 The Hunt for Zodiac by Mike Rodelli  Author Mike Rodelli WOW! What a great bookl! Not only is there “in-detail” walkthroughs of each Zodiac crime but, a new suspect is named and to me, this seems to be a very viable suspect. This book is an impressive collection of a man’s eighteen years of research and amateur investigation. He meticulously pieces together a mountain of evidence which points directly to one person. His almost two decades of relentless digging, searching, questioning and fact-finding has led to the presentation of a thorough casefile on the Zodiac murders and the killer himself. We are given a behavioral profile along with certain “signature” idiosyncrasies highlighted and brought to mainstream attention. Plus, this guy has evidence exhibits to back up his theory. Truly a fascinating case has been developed here. Although this is a lot of information, and at times can kind of be overwhelming, Rodelli has very efficiently sorted the facts for us, allowing us to read through with ease and quick understanding. This is definitely NOT the Zodiac case we all know about. There is SO much more here than the usual facts you get in the regular documentaries. There are serious questions about the police sketch, parts of the investigations itself and the neglect or plain disregard of important possible evidence. Rodelli has obviously dedicated a lot of time, effort and energy (and probably his own money) to getting as close to solving the case as possible. I do believe, after reading this book, that he may very well be the closest anyone has EVER come to identifying who the Zodiac killer really is. Anybody who likes true crime or unsolved true crime cases would absolutely LOVE this book. If this would be your first REAL exposure to the case, then you are in for an extremely lucky treat. Definitely a must read for all crime fans! Incredibly informative and a fascinating read! RATINGS 5/5 Stars  Original and Amended police sketch of the Zodiac killer. Which one is the most accurate? We finally find out!
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 The Girlfriend by Sarah J. Naughton  Sarah J. Naughton, author In this book, we have a brother that is in a coma from a fall down a forty-foot stairwell, a girlfriend who saw everything and a sister that is cold, somewhat mean and VERY suspicious about her brother’s “accidental fall”. With stories like this, it is SO DIFFICULT to try to sum up the tale without giving things away. Because of the content and how it is unveiled, this time I decided to give you the short summary that’s on the back of the book itself and then just give you my opinion WITHOUT revealing any major details. On the back of the book, it reads: “In that forty-foot stairwell, he didn’t just slip over the edge. But there is only one witness: Jody, the girlfriend grieving at his bedside. Which is another story Mags doesn’t believe. Because Jody likes telling stories, and this may be her most twisted yet. As Mags begins to unearth the secrets hidden in her brother’s wake, she finds she isn’t just looking for the truth. For Mags, this is more than a simple tragedy—this is an opportunity for revenge.” This was a fiction novel sent to me by Sourcebooks Publicity. At 355 pages, it is kind of long for what I normally read (as far as novels go) but, I did like the story. The way it is written is unusual to me because I have never seen a novel written like this. What Naughton does with the main characters’ points of view is that she separates them out into individual chapters and alternates them. It’s truly a very unique way to present the story and as I read, the back and forth made it seem like the book was a film playing in my mind and that each new chapter was a cut to another scene. So, one chapter will be one character and their point of view and then the next chapter will be another character and THEIR point of view, sometimes on the same event. Tiny bits of the story are uncovered, one little piece at a time. The makes the story quite compelling and suspenseful. I truly really liked the whole back and forth between the character’s perspectives, especially Mags and Jody. It really gives an extra insight into each character. It makes it seem so much more intense to constantly be in that front row seat, watching everything unfold through THEIR eyes. Plus, the characters tend to stick with you…almost beckoning you to keep reading. Generally, the story moved at a moderate pace. There are definitely points where it picks up but, naturally the whole book can’t be that way, you need transition periods. Each little tidbit is just enough to keep you interested but, not so much that you feel like you already figured it out and don’t need to read it. The whole story grabs you from the very beginning. The characters are very well written and easy to pick favorites and get attached to. I think that Naughton did an excellent job with this. I would recommend this work of fiction to anyone who likes suspense/thriller novels. This is right up your alley if that’s what you dig. Check out the author’s website: https://sarahjnaughton.com/ If you want your own copy of this great novel, the links to buy are below: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Girlfriend-Novel-Sarah-Naughton/dp/1492651249 Barnes&Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-girlfriend-sarah-naughton/1126273510?ean=9781492651246 IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781492651246 RATINGS 4/5 Stars  Child of Satan, Child of God by Susan Atkins see below for preview images Child of Satan, Child of God By Susan Atkins with Bob Slosser I have read Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi twice. I have seen countless documentaries, movies, interviews with all kinds of people involved in the case, either directly or indirectly. So, when I came across this book by one of the top Manson girls, I was naturally curious. In 1971, Susan Atkins was convicted, along with others, for the murders of eight