Customer Rating:  
Summary: very interesting
Comment: this is a very good interesting book which goes into quite a lot of detail about each murder. if you are a patient sort of person who is interested in this sort of topic, this book is definitely for you. for those looking for more excitement, try a book of fiction of the DVD of this film.
Customer Rating:
Summary: An insight into the minds of two astonishing people.
Comment: This is the only book I've been compelled to write a review for. I picked this up after seeing David Fincher's movie, which is not a bad thing to do because of the vast amount of names that crop up in the first few chapters, being able to put a face to them helps.
This is probably the best account of a mystery ever put on paper, it is a fact by fact account of twenty year investigation and it is an incredibly compelling insight into the minds of two astonishing people. One unspeakably evil, the other unspeakably dedicated.
Who do you think did it?
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fascinating...frustrating...and frightening...
Comment: The strap line on the cover of this book is so poignant "There is more than one way to lose your life to a killer".
Written by Robert Graysmith, the political cartoonist of the San Francisco Chronicle during a spate of murders in the area that spanned over a number of years through the late 60s and early 70s, it charts in great detail the events surrounding each murder and the subsequent police investigations which have, to this day, proved fruitless in apprehending the killer.
Graysmith originally became involved in the case as the killer, who called himself "Zodiac", wrote a number of letters to the newspaper which bragged about the crimes, made threats about future killings and included complicated codes and ciphers to fool the authorities. Graysmith clearly became so consumed with the murders and the identity of the serial killer over the years, that he has, literally, lost his life to the case. Although the author does go into mind boggling detail, the book is incredibly interesting, and all the more chilling as this actually happened. It provides fascinating insights into psychological profiling, cryptography and forensics.
However, you get a real sense of the frustration felt by all involved that they could not catch the killer. In fact, frustrated is probably an understatement. He taunted the police and families of the victims over a period of 10 years. He was repeatedly one step ahead of the police. He sent a series of puzzling letters to both the newspapers and the law enforcement authorities. He eluded the police on a number of occasions, even going so far as to give two officers directions following one of the murders, sending them on a wild goose chase. He may, which is even more unnerving, have been alone in the same room with the author some years later. Problems with information sharing arose from the bizarre way the different states and provinces in the US appear to be governed. Unincorporated sections of cities or areas of disputed police jurisdiction led to multiple agencies working the case, but not sharing any progress each had made. At times I wanted to scream as you realise how close they came to catching him...just not close enough.
I now can't wait to watch the film...
Customer Rating:
Summary: COLD BLOODED KILLER
Comment: a fantastic read here,really keeps you on the edge of your seat..as the madman known as the ZODIAC plays games with people`s lives..as well as taunting the police for years on end.what i find strange about the whole investigation, so many people must have seen the zodiac over the years he was killing...but no one ever put a name and face to the crimes..strange
Customer Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Comment: Without a doubt, the Zodiac killer is one of the scariest characters I've ever come across in fact or fiction!
The book is basically the result of years of investigation by the author into the still unsolved Zodiac murders. Robert Graysmith was a cartoonist who worked at one of the papers that Zodiac continually wrote to during his killing spree. Graysmith poured thousands of his own hours over a number of years into the case, determined to solve a case flooded with clues and suspects, but seemingly destined to go unsolved.
Graysmith sets the scene of the times so well, and his attention to detail (which although sometimes borders on the excessive) helps the reader paint a picture of the characters involved (victimes, detectives and suspects). As a result, at times the book is quite disturbing (descriptions of some of the murders are pretty gruesome) but because of the fascinating story behind the whole Zodiac thing and the passionate way it's told here, it's difficult to put the book down.
I finished the book wondering how a crime where there were so many clues, so many opportunities to catch the person responsible, is still officially unsolved to this day (although there is a prime suspect who is mentioned in the book) and despite the gruesome and just weird nature of the crimes, it leaves you wanting to find out more.
The book has now been made into a major film 'Zodiac' and it's also very good and quite true to the book.
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