The Zodiac Killer by Michael Butterfield

Rating:

4 Stars

Themes:

Non-Fiction, True Crime

Thoughts:

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Although this book is full of Zodiac knowledge that those with in depth knowledge will likely know, those who are just getting into the case or only listen to a few podcasters will likely learn a thing or 2. The research and thus facts provided are extremely detailed right down to the type, placement and orientation of stamps and colour of pen used. I appreciated that there were detailed backgrounds and life stories provided for the victims as some true crime channels can get so tunnel visioned on the mystery or killer that they almost footnote the victims in their own deaths. Butterfield doesn’t try to force any particular narrative or suspect but provides them all and allows the reader to come to their own conclusion. Gordon was a great choice for the audiobook version as while he isn’t overly dramatic or putting emphasis on bits he also isn’t overly monotonous which can sometimes come across as disrespectful in other true crime providers. Finally, I absolutely loved that the last words (before sources) are the victims names to make sure that they are the main thing we take away when we close the book for the final time.

With thanks to Arcturus Digital Audio and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy of this book.

Comments

Mint and Murder by Carly Winter

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Shame-Sex Attraction by Lucas Wilson

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, LGBTQ+ Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is definitely a difficult read and it took me quite a while to get through it for that very reason. It is split up into 17 different peoples experiences with a foreword and afterword. It’s definitely an important read for many as these practices are still legal in many countries, including my own, and without knowledge of the damage of the practices many may not join in the protests or sign the petitions to try to get laws in place. As a member of the community myself I found some of these stories such as the ‘Sniffing the Gay Away’ and ‘Convert’ especially difficult to read and reminded me just how lucky I was to have such a supportive and loving community around me. I appreciated that the afterword highlighted the limitations of the collection such as having little to no religious, geographical or racial diversity but that they did try to ga...

Porn is Not Sex Ed! by Jessica Melendez

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Young Adult Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. In the age of lessening sex education this book could be a great tool to help bridge the gap. I appreciate the talk to an adult bits that can encourage children to start to have conversations that are important but they often think are cringy. The note to trusted adults bit at the end is great too and there’s quite a few useful activities to help the messages really sink in. Some of the points here such as fetishisation and body image are really important ones that I never learned that young (which could be the reason I had such poor body image as a teen) and for the most part the book talks to kids on their level although some areas may feel a little immaturely worded for older teens. With thanks to Hachette UK and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy of this book.

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