people. The most famously known are young actress Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary Labianca. These murders are referred to as the Helter Skelter murders or the Tate/Labianca murders. The basic story is this: Charles Manson was a very charismatic and persuasive tiny, little criminal who convinced a number of young, lost hippies in search of a sense of belonging to be his followers, known as The Family. They lived in a commune type setting, their major locations being Spahn’s Movie Ranch and Barker Ranch, both in California. He convinced them he was Jesus Christ. He used sex and drugs along with depriving them of various things in order to control their thoughts and behaviors, much like a cult leader would. He banned things like clocks for instance, Charlie would tout that the only time was now and that there was no need for clocks or time keeping. He would dole out LSD and marijuana, among other things, always giving his followers more than he would take himself, if he took any at all. He would sit, often on a rock or chair (something higher up than the rest of the flock) and would preach about his hippie philosophy, his interpretation of the Bible and his idea of the end of the world. Eventually, like most cult leaders, his prophecy type statements didn’t come true and he became impatient, deciding to hurry things along himself…so to speak. To do this, he told some of his most loyal followers to kill the people at the Tate residence on April 8, 1969 and the Labiancas the following night. His plan was to somehow use the murders of people in an upper-class white community to start a race war, during which, according to Manson, the black would wipe out the whites and then, needing someone to lead them, Charlie and his followers would come out of their hiding place in the desert and Charlie would assume his position as the new world leader. It didn’t quite happen the way Charlie planned. Even listening to the theory over and over again, it still sounds absolutely ridiculous and ignorant, not to mention incredibly narcissistic. I mean, Charlie is a man who, by 1969, had spent a little over half of his life in prison or reformatories. Obviously, he wasn’t a very smart criminal nor was he very good at it. Yet, the man was, in fact, very manipulative. He knew how to target the weak and disenfranchised and pinpoint what they needed, then give it to them. For Susan Atkins, Charlie realized she needed a father figure, a man in her life that loved her unconditionally. So, he fed on that. He showered her with love and affection, telling her how perfect and beautiful she was, playing on her low self-image and self-esteem and yet, at the same time, he would pull away from her and deprive her of that affection in order to make her more pliable to his needs. Susan talks a lot in this book about herself, of course. She talks about how she felt about a number of things, including Charlie. Her image that she puts out in this book, which was written in 1974, three years after her convictions, is that she is this very sensitive and frail, meek little victim of a girl who was not accountable for anything she did during any of the time she spent with Charlie and The Family. Interestingly though, she repeatedly admits throughout the whole book to a number of things she did. However, like any criminal that’s been caught for something so heinous, she minimizes her involvement as much as she can. Her account of the Tate murders varies in a number of details from what she testified to in front of the grand jury prior to the trials. She has left out a number of things that were admitted to evidence in court and corroborated by multiple people. Perhaps, like a friend of mine said, maybe she was trying to make herself look better for future parole hearings. That is quite possible. In the book she even talks about how, sitting on death row that first month, that she didn’t really comprehend fully that THIS was the rest of her life until “they killed her”. Do you believe that? She makes it sound like the state is wrong not only for seeking the death penalty but, also for putting her on death row. She complains about how she’s in the same section as Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel, two of her co-defendants whom she refers to as “colleagues”. She was concerned for her safety because she had originally turned state’s evidence against her cohorts and then she was housed with them in prison. How apropos. She also complains about only getting to go outside for an hour a day in the beginning months of her sentence, being considered a high-risk inmate and the fact that there was only one television shared among the three of them (herself, Pat and Leslie). You can hear her disconnection from reality in the way she writes, almost as if she’s floating through life, like her brain is on “perma-stone” from all the drugs she did. It’s got an eerie almost childlike quality to it. And what would be more appropriate than to finish the book with her proclaiming that she had become a faithful follower of God. That happens so often. The eleventh-hour believers. Jailhouse conversions. I’m not sure I buy all that coming from her as everything she wrote prior to that was all about how the crimes weren’t as bad as they were made out to be and trying to shirk as much responsibility as possible. Still, although a little disconcerting and perhaps even a little annoying, this was an interesting perspective on the same story that I have come to know so well. I can’t say that any horror lover would like this book but, any true crime or cult buff would find it worth the read. RATINGS 3/5 Stars  Child of Satan, Child of God (alternate cover)
 Susan Atkins with her lawyer Daye Shinn at court appearance in Santa Monica, Ca for Hinman case. Charlie Manson walks silently past both of them. (book page 154-155)  Susan Atkins being escorted from court to jail on December 10, 1969. (book page 152) |
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