A sexual sadist, his pleasure was torture and murder. His first victims were a teenage couple, stalked and shot dead on a lover’s lane. After another slaying, he sent his first mocking note to authorities, promising he would kill again. The official tally of his victims was six. He claimed thirty-seven. The real toll may have reached fifty. He was never caught.
“After Jack the Ripper and before Son of Sam there is only one name their equal in terror: the deadly, elusive, and mysterious Zodiac. Since 1968 the hooded mass murderer has terrified the city of San Francisco and the Bay Area with a string of brutal killings. Zodiac, in taunting letters sent to the newspapers, has hidden clues to his identity by using cunning ciphers that have defied the greatest code-breaking minds of the CIA, the FBI, and NSA.”—from the book
Robert Graysmith was on staff at the San Francisco Chronicle in 1969 when Zodiac first struck, triggering in the resolute reporter an unrelenting obsession with seeing the hooded killer brought to justice. In this gripping account of Zodiac’s eleven-month reign of terror, Graysmith reveals hundreds of facts previously unreleased, including the complete text of the killer’s letters—and his own theory of the Zodiac’s true identity.
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"Robert Graysmith uses all the evidence he gathered while helping police investigate the Zodiac murders and makes his case of who he thinks it is. This book was published right after the suspects death. Read Zodiac first, or you'll be totally lost."
— Eric (5 out of 5 stars)
“Provocative…Bizarre…Graysmith’s taut narrative brings the horror back with jolt upon jolt.”
— San Francisco Chronicle“Few cases in the history of true crime are as colorful and intriguing as that of Zodiac…Graysmith provides ample details about the police investigation, including the full text and photos of most of the letters. Zodiac is an excellent starting point not only for the casual reader but also for those interested in retracing the author’s steps in order to pursue their own ideas about who the killer may have been.”
— Amazon.com, editorial review“Stefan Rudnicki’s narration is intelligent, engaging, and intriguing. His voice commands attention…Rudnicki makes listening satisfying and, even in lengthy lab reports, keeps things edgy.”
— AudioFile“Will fascinate true-crime readers…Recommended.”
— Library Journal“A chilling real-life detective story.”
— Savannah News-Press" One word. Chilling "
— Brian, 2/18/2014" I hate to say it, but so far, not as good as the film. It does not flow very well and is very clinical. Just full of dates and facts. "
— Rachael, 2/10/2014" Disappointing that they never found the smoking gun. Lots of circumstantial evidence point to ALA, however. "
— Kathy, 1/29/2014" Not as interesting as the first Zodiac. I'd skip this one completely - I was bored to tears. "
— Twxitbetwixt, 1/17/2014" It is hard for me to review this book because it is very long (like 450 pages) and almost entirely redundant of the first zodiac book. it has like 10 pages of new information spliced throughout & a bunch of painstaking minutiae in between. Had I not read the first Zodiac book, perhaps I would've liked this one. The only reason I did read it-- the first book did not conclusively "unmask" the killer -- so i had to read on and find out. right? wrong! just skip to the last page and save yourself the time. "
— Therese, 1/13/2014" creepy, disturbing and hard to put down. "
— Kelly, 1/5/2014" It was an interesting and imforational story of crime. I did enjoy reading it but not as compelling as I had anticipated. "
— Candy, 1/4/2014" Excellent book about the Zodiac killer. I can't say for sure that Graysmith truly exposed the identity of the killer, but he definitely makes a convincing argument. "
— Braxton, 1/4/2014" Full of amazing detail and personal recollections. However all of that is lost in the incredibly disorganized style. The book reads like it was originally pages of notes recounting pieces of the puzzle that were tossed up in the air and then recorded in whatever order they fell. "
— Jessie, 12/25/2013" One of the few books that makes you turn around to make sure no one is standing behind you while you are reading it. Very creepy book and it is hard not to get caught up with Robert Graysmith's obsession. "
— Melanie, 12/17/2013" I didn't get very far with this. I couldn't stand the overly-linear, fact-based writing style. None of it formed into a captivating narrative for me. Nevertheless, the facts were pretty disturbing and I wasn't as tolerant of "true crime" writing as I'd expected. "
— Kristen, 12/3/2013" At first when I began to read this book, I thought it was boring. However, when I got farther in the book, I enjoyed it. This book is a little creepy and frightning. "
— Jenny, 5/28/2013" It's really easy to get away with murder. "
— Scott, 5/7/2013" This is perhaps the most chilling book I've ever read. A great true crime story. "
— Sue, 1/11/2013" One of the better serial killer books out there. "
— Erica, 1/10/2013" This book was very disappointing. I usually love reading true crime books but this was extremely dull and boring. "
— Melissa, 8/24/2012" This book is extremely journalistically and somewhat self-promotingly written. That said, as a person who lived in the Bay Area, and getting to see the insides of a perplexed search for a serial killer, it kept me turning every page. "
— Greg, 6/10/2012" The mystery is unsolved so it was dissapointing for me.. did not like the end! "
— Audrey, 1/24/2012" Hello creepy! "
— Chip, 1/11/2012" little slow in a few areas. but fact always beats fiction. "
— Chad, 9/25/2011" Ah, I remember this exact book from high school. Indeed, not that great a writer by any stretch (and plus, this book is SO the seedy true crime section of any Books-A-Million), but such an interesting account. A friend of mine found her name in the list of victim's in the back. "
— Robert, 9/24/2011" A fantastic book and a really good movie. Made all the more scary by the fact that is it real. "
— John, 4/11/2011" The movie is FAR better than the book. Graysmith's writing just isn't as compelling in novel form as I expected from watching the film. <br/> "
— Jobetta, 3/23/2011" It's true, that's why you should read it at night. "
— Nathan, 3/19/2011" Author meanders around... I was often confused/lost as to what was happening. "
— Kate, 3/4/2011" I read a LOT of true crime and nothing has scared me like this book. Author did a fabulous job of conveying the fear that citizens felt when this killer was active. He was never caught by the way. "
— Shellie, 2/5/2011" creeptastic psychological thriller. A very through account of all the facts in the unsolved Zodiac case. "
— Jill, 2/3/2011" 2500 suspects and not one Conviction? "
— Michael, 1/27/2011" Interesting story held together the less than perfect writing. "
— Della, 12/9/2010" Horrifying story about the Zodiac killer who terrorized the bay area in the 60s/70s. Super scary. "
— Eric, 10/28/2010" This novel will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is very well written with lots of detail and suspense. "
— Kristine, 9/17/2010Robert Graysmith, national bestselling author of Zodiac, The Sleeping Lady, and The Murder of Bob Crane, was on the staff of the San Francisco Chronicle in 1969 when the Zodiac killer’s first letter arrived. His work as a political cartoonist was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices in 2012.