Hunted: The Zodiac Murders

The Zodiac Serial Killer, Volume 1

By: Mark Hewitt

Narrated by: Mark Redfield

The Zodiac serial killer claimed the lives of at least five young victims between 1966 and 1974, and mocked the police with telephone calls, taunting letters, and encrypted messages. Thousands of men have been accused; nearly 2,500 have been investigated. Yet the Zodiac has never been identified. This painstakingly researched and meticulously detailed compendium to the Zodiac serial killer case by true crime author Mark Hewitt presents the crimes and their effect on a community, including the various sides of the many disputed issues within the case.

Hunted: The Zodiac Murders is the true story of America's greatest criminal mystery. This indispensable companion book is accessible to anyone interested in joining the pursuit, exploring a mystery, or witnessing the police response to an appalling crime spree. Book One, Hunted: The Zodiac Murders, tells the amazing true story of a serial killer on the loose. Book Two, Profiled, The Zodiac Examined (2017), examines the evidence and offers a careful, detailed profile of the killer based on the case facts. Book Three, Exposed: The Zodiac Revealed (2018) narrows down the lengthy list of suspects, and offers startling conclusions.

©2016 Mark Hewitt (P)2017 Mark Hewitt

Decent.....maybe.....

What did you like best about Hunted: The Zodiac Murders? What did you like least?

The depth of information this book has is very good.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Something NOT by this author or narrator. Narrator is very monotone and the constant "quote" "unquote" that he says is just so incredibly annoying.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Mark Redfield?

someone who doesn't say "quote....unquote"

Lots of Great Info But....

This is the most researched Zodiac book I've ever read and now heard. The problem I have is the narrator's constantly saying "quotes", "end quotes". There's hundreds of quoted text in this book and for some reason the narrator decided to punctuate them all. Really gets annoying if you're listening for a good length of time. I know that's nitpicking but it really ruins the experience. Other than that good book.

Quote end quote not that big of a deal

I was hesitant to get this audio book because of all the negative reviews about the reader saying "quote end quote" so much that it was distracting from the story. Although it was annoying when he did it, it wasn't throughout the entire book, and it wasn't really that big of a deal.

I have no idea how to rate this

There can not possibly be a more well researched book. That is indisputable. I am incredibly impressed with the author’s commitment to fact. Period. If you want the hard, dry facts-this is your book.

That said, it is very difficult to make a book about a serial killer so boring. I do not need to know the evidence piece #QC465-432F is this, that, or the next. Nor the address of an innocent accused, a license plate number, a place of birth of someone cleared of suspicion. I don’t want the SSN of the mailman, the badge number of a police officer or that it’s his 41st day of service. It’s truly crazy and very boring.
The narrator is the worst I’ve ever heard. Although it sounds like a joke against the narrator, it’s true- the “quote” “Unquote” was the most frustrating thing. Plus, trying to mispronounce words Z misspelled was irritating. If it says “cereous”, he meant serious. Get over it. The hilarious thing and MORE THAN ANYTHING- the narrator himself mispronounced tons of things which were important and it was so ironic.
It was very hard not to “return this book” and get my money back. I wouldn’t do that to the author who, I honestly think knows more about this case than any human ever, but this really was the worst audiobook I’ve ever heard.
Mad respect for the author, I’ve honestly never read any book by any author that is more well researched. That said, it doesn’t need to be flexed with as many obscure and five point vocabulary words. That was pretty annoying.

Unbearable Narration

My only real complaint is the constant use of “quote” “end quote” was completely unnecessary and made listening to this extremely difficult! I thought I may get to the point of not noticing it but actually found myself listening for it

Good and deatailed

Good and very detailed. Some criticize the narrator, but I like knowing when he's using quotes. The author, however, needs to learn the difference between an automatic and semiautomatic gun.

Excellent investigation into the 'Zodiac' evidence

Any additional comments?

If you're a true crime fan or closet sleuth, you've probably read Robert Graysmith's 'Zodiac' and like me considered it the undisputed history of facts. It remains probably the best introductory reference, however Mark Hewitt's 'Hunted- Zodiac Murders' offers a less sensationalized and more investigatory look at the evidence. There appears to be many other credible suspects to those crimes and many witnesses accounts actually differ than previously reported. This has left me questioning the official record of things.

Could it be that the crimes are actually unrelated and that the letters were used specifically to tie them together? This is not a point made in the book, but what it has lead me to believe. Obviously the 'zodiac writer' had intimate knowledge of the crimes, but who else would have access to this information- anyone in the police department. What would the motive be- serial killer at large = bigger law enforcement budgets, growing the department, constant\unending screen time on local + national news, instead of investigating numerous crimes\subjects, it's all combined into a crime they know they'll never solve. Think about it, the modus operandi + crime method + weapons used were different in every case.

Why was the Zodiac killer never discovered.... because there never was a Zodiac killer

The book is great...

...but the narration is average. There were numerous mispronunciations (to the point that the words weren’t actually the words they were meant to be). It wasn’t to do with regional pronunciation, either — I always allow for that. These were simply errors. It was very distracting to me, and detracted from the story. But if you can look past this, the author has done a very detailed and comprehensive job, and I discovered a lot about the Zodiac. Very interesting.

Encyclopedic

This book contains so much information that I think I could get a Ph.D. on the subject. It is excellent at presenting both sides of issues. It shows that shorter presentations on the subject have made some claims that aren’t necessarily true. The narrator’s matter of fact tone is perfect for the subject matter. People are ridiculous to complain about THE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT use of “quote” and “end quote.” However, I do take issue with some of his pronunciation. The word “similarly” is used MANY times, and he pronounces it “similarily”??? First day on the planet???

Overall very good

I loved this book. The only draw back was narrator got a little boring halfway through. After that it will slide by quickly.