Zodiac Unmasked: The Identity of American's Most Elusive Serial Killer Revealed

Media:	Hardcover
Author:	Robert Graysmith
Publisher:	Berkley Publishing Group
Release date:	02 April, 2002
List price:	~~$24.95~~
Our price:	that is 100% off!

Zodiac Unmasked: The Identity of American's Most Elusive Serial Killer Revealed

Average rating: Stars

Arthur Leigh Allen was proven to not be the Zodiac

I have not read this book, but if it focuses solely on Arthur Leigh Allen, then it is a waste of time. I just saw this case profiled on Cold Case Files on A & E last night. After Allen died, samples of his DNA were taken as well as finger and hand prints. They were then compared to DNA and palm prints taken from a authenticated Zodiac letter. (The one that he sent a piece of one victim's bloody clothing with) Both the DNA from licking th envelope and the palm print on the letter do not match. His DNA and prints were compared to what was found on the other letters as well, and there was no match whatsoever. Arthur Leigh Allen may have been weird and troubled, but he was not the Zodiac Killer.

Zodiac Unmasked: The Identity of American's Most Elusive Serial Killer Revealed - Robert Graysmith

A FASCINATING READ

I first read Robert Graysmith's ZODIAC eight years ago. It was a fascinating and chilling story, certainly one of the most gripping true crime books I had ever read. It ended with Graysmith talking about the prime suspect in the case,whom he named under a pseudonym and what he was doing in the present (circa 1986). When I saw several years ago he had written a sequel, I bought it immediately and read it. I was hoping that Graysmith had picked up where he left off, with this prime suspect, and update and supplement the information already given in the first book.
Graysmith didn't disappoint!
ZODIAC UNMASKED is a fascinating, insightful, thoroughly researched book. I am therefore frankly at a loss to understand most of these negative reviews. Did they read the same book?
One complaint I've seen several times is that, "He didn't describe the killings fully! I didn't know who some of the victims or police were! I was confused!" Note to these people: It was Graysmith's SECOND book on Zodiac. It only says it on the front cover. If you see he's aleady written a book, and this new book tells you in the title the killer is revealed, doesn't common sense tell you to read the previous book first? I'm personally glad that he didn't rehash every single thing from the first book here, I'd rather the space was used for NEW information, the way it was.
Another complaint is that in some parts the book is redundant. I would tend to agree, but the only facts the author repeated were ones essential to the case. It is a long book, and full of quite a bit of information. Essentially what he is doing is reminding you along the way. He makes a point and then draws several previous points together as a cohesive whole, like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. He is putting things in context. Judging by some of these reviews, it didn't seem to work. If Graysmith is guilty of anything, it is over estimating the intellect of some of his readers.
Because of the surplus of info Graysmith provides, the book does need more than one reading for the reader to completely assimilate everything, such as names, dates, relationships certain people had with each other. (Especially when you combine it with the info from the previous book).
One criticism I would agree with is the chapters on the copycat killers. While they were mildly interesting, they probably could have been left out.
A final word on DNA: it is not half as definitive as most people seem to think it is. While the test results on Allen's DNA certainly don't prove he was the killer, neither do they completely rule him out either.
BOTTOM LINE: This is a must read for any true crime buff, or indeed anyone interested in a good mystery. The facts in this case, some of which are from a legal point of view only circumstantial, will still have you shouting to yourself, "I can't believe they never nailed him!" Graysmith's two books, as well as the book "This is the Zodiac Speaking" (which deals with all the written Zodiac material from a psychological standpoint) are the definitive works on Zodiac today.

Robert Graysmith - Zodiac Unmasked: The Identity of American's Most Elusive Serial Killer Revealed

curiosity killed the Kat!

Robert Graysmith's first book ZODIAC I must admit to having read 5 times since it first came out. In the back of my copy are many articles clipped over the years on Z. I grew up in Marin county California and was a teen during Z's reign if terror. Robert Graysmiths 2nd attempt failed to ignite my fire. Frankly, his "facts" concerning ALA left me shaking my head. Hmmm... I see its listed used at Amazon for $2. Its worth it for that price. But don't spend $25 as I did on the hard cover. Will the identity of Z ever be known? Would he be so popular if he'd been caught? I don't think so. We, those interested in Z, have that intense desire to know who he is. I honestly can understand RG's obsession.

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