The Zebra Murders

A Season of Killing, Racial Madness, and Civil Rights

By: Prentice Early Sanders, Bennett Cohen

Narrated by: Dave Courvoisier

On October 20, 1973, in San Francisco, a White couple strolling down Telegraph Hill was set upon and butchered by four young Black men. Thus began a reign of terror that lasted six months and left 15 Whites dead and the entire city in a state of panic. The perpetrators wanted nothing less than a race war.

With pressure on the San Francisco Police Department mounting daily, young homicide detectives Prentice Earl Sanders and his colleague Rotea Gilford - both African-American - were assigned to the cases. The problem was: Sanders and Gilford were in the midst of a trail-blazing suit against the SFPD for racial discrimination, which in those days was rampant. The backlash was immediate. The force needed Sanders’s and Gilford’s knowledge of the Black community to help stem the brutal murders, but the SFPD made it known that in a tight situation, no White back-up would be forthcoming. In those impossible conditions - the oppressive white power structure on one hand, the violent Black radicals on the other - Sanders and Gilford knew they were sitting ducks. Against all odds, they set out to find those guilty of the Zebra Murders and bring them to justice. This is their incredible story.

©2006, 2011 Prentice Earl Sanders and Bennett Cohen (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Offers crucial lessons in how to deal with - and not deal with - acts of terrorism.” - (San Francisco Chronicle)

Stunning

Wow! I had no idea that this happened.
With all the craziness that was going on during the 70's in California I was shocked that I had never heard of this case. Thank God that Officers Gilford and Sanders had the strength and fortitude to continue doing there job as professionals to the highest standards even in the face of racism and hate from there fellow officers. The fact that they were integral in changing the way police departments across this country operate and hire speaks volumes.

Struggled to finish

no excitement to a good story line. No mystery and I struggled to finish

Must hear

This is an incredible true story written about problematic policing in the 70’s from so many important angles. It reveals the terrorism inflicted on San Franciscan whites through the lens of black detectives with a rich background of context from the time.

Overall, a story worth hearing

The narrator did a fine job, but was a poor choice, especially for this story. I wanted to skip that rating altogether, but I can’t, and still submit a review. I settled on a 3 for that reason.
Performance, excellent. Choice, lacking. Not his fault!
The story itself was a little rough in places, but it’s important for history that it be told.
Some of the facts I knew, or had a vague understanding of, but the specifics about our history of race relations cannot be overstated.
Would recommend. Would *highly* recommend if it were recorded either with a more appropriate narrator, or as full cast.

interesting story

Where does The Zebra Murders rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

in the top half of the Audio books that I have listened to

What other book might you compare The Zebra Murders to and why?

John Grisham's books

What does Dave Courvoisier bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I fill like I was inside book

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

cry

Any additional comments?

great listen education

Murder story or race history?

I downloaded what I thought was a true crime story, but 20 minutes in all I heard was some woman and guy died, and the black guy who investigated the murders got hired by a police department determined to keep the black man down through unfair testing.

Juice slop

There are a billion books about racism in the US in the 70’s. We all know all about it. Why dedicate half this book to that topic, when that’s not why we are here. Jewish slop . Couldn’t make it past 30 minutes…

couldn't finish

The book barely touched on the murders. I think I got a good history of Islamic religion in the US. A very in-depth look at the political figures and the police involved. At chapter 9 and just a bare mention of the dates and victims? Nah I don't recommend this book for true crime readers.

NOT the zebra killings

I made it through to the end of this book, but it was not the book I was anticipating. There was very little about the actual murders and even less about the victims or the impact the crimes had upon their lives. While there was a bit more about the lead detective, the book was basically about the political atmosphere within the San Francisco Police Dept during that era. It gave an decent overview of what was happening in general, socially and politically during that tempestuous decade, but that is not what I was looking for. The book barely held my attention and the guy who narrated spoke so fast and without pause that I actually tried to listen to it at a lower speed. That didn't work, so I suffered through. This book doesn't really belong in the true crime genre. I don't know where it should be....

racist trash!

I made it about a third of the way through this book. got tired of hearing how racist a city that promoted the author through its ranks was supposed to be. You got your break, ...that's all a person really deserves.
Unironically, the author goes on about how bad the white man is in a book about racist black people commiting blatant hate crimes. Do you even own a mirror?