Zodiac by Robert Graysmith Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Zodiac
Book Review: Leaves me with more questions than answers
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this book after seeing the movie, hoping it would clear up a few things that were glossed over in the movie. But even after reading the book twice, I still have more questions than answers.
One thing is quite clear, that Mr. Graysmith has decided who the real Zodiac is, and only presents the facts that support his finding. Personally, I would have preferred to be presented with more of the facts, so I can make up my own mind.
It's true what others have said, about the book being not very well written. It's clumsy and hard to follow at times, and all the name changes definitely don't help matters.
But even with all that, it's gripping and hard to put down. I finished it in two sittings the first time through.
I think before I spend any money on "Zodiac Unmasked", I'll look for it in the library. I have a hunch I should have bought that one and not this one, anyway.
Book Review: My favorite true crime novel
Summary: 5 Stars
This book helped me like books, as ridiculous as that sounds. This is one that you can't put down. Graysmith lays everything out, I think few people outside of the criminal justice system actually know the case as well as he does. This book is one of my favorite reads, I highly recommend it to anyone who loves true crime stories and especially mysteries.Book Review: Needed a better writer and a better printer!
Summary: 3 Stars
The story of the Zodiac killer is a fascinating one. The story of how Robert Graysmith, a political cartoonist on the staff of the SF Chrionicle at the time of the Zodiac murders, became obsessed with discovering the killer's true identity is also fascinating. Mr. Graysmith seems to have been a diligent and thorough researcher and may also be a talented cartoonist. Unfortunately, he's no writer. The text switches back and forth between clumsy, overwrought purple-ness and dry, just-the-facts recitation. Worse, it's full of grammatical howlers that I was surprised to see make it into a final published text. I was also unhappy with the quality of the edition itself, which is the paperback movie tie-in one. The printing is blurry and too fine for comfortabe reading and slopes this way and that across different pages.
Still, I read it cover to cover and wasn't sorry when I was finished.
Book Review: One of the most fascinating crime sprees in history
Summary: 5 Stars
Long intrigued by true crime and cold cases, I've always been interested in the case of the mysterious serial killer who plagued southern California in the 1960s.
Graysmith's book encompasses everything readers might want to know about the cases -- profiles on each of the victims, reproductions of the cryptic coded letters the Zodiac mailed to area newspapers, interviews with survivors, victims' families and law enforcement, information about the men most suspected to be the Zodiac. He skillfully combines a level of intense detail with a flowing narrative, immediately pulling readers into the mystery.
Of course, there is some element of "fiction" -- Graysmith can't know what exactly was going through the minds of victims in their final moments, or even exactly what they were doing in their last hours. Yet taking known information and taking the liberty of putting it into a more anecdotal format only serves to make the book work better.
Additionally, Graysmith provides a handy appendix with all known Zodiac facts -- timelines, victim information, etc. -- in case readers want an easy-to-access point of reference for their own research.
Book Review: Political Cartoonist turned Wanna Be Cop
Summary: 3 Stars
This extremely long-winded version of the Zodiac Killer investigation, as portrayed by political cartoonist Robert Graysmith, is full of detail; unfortunately, it has been saturated with detail that serves no purpose other to fill pages.
Graysmith, an apparent wanna-be cop, takes on the role of a "private investigator" and attempts to gather "evidence" on his favorite Zodiac suspect, Arthur Allen Leigh. However, readers are given some insight into other possible suspects while others that police favored are not mentioned at all.
While this book is filled with reproductions of Zodiac's letters, etc., readers are not invited to envision the victims as no photos of these individuals are included. I was only able to gain an image by Googling for information on the Zodiac Killer.
If one can weed through the usless dribble, there is an excellent story within; however, one most remember that this book was written based mainly on the author's opinion. And, to be quite frank, the opinion of a political cartoonist is not the first I'm looking to take; but readers can leave that up to their own judgment.