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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
I lived in San Diego for almost 2 decades, including during the time when this happened, so I was interested in the subject matter. However, I stopped reading after I read the first sentence of Chapter 11: "I started following this case from day one, knowing it could make quite a compelling book someday." Perhaps it could, but not by this author. The first 10 chapters have no flow - just a series of disjointed quotes that go on for days. I'm surprised Gregg Olsen gave the author a nod on the cover. It would have been much better if told by him.
Two days after her boyfriend Jonah's son suffered a tragic fall while in her care, 32-year-old Rebecca Zahau was found bound and gagged, with Adam Shacknai, Jonah's brother, claiming he found her hanging by a rope from a second floor balcony, near a message “SHE SAVED HIM CAN YOU SAVE HER”. Did Rebecca commit suicide, feeling guilty about 6-year-old Max's fall, or did someone murder Rebecca? Author Caitlin Rother lays out all the evidence in this case, which the San Diego Sheriff's Department ruled a suicide, while a civil trial jury found Adam responsible for Rebecca's death.
This was such a disturbing case, and I felt my opinion of what happened changing as more and more evidence was revealed throughout the book. Rother did a fabulous job of researching the book and presenting all the evidence that has been found by various resources. The only downside to the book for me was that Rother's ex-husband committed suicide sometime before Rebecca was found dead, and at a few points throughout the book, she would talk about how her experience with her ex-husband affected the way she felt about this case. Personally, that took me out of the story and did not enhance the book. Rachel Perry did an excellent job narrating the audiobook.
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.
This was such a disturbing case, and I felt my opinion of what happened changing as more and more evidence was revealed throughout the book. Rother did a fabulous job of researching the book and presenting all the evidence that has been found by various resources. The only downside to the book for me was that Rother's ex-husband committed suicide sometime before Rebecca was found dead, and at a few points throughout the book, she would talk about how her experience with her ex-husband affected the way she felt about this case. Personally, that took me out of the story and did not enhance the book. Rachel Perry did an excellent job narrating the audiobook.
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.
The Coronado mansion case is such an odd event that you’d think just reading about it would be interesting. You would be wrong. This book was so wrought out and bloated that it was a bore to finish. Easily over a hundred pages longer than it needed to be, and the writing left much to be desired. It felt heavy handed and immature- not something I would expect in a book that took years to research and write.
dark
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Admission: I am kind of obsessed with true crime (shout out to my fellow Murderinos out there!) and have been for decades. I don't know what it is, but true crime has me hooked. Documentaries, books, and - more recently - podcasts. Audiobooks are now available on NetGalley, and I was very excited to get early access to listen to Death on Ocean Boulevard, which takes a deep dive into the death of Rebecca Zahau. (Was it suicide or murder?)
I am listening to audiobooks more and more, and true crime audiobooks are one of my favorite genres. Death on Ocean Boulevard has a good narrator, and listening to it felt like I was watching a documentary. This book is well written and very engaging to listen to. Right from the introduction, Ms. Rother pulls you into the bizarre death at the Spreckels Mansion in Coronado, California.
I have seen several documentaries on the Zahau case, and this book intrigued me right from the beginning. Death on Ocean Boulevard is well researched, and through her writing we learn that Ms. Rother has followed this case from very early on. She paints a vivid picture of the days leading up to the death, but also the backstory of the victim and those closest to her. While I knew most of the details of the case thanks to the documentaries I’ve seen, the backstories were something I hadn’t heard before, and I think this knowledge does muddy the suicide vs. murder waters even more.
I appreciated that Ms. Rother ultimately never makes her own judgement on whether Rebecca Zahau killed herself or was murdered. Honestly, I think we probably will never know the answer to that. But she lays out the facts we do have, leaving both possibilities open, giving the reader the chance to sort through the facts and make their own determination.
If you like true crime and have never heard of the tragic (and bizarre) death of Rebecca Zahau, this is a great book to read. If you’re like me and have seen some of the documentaries about her death, you probably already know most of this story, but there are some new pieces here if you want to dive in again.
Review originally published on Hidden Staircase.
I am listening to audiobooks more and more, and true crime audiobooks are one of my favorite genres. Death on Ocean Boulevard has a good narrator, and listening to it felt like I was watching a documentary. This book is well written and very engaging to listen to. Right from the introduction, Ms. Rother pulls you into the bizarre death at the Spreckels Mansion in Coronado, California.
I have seen several documentaries on the Zahau case, and this book intrigued me right from the beginning. Death on Ocean Boulevard is well researched, and through her writing we learn that Ms. Rother has followed this case from very early on. She paints a vivid picture of the days leading up to the death, but also the backstory of the victim and those closest to her. While I knew most of the details of the case thanks to the documentaries I’ve seen, the backstories were something I hadn’t heard before, and I think this knowledge does muddy the suicide vs. murder waters even more.
I appreciated that Ms. Rother ultimately never makes her own judgement on whether Rebecca Zahau killed herself or was murdered. Honestly, I think we probably will never know the answer to that. But she lays out the facts we do have, leaving both possibilities open, giving the reader the chance to sort through the facts and make their own determination.
If you like true crime and have never heard of the tragic (and bizarre) death of Rebecca Zahau, this is a great book to read. If you’re like me and have seen some of the documentaries about her death, you probably already know most of this story, but there are some new pieces here if you want to dive in again.
Review originally published on Hidden Staircase.
This is the first book I've read by this author and the style wasn't really to my taste. She covers the details of the story well; she had good access to the key individuals so it's put together well and she's clearly good at the research and understanding she developed but it just didn't flow for me.
It's a very creepy case and I felt very creeped out while I was reading it; definitely not a before bed relaxing read.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
It's a very creepy case and I felt very creeped out while I was reading it; definitely not a before bed relaxing read.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
If I thought this book would help clear up the mystery of this case, it definitely falls short. But the author gives all the known information, covering all the theories without bias, and getting to the heart of why there is still so much mystery in the deaths of Max and Rebecca. I honestly don’t know what happened in this case, nor is there particular theory I instinctively lean towards, but Max and Rebecca’s deaths are tragedies no matter how they occurred. We’ll be discussIng this at book club Monday night and I legit cannot wait to discuss this. I will be checking out the author’s other books bc I quite liked her style and presentation. True Crime books can be off putting at times, focusing on the salacious or the violence, but I feel like Rother struck a true balance in presenting the lives of the very real people, from victims to families to suspects.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Murder
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
This is a true crime story about Rebecca Zahau, who died naked in a rather brutal position and the San Diego Police Department thought she died by suicide. However, her family sued a man for murder damages in civil court.
I felt this case was reported objectively so that the reader was free to form their own conclusions. I really felt for both families.
I felt this case was reported objectively so that the reader was free to form their own conclusions. I really felt for both families.