The Zodiac Killer: The Story of America's Most Elusive Murderer by Michael ButterfieldMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Narrated by Mack Gordon
Presented by Arcturus Digital Audio
This is a case that really fascinates me, but unfortunately this audiobook didn't totally capture my undivided attention.
I won't go over the details of the case too much - Zodiac was the name given to a serial killer who sent cryptic codes to newspapers after his murders. The killer has never been found.
This book begins with a detailed look at what happened with each murder - who, where, when, how - and states facts plainly with no frills.
It then goes into more information on the ciphers, suspects, victims, theories and even pop culture references.
I did find the information felt rather stale, and not particularly in depth. There's a lot of info to take in but it feels mostly superfluous, especially when we come to theories and suspects. Some of it felt unnecessary, or even irrelevant at times.
I think the audio perhaps isn't the best format for this one, since the ciphers were such a crucial part of the case and not being able to look at them or the code-breaking processes described made it harder to follow. The narrator also delivered his lines poorly, with pauses in strange places and emphasis where it perhaps wasn't necessary. His voice was fine for the book but the cadence was off so I found it a little frustrating at times.
It also felt like there was just no real empathy here - it's more about the killer and who he was and so fails to show any worthy amount of compassion to add a much needed human feel to it.
There's a decent amount of information here for people who are new to the case and want a more thorough account, but there's nothing new for those of us wanting more. It was interesting enough but there are perhaps other sources that do the case more justice.
With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC
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