Hunted: The Zodiac Murders - Mark Hewitt

Recently I have been wanting to read more non fiction and one of my favourite things to do while ironing, cleaning etc is to watch documentaries on serial killers. It's my guilty pleasure. In turn I also enjoy reading about serial killers and so when I got the chance to read Hunted: The Zodiac Murders by Mark Hewitt I jumped at it.

I have seen documentaries on the Zodiac killer, so I knew a lot of the basic information about the killings and the investigation, I actually thought I knew quite a lot but this book certainly proved that I didn't. There is so much information that I had never heard before and so many leads which sound incredibly interesting that would have changed my perspective about the whole situation had I heard them before.

This book is incredibly well researched and is very well written, there is no sensationalising of the facts or any particularly biased opinions forced upon the reader. The author very clearly lays out the information and in chronological order which I always think is a bonus.

There were at times what I felt like information dumps, which I can imagine was very hard to prevent with how much information was being presented throughout the book, but there were two occasions I had to stop myself from skimming because I was getting too much information to process in one go. Having only two moments of this though in a long book with a lot of information is actually really good.

Overall a very good and fascinating read and one I will recommend. I am also now looking forward to future books in this series by Mark Hewitt.

Thank you very much to Genius Book Publishing for a copy of Hunted in exchange for an honest review.

Hunted: The Zodiac Killers is now available HERE. 

Synopsis

The Zodiac occupies a special place in the annals of the “Serial Killer Hall of Fame.” Claiming the lives of at least 5 young victims and taunting the police in telephone calls and cryptic letters, he terrorised Northern California from 1966 to 1974 and beyond. Despite his appalling acts of violence, he was never arrested—he has never even been identified. 

Thousands of men have been accused; nearly 2,500 have been investigated. The police lack only the name of the perpetrator. Never has there been more passionate interest in the Zodiac serial killer. Never has there been more FOIA-released information on his crime spree and the subsequent law enforcement investigation. Yet, never before has a carefully-researched scholarly treatment of this otherwise eminently solvable riddle been attempted. That is, until now.

Broken Samurai: A Combat Marine's Journey From Hero To Hitman - Al Carlisle Ph.D.

I received an advanced e-book copy of Broken Samurai: A Combat Marine's Journey From Hero To Hitman by Al Carlisle Ph.D. direct from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

It's been a while since I have read any non fiction and when I got the chance to read Broken Samurai I jumped at it as I know very little about PTSD and even less about the Vietnam War.

The book follows interviews between Al Carlisle and Danny, an ex marine who has ended up in a very bad place following his return home.

I feel the book is very clearly laid out and the interview progression is followed in chronological order of the events in Danny's life which lead him to where he was. The questions asked of him were very clear and Danny was a lot more articulate than I had first expected from the stories of his up bringing. There are a few times when I would have liked things followed up on or more information asked for from Danny, one example being when Danny talks about being part of the biker gang and doing anything he could profitable but when he talks about his belief in the code of Bushido, the code states it does not believe in material profiting. I would have liked to have asked him how he reconciled these two statements.

The story of Danny's life is an incredibly interesting, but very sad story from losing his dad at an early age, to joining the military and being part of the battle at Khe Sanh in Vietnam and then coming home feeling lost and ending up being a hitman as part of a biker gang. Though Danny does seem to have had some problems before Vietnam, there definitely does seem to be a huge shift in both his personality and his beliefs following the war. Though reading Danny's answers myself I feel a lot of his PTSD stems from when he believes he broke his code and killed an innocent, from there he seems to spiral even further out of control than ever before.

This is definitely an interesting look into an extreme account of PTSD and I think it's an important subject that does need a lot more exposure than it currently has. Reading this book has made me want to research further into PTSD and hear other accounts as well as finding out more about the Vietnam war,  as I feel lacking in not knowing much about either.

I would have liked more information about PTSD itself as part of the book for people like me who don't have the knowledge, maybe as an introduction.

Overall a well put together, interesting book and one I will be recommending.

I started reading this book on the 21st of August 2016 and finished it on the 25th of August 2016.
I gave this book 4 stars.

Broken Samurai is out today on Amazon!