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duhnae 's review for:
Death on Ocean Boulevard: Inside the Coronado Mansion Case
by Caitlin Rother
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.