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Zodiac Unmasked: The Identity of America's Most Elusive Serial Killer Revealed by Robert Graysmith
tarheel99's review against another edition
3.0
This is the authors second book about the Zodiac killer, and the first one was a much better book. This book offers a lot of updated detail and evidence and also names the main suspect of the author and most of the authorities for the crimes attributed to the killer. The main problem with this book is that it is all over the place and very repetitive. The author will be recounting an interview or piece of evidence that has come to light and then just throw in some random fact or suspicious piece or coincidental information randomly that doesn't connect at all with the previous info. That said, a very compelling case is presented that the main suspect named in the book was the Zodiac.
briarsreviews's review against another edition
1.0
Zodiac Unmasked was an interesting take on the real life incidents revolving around the Zodiac Killer.
This book could have been a LOT shorter than it is, there is almost so much content in this book I got bored (and I am OBSESSED with conspiracies and theories, I'll sit through long books and videos any day of the week). I almost quit this book completely because it was boring me to death. I did love all the research and information within this book, but it was almost too much.
This is one of many theories of who the Zodiac Killer was, and it truly is fleshed out. It may not be 100% correct, but it was a good read if you want to look into the information surrounding this theory.
The positives within this book is the amazing content within it, but that also ties with my major negative: it's long, repetitive and becomes quite boring due to those two factors. The theory itself is confusing and long, but that doesn't mean the book needs to be over 500 pages of repeating the same stuff over and over and over. I did enjoy the fact that the book was in chronological order, but I also felt that it didn't need to be. I would have loved all the hard hitting facts and awesome plot points first before all the boring, nitty, gritty details.
Overall, I'm not totally impressed with this book. It bored me to tears and I almost stopped reading it.
1 out of 5 stars.
This book could have been a LOT shorter than it is, there is almost so much content in this book I got bored (and I am OBSESSED with conspiracies and theories, I'll sit through long books and videos any day of the week). I almost quit this book completely because it was boring me to death. I did love all the research and information within this book, but it was almost too much.
This is one of many theories of who the Zodiac Killer was, and it truly is fleshed out. It may not be 100% correct, but it was a good read if you want to look into the information surrounding this theory.
The positives within this book is the amazing content within it, but that also ties with my major negative: it's long, repetitive and becomes quite boring due to those two factors. The theory itself is confusing and long, but that doesn't mean the book needs to be over 500 pages of repeating the same stuff over and over and over. I did enjoy the fact that the book was in chronological order, but I also felt that it didn't need to be. I would have loved all the hard hitting facts and awesome plot points first before all the boring, nitty, gritty details.
Overall, I'm not totally impressed with this book. It bored me to tears and I almost stopped reading it.
1 out of 5 stars.
captainfez's review against another edition
2.0
Another book to tie in with Fincher's film. Fair enough, it is where a lot of the structure for the movie comes from - but it's an unsatisfying read.
Compared to his first Zodiac book, this work is pretty weak. There's a retelling - of sorts - of the Zodiac story, but with significant theories from the first work redacted. (The supposed use of the overhead projector to write the letters is nowhere to be seen in this work, for example.)
The story is told in an arse-backwards manner, which leads to chronological confusion - and this is from someone who's read the first work. The new stuff - now with Arthur Leigh Allen named - is compelling, but it seems like so much of a tack-on. Surely the best thing to do would be to revisit the original work, supplement what's there with the newer findings and then present a ball-tearer single volume?
It'd certainly frustrate fewer readers.
Compared to his first Zodiac book, this work is pretty weak. There's a retelling - of sorts - of the Zodiac story, but with significant theories from the first work redacted. (The supposed use of the overhead projector to write the letters is nowhere to be seen in this work, for example.)
The story is told in an arse-backwards manner, which leads to chronological confusion - and this is from someone who's read the first work. The new stuff - now with Arthur Leigh Allen named - is compelling, but it seems like so much of a tack-on. Surely the best thing to do would be to revisit the original work, supplement what's there with the newer findings and then present a ball-tearer single volume?
It'd certainly frustrate fewer readers.
amandat's review against another edition
3.0
Not as good as the first book, but that's only because I found the first book fascinating.
When I read the first book, the copy I picked up was the newer version with a section at the back about Allen. So, I was already familiar with Graysmith's theory.
When I read the first book, the copy I picked up was the newer version with a section at the back about Allen. So, I was already familiar with Graysmith's theory.
peggy56dj's review against another edition
2.0
I love true crime but perhaps Ann Rule's excellent writing in this genre has spoiled me. Graysmith's book should be fascinating, but the chronology he uses seems entirely random. Suspects come and go; investigators come and go as well. I think that a reader unfamiliar with the Zodiac case would be completely lost.
enemieslist's review
2.0
Much more jumbled and hard to follow than the first book - not really sure what this book is supposed to be about, unless it's everything following the original book. Only for those already familiar with the case, for sure.