Zodiac

The Shocking True Story of the Nation's Most Bizarre Mass Murderer

By: Robert Graysmith

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

After Jack the Ripper and before Son of Sam there was only one name their equal in terror: the deadly, elusive, and mysterious Zodiac. Beginning in 1968 the hooded mass murderer terrified the city of San Francisco and the Bay Area with a string of brutal killings. A sexual sadist, his pleasure was torture and murder. His first victims were a teenage couple, stalked and shot dead in 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. The real toll may have reached 50. He was never caught. Graysmith, who was on the staff of the San Francisco Chronicle at the time of the murders, gives this gripping account of Zodiac's reign of terror.

©1976 Robert Graysmith (P)2006 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Provocative....Bizarre....Graysmith's taut narrative brings the horror back with jolt upon jolt." (San Francisco Chronicle)
"Will fascinate true-crime readers." (Library Journal)

Very interesting book.

I really liked this book. It was informative and interesting. I am a little bit too young to remember the actual events going on but the book lays out the events in enough detail to make them interesting without being boring with too much information. Listening to this book made me want to watch the movie. I realized from the book that there are several movies based on these events, including "Dirty Harry." Overall, a great listen and I would recommend it to anyone interested in true crime stories.

Keeps you interested.

This is a book with a lot of details about true events but it does not bore you to death. It reads more as a story and keeps the reader involved. Good narration and we'll written accounts about a truly disturbing killer.

Very good book on Zodiak

Where does Zodiac rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Maybe 7/8on a scale of 1-10.

What other book might you compare Zodiac to and why?

None. This is a different book because of the code cracking.

Which character – as performed by Stefan Rudnicki – was your favorite?

Sam for sure.

If you could give Zodiac a new subtitle, what would it be?

Wouldn't.

Any additional comments?

This book maybe better in print because it's a little hard to follow all the coding the detectives unravelled. Have the print would be easier to follow. Still a very good listen and I highly recommend it! The narrator did a great job!

I can't believe I listened to the whole thing!

What a let-down. After listening to hours and hours of details on a possible suspect, the author would just say, "I knew it wasn't him," and move on. Then the case he made for who he thinks was the Zodiac is so thin that I wasn't convinced. I was really disappointed. I'm not a detail person in the first place, and to go through all those details and then not have a satisfying conclusion was a real bummer! The narrator was great with his matter of fact low bass voice. He was a perfect match to the material, but even he couldn't make something out of nothing. I don't recommend the book.

A ggod listen

The detail in this book is due to the writer's close proximity to the case, which makes this an exceptional listen. This isn't a rehash of a crime story by some third party, it's a first hand account of what happened from the inside. I listened to the book twice, back to back, and I'm considering listening again. There's so much detail you think that the identity of the killer must be in there, somewhere. I thought to myself... If I just listen a closer next time, if I just pay a little more attention, I can solve this four decade old mystery.

Loved it! Gripping real life suspense.

Lots of background detail that weren't published during the active investigation of Zodiac. The whole book reads like the best suspense fiction. What makes it truly chilling is that it all actually happened. The narrator is a perfect match for the content. If you love suspense, read this!

Kept My Interest

I enjoyed this book, scary stuff! Narrator was great & the story was well written, would recommend to anyone interested in true crime or the Zodiac case.

Great story about zodiac

Can’t believe how much work was done and the zodiac killer was never found… I wonder if he would be today

The Scarriest Story Ever Told

Would you consider the audio edition of Zodiac to be better than the print version?

The narration is excellent and matches the matter-of-fact, horrifying tone of the story.

What did you like best about this story?

This story about a killer who sent messages to the press and actually had them published is almost too unbelievable to be true and is even more shocking in our time. The poorly-done movies inspired by Zodiac could never depict the terrifying, graphic nature of the murders which are recreated in disturbing detail in this book. Graysmiith has a matter-of-fact, journalistic approach that makes you feel that you are walking on to a fresh crime scene and investigating the case yourself, without any of the embellishment of a CSI.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, it is hard to stop listening and will keep you awake at night -- checking the locks on the doors. Don't listen as you're going to sleep.

Any additional comments?

I've listened to hundreds of audiobooks and this one has been the best. Too disturbing to listen too twice.

Not to bad...

Not a bad book. A little repetitive and kind of distracting with all the name changes, but still a good read.