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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
I received a surprise ARC of this book, and it was enjoyable. True crime books can get a bit dry, and this one did as well once it got to the trial aspect of the case. It was a little confusing at the beginning due to the way the author jumped right into the crimes. I was confused about who some of the players were for a little while, especially since there was a strange family dynamic with multiple blended families coming together. Overall, it was a great look at a strange, sad case.
Thank you Kensington Publishing Corp.. for the gifted copy..
Death on Ocean Boulevard is about the strange case of Rebecca Zahau who was found bound and hanged two days after her boyfriend Jonah's child seemingly fell to his death while under her care and her death was ruled a suicide.
I knew about this case before reading this book so I was familiar with what happened. While the book did give some additional information, it was a bit repetitive and it was sort of dry. I wish the author had delved more into the lives of Rebecca and Max too, but part of the reason for not doing that could be that Rebecca hid her real life from her family and several people didn't want to cooperate for this book.
Much of the book focused on the civil trial of Adam Schaknai who Rebecca's family believe to have murdered her. While the book presents a couple of theories other than suicide, I didn't feel like any of them were actually explored. While the author put a lot of time into investigating this case, I just don't feel like age found enough information to make this a fully fleshed-out book.
I would recommend this book to those who don't already know about Rebecca Zahau's death.
Death on Ocean Boulevard is about the strange case of Rebecca Zahau who was found bound and hanged two days after her boyfriend Jonah's child seemingly fell to his death while under her care and her death was ruled a suicide.
I knew about this case before reading this book so I was familiar with what happened. While the book did give some additional information, it was a bit repetitive and it was sort of dry. I wish the author had delved more into the lives of Rebecca and Max too, but part of the reason for not doing that could be that Rebecca hid her real life from her family and several people didn't want to cooperate for this book.
Much of the book focused on the civil trial of Adam Schaknai who Rebecca's family believe to have murdered her. While the book presents a couple of theories other than suicide, I didn't feel like any of them were actually explored. While the author put a lot of time into investigating this case, I just don't feel like age found enough information to make this a fully fleshed-out book.
I would recommend this book to those who don't already know about Rebecca Zahau's death.
I heard about this tragedy during my true crime perusals. A young boy dies in what appears to be a tragic accident in a historic home in Coronado and a couple days later his dad's girlfriend seemly commits suicide in a very strange manner. The author does a very thorough job of telling the story of all the players involved and the many theories that abound. I would be very interested in reading more by her.
Thank you Netgalley, Ms. Rother, and Kensington Books for my digital review copy..
Thank you Netgalley, Ms. Rother, and Kensington Books for my digital review copy..
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
I really enjoy true crime but this was my first true crime book. I’ve read fiction crime and very much enjoyed it. This case I’ve always had my theories about and I think the author executed her theories very well through it while also pointing out the evidence and what hasn’t been mentioned during talk about case. The author mentions tons of background information that I had never heard on podcasts or in articles also. She gave a very in-depth view.
This story is filled with lots of bizarre, unexplainable details, but the narrative was so straightforward that it didn’t capture my attention as much as I hoped. The author spends a lot of time chronicling the events and I got a little lost in the weeds, particularly during the legal section. I got a lot more interested when the author talked about her personal experience with mental illness and suicide and how those insights affected her view of Zahau. I listened to this one and it was a solid audiobook, although maybe not spectacular.
Trigger Warning: Death of a child, death of a partner, suicide, hanging, murder, sexual abuse
This ARC was provided by @netgalley and @tantoraudio. The opinions are my own.
Trigger Warning: Death of a child, death of a partner, suicide, hanging, murder, sexual abuse
This ARC was provided by @netgalley and @tantoraudio. The opinions are my own.
This book was 50% too long. All the important details are in the first half and the rest was just drawn out details of the family’s legal process that was quite boring. I learned a lot of interesting background details that helped contextualize the case but I was left feeling just as confused about what actually happened as when I started. Solid 3.5 stars.
Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
To begin, I would rate Death On Ocean Boulevard 2/5.
The Rebecca Zahau case is one that I’ve followed for years and have always been interested in, so I jumped at the chance to read this book, especially in advance. What I liked about the book is that Rother clearly invested a lot of time and effort into researching and compiling her work. I felt the writing was approachable and easy to read.
Oppositely, the organization and presentation of her research was what was lacking for me. The book feels very scattered and jumps around in the narrative as well as repeating established facts throughout. I feel the book could have been edited to be smoother and shorter than it is at present.
Another aspect that I found lacking was the lack of personal connection. Although Rother discusses the suicide of her former husband in the forward, it was not mentioned again until about 75% of the way into the book, and even then, it is talked about only briefly. Because of this, I felt that if another author had the same stack of information they could have produced an identical book. The relation between her life and the case was not consistent enough to me.
Lastly, Rother notes that some of the people involved in this case cut their contact with her once it was announced that the book would be published, which leaves me feeling suspicious of her methods, as I know this has been a point of contention with other books she has written.
I do feel I learned a bit more about the Coronado mansion death than I did before reading, but ultimately Death On Ocean Boulevard left me wanting more and not in a positive way.
To begin, I would rate Death On Ocean Boulevard 2/5.
The Rebecca Zahau case is one that I’ve followed for years and have always been interested in, so I jumped at the chance to read this book, especially in advance. What I liked about the book is that Rother clearly invested a lot of time and effort into researching and compiling her work. I felt the writing was approachable and easy to read.
Oppositely, the organization and presentation of her research was what was lacking for me. The book feels very scattered and jumps around in the narrative as well as repeating established facts throughout. I feel the book could have been edited to be smoother and shorter than it is at present.
Another aspect that I found lacking was the lack of personal connection. Although Rother discusses the suicide of her former husband in the forward, it was not mentioned again until about 75% of the way into the book, and even then, it is talked about only briefly. Because of this, I felt that if another author had the same stack of information they could have produced an identical book. The relation between her life and the case was not consistent enough to me.
Lastly, Rother notes that some of the people involved in this case cut their contact with her once it was announced that the book would be published, which leaves me feeling suspicious of her methods, as I know this has been a point of contention with other books she has written.
I do feel I learned a bit more about the Coronado mansion death than I did before reading, but ultimately Death On Ocean Boulevard left me wanting more and not in a positive way.
This was my first audio book narrated by Rachel Perry and she did a really good job. She made the story come alive.
I had heard about this case on the news when it happened in 2011 and I had formed my own opinions. After listening to all the facts about the case, I feel more informed. The author did a tremendous amount of research and presented all the facts without bias so that the readers can form their own opinions.
I really like true crime books and I have never read anything by this author but I will definitely look up more books by her. I liked the book very much!
Thanks to Tantor Audio via NetGalley for this audio book.
#DeathonOceanBoulevard #NetGalley
I had heard about this case on the news when it happened in 2011 and I had formed my own opinions. After listening to all the facts about the case, I feel more informed. The author did a tremendous amount of research and presented all the facts without bias so that the readers can form their own opinions.
I really like true crime books and I have never read anything by this author but I will definitely look up more books by her. I liked the book very much!
Thanks to Tantor Audio via NetGalley for this audio book.
#DeathonOceanBoulevard #NetGalley
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
⭐⭐⭐⭐Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. What a great true crime read. I have listened to a couple of podcasts about the Rebecca's death but this book took the details to a whole other level. The amount of research and details the author was able to put into this book made it an addictive read. I hope one day this case is resolved. I don't think Rebecca committed suicide. #deathonoceanboulevard #caitlinrother #netgalley #tea_sipping_bookworm #goodreads #litsy #thestorygraph #truecrime #bookqueen #bookstagram #amazonkindle