The Lazarus Files

A Cold Case Investigation

By: Matthew McGough

Narrated by: Matthew McGough

Length: 27 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

This program is read by the author.

A deeply reported, riveting account of a cold case murder in Los Angeles, unsolved until DNA evidence implicated a shocking suspect - a female detective within the LAPD’s own ranks.

On February 24, 1986, 29-year-old newlywed Sherri Rasmussen was murdered in the home she shared with her husband, John. The crime scene suggested a ferocious struggle, and police initially assumed it was a burglary gone awry. Before her death, Sherri had confided to her parents that an ex-girlfriend of John’s, a Los Angeles police officer, had threatened her. The Rasmussens urged the LAPD to investigate the ex-girlfriend, but the original detectives pursued only burglary suspects, and the case went cold.  

DNA analysis did not exist when Sherri was murdered. Decades later, a swab from a bite mark on Sherri’s arm revealed her killer was in fact female, not male. A DNA match led to the arrest and conviction of veteran LAPD detective Stephanie Lazarus, John’s onetime girlfriend.  

The Lazarus Files delivers the visceral experience of being inside a real-life murder mystery. McGough reconstructs the lives of Sherri, John, and Stephanie; the love triangle that led to Sherri’s murder; and the homicide investigation that followed. Was Stephanie protected by her fellow officers? What did the LAPD know, and when did they know it? Are there other LAPD cold cases with a police connection that remain unsolved?

©2019 Matthew McGough (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Horrible narration

I really wanted to like this book but it was so poorly done.

First the author really needed an editor. The book was 27 hours long and was painful to listen to. So much should have been cut out of the book. Large portions of the book are a regurgitation of Lazarus diary. We find out when she had tan appointments, and where she ate and when she picked up donuts. Much of the book added absolutely nothing to the story.

Then with as much irrelevant detail as was included, there was almost nothing about the actual trial.

The worst thing about the book was the narrator, the author. His reading skill sounds like it is at about a third grade level. There is no natural flow to reading.

To make matters worse, the author pronounces T as D. The word bitten becomes bidden and beaten becomes beaden, etc.

The book could have been very good if it had been properly edited and had professional narration.

May not finish this.1 week later, I did finish it.

There has to be a way (and there is) to tell the story without using the names of speakers or whoever he is talking about over and over. He keeps saying John says, whoever says. He reads the story with no emotion, probably because he has lived with book in his head for years. Get someone else to read it for heavens sake. The man finds his dead wife in the middle of the living room and he reads it like he found a newspaper laying in the middle of the room. Will give it another 30 mins and if nothing changes will return it.
6/3/2019
I finally finished this book. Great story, great research, just poorly written and poorly read. Every other sentence begins with a name. It seems several hours of book is just John says, Sherri says,Stephanie says, whoever says.The story reads like a list in parts.I did love the story, and could feel the amount of work that went into it. Redo it, take off all the ‘whoever says’ get George Guidall to read it and you’ll have a 5 star true crime classic and I might even listen to it again. My overall score is now a 3, and story is really a 5. I hate to see a potentially great piece of work not get all the accolades that could have been possible.

The stilted performance highlights weak writing.

A true chore to listen to, The Lazarus Files is a testament to professional voice actors and authors who need great editors. The only thing saving this is the truly interesting story. It's worse than the most amateur of podcasts, but it will fill dozens of hours while you do chores. Don't worry if you doze off or miss a few hours -- the author repeats himself constantly. Those in the know will likely cite his hourly over-explanation of when sixty-day reports are due.

Authors are not always the best narrators

The narration is cringe worthy. The story itself is good, although made overly long with the addition of other outside stories not necessary to this one. If I were to purchase another book from this author, it will be in written form.

It's pronounced Kitten not Kidden

Wow was that boring. I never thought a true crime story could be so boring. Maybe you should stick to baseball bat boy?

Great Story Ruined by the Author's Narration

I first heard of this case via an episode of "Dateline". When I saw that there was a full book, I was anxious to learn more. From the opening sentences I was put off by the narration, so I had to make the immediate decision whether or not to continue. Could I endure this stilted performance for 25+hours? I did, but it was painful and distracting. The production values are low quality. "Punch ins" are easily identifiable. The author's read is not consistent. There are pauses for no reason. At times ambient noise can heard in the background and the author repeats lines. My suggestion is that if the author plans to narrate his next book, he could benefit from taking a voice-over class.

what a labor of love

do not be put off by the narrator's voice. it is the author and worth every minute. In fact I'm thinking about listening to the whole thing all over again.

Excellent!!!

After listening to the sample was a bit turned off by the narration but happened on a review that dissuaded the listener from basing your purchase on that and referred to it as a "labor of love". This turned out to be sage advice as it was indeed. Once I started listening I ended up going through the entire book in less than a week. The Lazarus Files is meticulously researched, heartfelt and overall a great listen. The only reason for the four stars for performance is more about what could have been as opposed to what it is. A little more editing (he said/she said issue some reviewers have made reference to) and though the author does a fine job couldn't help thinking how Pearce, Barrett, Stillwell, Campell or Brick would have done it.

Don’t let the voice deter you!

Maybe you played the sample and got a little turned off by the monotone way the author speaks…. I promise you get used to it, and the story is SO worth it. The pacing and buildup of this book is so incredible, and I actually began to enjoy the authors voice.

Could have benefited from major editing

As a true crime fan, I was familiar with the outline of this story and was interested to learn about it in more detail. While I appreciate all of the research that obviously went into writing this book, much of the time, it feels like the author is sharing excessively detailed information just to prove how much research he did. There are also lengthy tangents, e.g. a description of many of the crimes of the Night Stalker Richard Ramirez, that are irrelevant to the narrative, or at least could have been pared down to a few paragraphs instead of entire chapters. Verbatim recitation of dozens of entries in Lazarus’ diary reveal nothing more than the fact that she was utterly lacking in both empathy and descriptive faculties. While there are interesting facts in the book, about 80% of it is a description of what DID NOT happen for decades. Not very engrossing. I kept waiting for for the fascinating bits. I wish I hadn’t wasted my time.

Interesting case but too long a story......

An incredible story. But way too long. Too much detail and often repeats itself.
The narration is very monotone making this a hard book to finish.
It’s a shame when the author has spent many years investigating a high profile case such as this.
I like a long book, but this I’m afraid I was glad to reach the end.

Very interesting

This was a very interesting book.
The fact that it took him 9 years research it was amazing loved it .