Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Hunt for the Nation's Most Elusive Serial Killer

I really couldn't put down this book. It reads like a first rate fiction book. It is horrifying to think that all the events in this book actually took place, and more terrifying still that the serial killer is still at large after over 30 years of evading the police.The killings are gruesome, with some victims repeatedly stabbed to death, while others shot at close range with a hand gun. None of the victims are sexually molested, and they are not robbed of their personal belongings. The killer derives pleasure from killing his victims. As he later tells police in letters sent to newspapers, he kills in order to collect his victims as slaves for the next life!There was one instant where the killer might have been caught. After the Zodiac (as the killer calls himself) shoots a taxi driver, a police car is called to the scene after the gun shot is heard. However, witnesses mistakenly reported a black man at the scene. The Zodiac is a chubby white man. When the police arrive near the scene, they see the Zodiac walking, and stop by him to ask him if he had seen a black man in the area. He says yes and points to the direction he allegedly saw a black man with a gun running. If the police would have stopped and interviewed the Zodiac more carefully, they would have seen his bloody hands. There is no telling what would have happened then. The police could have been shot dead, or maybe it could have been the other way around (there were two policemen in the car.) The Zodiac also called the police after committing some of the crimes - from phone booths adjacent to police stations!Another chilling instant was when the Zodiac stopped a pregnant woman and her child on a road claiming that her back tire was wobbling. He volunteered to fix the tire, and while the woman watched from her side view mirror, he appeared to do just that. However, as soon as she drove off, the back tire completely came off and she had to stop. She was then kidnapped by the Zodiac and driven around for almost an hour, as if the Zodiac was looking for an ideal place to kill his victim. However, the woman together with her child manage to jump out of the car, and escape death!Not all of Zodiac's victims died. Although some victims were repeatedly stabbed, some survived! In all, it is believed that the Zodiac might have killed about 37 people. He is still at large!It was quite amazing how an amateur code breaker was able to break the coded letter of the Zodiac within a day and night. After the coded letter was published in a newspaper, neither the FBI nor the police were able to decipher the letter. However, an amateur man did! The FBI should have hired him!This book will keep you reading throughout the night. It includes photos of the letters sent by the Zodiac that will send a chill up your spine. I just couldn't put this book down.

I will write a full review once done, but for now just know this book is more intriguing than the movie!!

"Zodiac" by Robert Graysmith has been on the best seller list for many years. Because of the release of the David Fincher 2008 movie,it has been reprinted in paperback, together with its sequel "Zodiac Unmasked." Both works by Mr. Graysmith are well researched and written and highly recommended.What is so special about this edition of Robert Graysmith's "Zodiac" is that it is the original and only hardcover pressing. All the other editions, including the current one with the colorful Golden Gate Bridge picture, are paperback and not ideal for the serious Zodiac researcher.In addition, the original "Zodiac" hardcover edition has pictures which do not appear in any of the paperbacks.One word of frustrating news about the hardback edition, which this review is based on: it is very hard-to-find. Expect to pay at least $30.00 or more for a copy. It is well worth the money. Anyone who wants to study Mr. Graysmith's "Zodiac" and "Zodiac Unmasked" should have a hardback of both titles. The latter, published in 2002, is easier to find then the former. However for a serious Zodiac researcher, having hardback copies of both editions is a must.The text is the same as those in the paperbacks. For someone who wants something to read after viewing the Fincher movie, by all means, buy the paperback editions of "Zodiac" and "Zodiac Unmasked."They are available through Amazon.com. In addition, Amazon.com may be your ONLY source to find the original hardback editions. Both Graysmith books are very well written, detailed and documented that the reader will find the material very intersting - perhaps even addictive for more Zodiac books. Unfortunately, there are not too many titles available, which carry my recommendation. Just key in the tag line "Zodiac" and you will find my other reviews and recommendtions on books about the Zodiac killer, all available from Amazon.com.Zodiac Unmasked: The Identity of America's Most Elusive Serial Killer Revealed

A must read for those who watched the movie

Since I wrote a lousy short review about Zodiac Unmasked, in all fairness, I thought I'd say that I personally thought this book ZODIAC is excellent. Its an easier read than Zodiac Unmasked. I bought it when it first came out and have read it 5 times. Yes, it scared me. I have been interested in the Z since I was a teen living in Marin county CA at the time of the killings. Last year my step son asked if he could borrow this book. I said NO WAY! This copy doesn't leave my house. If you are new to the Zodiac, read this book. If you want to be frightened, read this book. Every time I go through Vallejo, I think of the Z. As a teen he invaded my thoughts. My friends and I were afraid of him and the subject came up a lot. Once, in 1971, I was riding my horse with a friend and we saw someone in a white, or light-color car acting totally nuts. Who do you think we thought of? For those of us who have been obsessed and haunted by the Z, this book meets our desires.

I love the David Fincher movie so much, I bought the book it was based on. Also, it’s the same cover of the book shown in the movie. Heck my book could be a movie star.

Loved this book… I also bought the follow up as well. Lots of info here for crime junkies. We know who did it now..,

Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Hunt for the Nation's Most Elusive Serial Killer.