecil; officers, doctors, and psychologists; friends of Elisa; security guards; bouncers; anyone he could find that may have even the smallest bit of information about Elisa and the case. I found it interesting that he also looked into the supernatural side and a number of conspiracy theories about the case (although I do not believe in either of these, it was interesting to read and learn about the other side of things). I also liked that Anderson went though Elisa's Tumblr and Instagram posts to try to piece together a timeline of where she went and what her mindset might have been at the time. I greatly enjoyed reading about the history of the Cecil Hotel and would love to read something more in-depth about it. I also appreciate how Anderson shone a light on mental illness and encouraged readers to learn more about them and to not instantly blame mental illness as a reason for why this tragic case happened. Jake Anderson did a wonderful job of attempting to find answers in this case and to expose what when wrong. I hope with the new information that he uncovered that the case will be reopened but only time will tell.

Much thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books/Citadel for the ARC.