Zodiac - Unsolved

Interesting and perhaps the most famous book about the Zodiac killings. "Starr" is Arthur Leigh Allen. Many including the chief Detective on the case - Detective Dave Toschi - believe Allen was the Zodiac killer. It is clear that he is one of the strongest suspects but he is one of several which suggests that the evidence against any of the suspects is far from watertight. Moreover, nobody has ever been charged with the crimes. There is even one brief suggestion that the Zodiac Killer could have been a British engineer ! This book is one of several good books about one of the most fascinating unsolved series of murders in criminal history. The same author has written an up to date version of his account.


My rating: 4/5. See also my review of another book on the Zodiac killings (on the 'Goodreads' website.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A true crime must

beautifully written , intreging ,
leaving many thoughts on WHO the Zodiac is/was no surprise to anyone familiar with the case and if this account is as close as anyone will get , leaves you with an almost nailed on suspect

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

'Zodiac' - almost gets 12 stars

A solid, interesting, investigation of the infamous unidentified murderer. It is necessary, because of the type of work it is, to concentrate upon it rather fully or one loses the thread of evidence. Not, therefore a light listen but it is gripping and I looked forward to the next session each time I hung up my headphones for the day. As is inevitable with this type of true crime, there cannot be the truly satisfying conclusion of - say - a novel but the author presents his case(s) clearly.

It is well and appropriately read and the Mr. Rudnicki, the reader, even manages to endear himself enough to compensate for the author's more than occasional self-congratulation that might otherwise have been a little grating.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Thorough

Whilst the title music is lurid, as noted above, this is a thorough examination and condensation of the known facts.

It contains a good balance of opinion and conjecture to cope with the ultimate open-endedness of the case.

A mystery tackled.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

fascinating insight into the Zodiac murders

A fascinating insight in to the Zodiac murders and a how the author unravelled the coded letters

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Update please

Very well written and narrated. Often the narrator puts me off but this was a goodie. Bizarre case - a recent epilogue would be a plus

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Chilling and thought-provoking

1968 – a hooded mass murderer terrifies the city of San Francisco and the Bay Area with a series of apparently random and vicious killings. From his first teenage victims, shot dead in a lover’s lane, he goes on to kill at least six people, though the real figure could be as high as fifty. Working on the San Francisco Chronicle at the time of the murders, Robert Graysmith tells the story of the Zodiac’s reign of terror.

If the tale sounds familiar, it may be due to the influence it had on movies like Clint Eastwood’s ‘Dirty Harry’, made while the real killer was still active, as well as more recent productions, such as David Fincher’s ‘Zodiac’, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Graysmith. The book, with its subtitle, ‘The Shocking True Story of the Nation’s Most Bizarre Mass Murderer’ tells the story of a destroyer of lives who has never been caught. During his study of the case, the author identified many potential suspects and although when the book was originally published in 1986 he had changed the names of those he suspected, it was later revealed that Arthur Leigh Allen and Don Cheyney were the main focus of his attention.

The book is a chilling and thought-provoking account that goes into great detail, revealing much information that at the time of the murders had not been released to the public.

At the time of writing (2019), the Zodiac remains unidentified.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

just not my thing

good narrator, interesting but just not my genre. if you do like true crime I'm sure you'll love it

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Nice spooky music to kick off

And spooky music at the end. Story is good but forever frustrating because we are no closer to the truth by the end.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Fantastic book

This is an unabridged accurate report of the Zodiac killings. Absolutely superb writing. I’d give it 10 stars if I could!!!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful