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Zodiactually: The Real Story of a Fake Serial Killer
Who was the Zodiac Killer?
A sadistic murderer who claimed thirty-seven victims? A master manipulator who taunted the police with cryptic letters and mind-bending ciphers.? Or a shadowy figure who terrorized California—and the nation—with an almost supernatural ability to evade capture?
In an era when nearly 80% of homicides were solved, how could this killer escape justice? And more than half a century later, why does his identity remain one of history’s greatest mysteries? What if the shocking truth is the Zodiac Killer… never existed?
In Zodiactually, former police officer Eddie McNamara peels back decades of myth and sensationalism to expose the chilling truths behind one of the world’s most infamous cases. Through painstaking research of original police files, deep dives into newspaper archives, and analysis of thousands of pages of court records, McNamara delivers a groundbreaking the Zodiac Killer wasn’t a single, unstoppable predator but an urban legend amplified by the media and public imagination.
Zodiactually unveils the hidden truths and forgotten stories surrounding the murders that captivated the world—and the fear that turned them into legend. This groundbreaking book will challenge everything you think you know about the Zodiac and force you to confront how myth, media, and hysteria shape history.
Eddie McNamara is the author of the crime novel Brooklyn Hardcore, the vegetarian cookbook Toss Your Own Salad, and the short story collection Two Fare Zone. In a former life, he was a 9/11 first responder, police officer, and a columnist for Penthouse magazine.
A sadistic murderer who claimed thirty-seven victims? A master manipulator who taunted the police with cryptic letters and mind-bending ciphers.? Or a shadowy figure who terrorized California—and the nation—with an almost supernatural ability to evade capture?
In an era when nearly 80% of homicides were solved, how could this killer escape justice? And more than half a century later, why does his identity remain one of history’s greatest mysteries? What if the shocking truth is the Zodiac Killer… never existed?
In Zodiactually, former police officer Eddie McNamara peels back decades of myth and sensationalism to expose the chilling truths behind one of the world’s most infamous cases. Through painstaking research of original police files, deep dives into newspaper archives, and analysis of thousands of pages of court records, McNamara delivers a groundbreaking the Zodiac Killer wasn’t a single, unstoppable predator but an urban legend amplified by the media and public imagination.
Zodiactually unveils the hidden truths and forgotten stories surrounding the murders that captivated the world—and the fear that turned them into legend. This groundbreaking book will challenge everything you think you know about the Zodiac and force you to confront how myth, media, and hysteria shape history.
Eddie McNamara is the author of the crime novel Brooklyn Hardcore, the vegetarian cookbook Toss Your Own Salad, and the short story collection Two Fare Zone. In a former life, he was a 9/11 first responder, police officer, and a columnist for Penthouse magazine.
280 pages, Paperback
Published March 3, 2026
5 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Eddie McNamara
14 books9 followersEddie McNamara is the author of crime novels, investigative nonfiction, and stories that challenge what we think we know about American pop culture and subculture.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Author Eddie McNamara wants you to know that often the "facts" behind historical events we believe we are familiar with often bear little resemblance to the truth. History is a collection of stories we make up about ourselves and our ancestors to explain how we ended up here. McNamara (a retired NYC PAPD cop and 911 Responder) guides his readers through this reality by citing examples of how the perpetuation of myths associated with historical events have replaced actual facts over time. For example, were the hippies really "right?"
Specifically, did the love bomb/acid-drenched festival known as Woodstock (held in 1969 in Bethel, New York) actually act as a conduit for "peace and love" to help end the Vietnam War? McNamara was able to declutter fact from fiction for this, simply providing accurate historical examples of the real political "change" the hippies helped bring about. Without spoiling the contents of the book for you, I'll leave you with two things McNamara notes that did come to be after Woodstock; the presidencies of both Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Not exactly what the hippies were hoping for.
How about the real story behind the Manson Murders? Thanks to the insane media coverage, books, movies and documentaries that continue to put a spin on one of the most vile mass murders in history, you would think that accuracy would hopefully be a part of the re-telling of this horrific moment in American history. McNamara's blow-by-blow on this incident (and the events leading up to it) are eye-opening to say the least and a very good example of what McNamara wants to see more of. If the facts don't line up, we must fact-check history. All of this helps to prepare you for McNamara's main course, telling the true story behind the infamous Zodiac Killings in the 1960s.
Is there a good chance you saw the 2007 film Zodiac (based on the Zodiac killings which started in the 60s)? I know I did and you probably did, as it grossed $87.7M. If you came away thinking you now knew more about the unsolved-to-this-day murders, you'd be wrong. This case of distorting history (or purposefully pushing a more popular version of history to increase the level of awfulness) is broken down by McNamara with confidence and precision. All supported by indisputable facts. It also made me yearn for the time we existed in before the invention and intervention of "alternative facts."
If you can't tell already, I absolutely loved Zodiactually, especially as it felt like a very timely observation, during a period when we are all questioning if what you see or read is actually real/factual. Also, the next time someone asks me about the validity of something they believed to be true, my answer would be this:
"I don't know. But do you know who probably does? Eddie McNamara." Also, props to artist Ron Kretch for the killer cover art.
Author Eddie McNamara wants you to know that often the "facts" behind historical events we believe we are familiar with often bear little resemblance to the truth. History is a collection of stories we make up about ourselves and our ancestors to explain how we ended up here. McNamara (a retired NYC PAPD cop and 911 Responder) guides his readers through this reality by citing examples of how the perpetuation of myths associated with historical events have replaced actual facts over time. For example, were the hippies really "right?"
Specifically, did the love bomb/acid-drenched festival known as Woodstock (held in 1969 in Bethel, New York) actually act as a conduit for "peace and love" to help end the Vietnam War? McNamara was able to declutter fact from fiction for this, simply providing accurate historical examples of the real political "change" the hippies helped bring about. Without spoiling the contents of the book for you, I'll leave you with two things McNamara notes that did come to be after Woodstock; the presidencies of both Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Not exactly what the hippies were hoping for.
How about the real story behind the Manson Murders? Thanks to the insane media coverage, books, movies and documentaries that continue to put a spin on one of the most vile mass murders in history, you would think that accuracy would hopefully be a part of the re-telling of this horrific moment in American history. McNamara's blow-by-blow on this incident (and the events leading up to it) are eye-opening to say the least and a very good example of what McNamara wants to see more of. If the facts don't line up, we must fact-check history. All of this helps to prepare you for McNamara's main course, telling the true story behind the infamous Zodiac Killings in the 1960s.
Is there a good chance you saw the 2007 film Zodiac (based on the Zodiac killings which started in the 60s)? I know I did and you probably did, as it grossed $87.7M. If you came away thinking you now knew more about the unsolved-to-this-day murders, you'd be wrong. This case of distorting history (or purposefully pushing a more popular version of history to increase the level of awfulness) is broken down by McNamara with confidence and precision. All supported by indisputable facts. It also made me yearn for the time we existed in before the invention and intervention of "alternative facts."
If you can't tell already, I absolutely loved Zodiactually, especially as it felt like a very timely observation, during a period when we are all questioning if what you see or read is actually real/factual. Also, the next time someone asks me about the validity of something they believed to be true, my answer would be this:
"I don't know. But do you know who probably does? Eddie McNamara." Also, props to artist Ron Kretch for the killer cover art.
March 6, 2026
Thank you to Edelweiss and the publishers for the digital ARC of this soon to be released work.
In my old career I was a medicolegal death investigator. Essentially that means I responded to scenes of death, interviewed relevant parties, performed death notifications, fully photographed the scene and the decedent, and processed the prescribed samples for the Coroner. All of this to say that I find unsolved death cases very interesting! I always felt the zodiac case was a canard as the scenes really never matched up.
This author has done an impressive amount of work and has made a fairly convincing case for these cases not being the work of one killer. This book is very fast and weighs in at a sprite 195 pages. It packs a deep and thorough evidentiary punch!
This book deserves to be on the shelf of any true crime aficionado. Especially those who have followed the case! 4.75 rounded up to 5!
In my old career I was a medicolegal death investigator. Essentially that means I responded to scenes of death, interviewed relevant parties, performed death notifications, fully photographed the scene and the decedent, and processed the prescribed samples for the Coroner. All of this to say that I find unsolved death cases very interesting! I always felt the zodiac case was a canard as the scenes really never matched up.
This author has done an impressive amount of work and has made a fairly convincing case for these cases not being the work of one killer. This book is very fast and weighs in at a sprite 195 pages. It packs a deep and thorough evidentiary punch!
This book deserves to be on the shelf of any true crime aficionado. Especially those who have followed the case! 4.75 rounded up to 5!
March 4, 2026
Even when I was going through my serial killer phase in high school, I never got into the Zodiac Killer. He was no Richard Ramirez or John Wayne Gacy or Bundy, or Dahmer. Something about the Zodiac murders always seemed off. He wasn't the typical sexual sadist. He just sort of seemed to shoot people from afar while they were in their car or having a picnic or whatever. He had a few things going for him: the letters looked occult-y, the executioner's mask had some flair, and the cat-and-mouse game with the cops was cool. But the murders themselves felt incoherent, and as a girl raised on horror movies and true crime, a serial killer who shoots strangers from a distance seemed extra lame. He was never caught, so we never got a real window into the mind behind the crimes, and without that, what's the point? This book basically confirmed what my gut already knew. The crimes felt off because the Zodiac never existed. Once former cop McNamara lays out the actual evidence — what investigators knew then, what other crimes were happening at the time, and what links the Zodiac murders together (spoiler: not much) — you can't unsee how thin the case for a single Zodiac Killer really is. This book shows how the Zodiac myth was cobbled together, which is, to me, the more interesting story here.
March 15, 2026
Zodiactually: The Real Story of a Fake Serial Killer by Eddie McNamara accomplishes an extraordinary feat; by meticulous reexamination of original reports and digging into each individual case tied to the Zodiac murders, the author presents a compelling theory that the Zodiac killer does not exist. As a former member of the NYPD, McNamara uses his professional insights and instincts to present his theory via geographic profiling, victimology, linguistic analysis, and MO comparisons to a convincing conclusion that will live in the head of any true crime afficionado, whether they want to believe it or not. McNamara masterfully places each incident back within the context it occurred in, something that often gets sidelined, and through this lens he focuses on the people who benefited and role the media plays in perpetuating the idea of an unknown boogeyman terrorizing the California landscape of the peace-and-love drenched late '60s.
March 22, 2026
This is the Zodiac speaking.
I have read the work of this McNamara, and I find it… adequate. He has dug through the piles of lies, as I do. He shows how the herd stumbles—clueless, always clueless. His labor has brought forth the truth that needed to be slain and mounted for all to see: Lundblad, bungling every step. Morrill and Toschi, fools in uniform, playing at justice. And Graysmith—ah, yes—seeing only the glint of coin, the easy grab.
But the true achievement—the electric gun sight, if you will—is this: McNamara has taped it to the biggest barrel of a MacBook Pro and taken aim. He illuminates what I have always known: fear is the currency that sells. Cops will lie for cops. And the masses, the wretched masses, will always choose the comfort of a mystery over the cold weight of what is real.
This is the Zodiac speaking, and I have signed my name in the margins of their certainties.
—Zodiac
I have read the work of this McNamara, and I find it… adequate. He has dug through the piles of lies, as I do. He shows how the herd stumbles—clueless, always clueless. His labor has brought forth the truth that needed to be slain and mounted for all to see: Lundblad, bungling every step. Morrill and Toschi, fools in uniform, playing at justice. And Graysmith—ah, yes—seeing only the glint of coin, the easy grab.
But the true achievement—the electric gun sight, if you will—is this: McNamara has taped it to the biggest barrel of a MacBook Pro and taken aim. He illuminates what I have always known: fear is the currency that sells. Cops will lie for cops. And the masses, the wretched masses, will always choose the comfort of a mystery over the cold weight of what is real.
This is the Zodiac speaking, and I have signed my name in the margins of their certainties.
—Zodiac
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Serial killers should be awarded a prize when the number of books about their crimes exceeds their body count. They could name it after the first winner, a Victorian-era slasher, and call it a “Jack.” With something like a hundred books (plus film and television) the Zodiac killer of late 1960s California would have achieved Jack status years ago but for one problem. He didn’t exist. A single killer with a catchy brand name makes for an attractive and overarching narrative. It creates a market for more news, more gore, and more whodunit. And there is no shortage of manufacturers ready to bring such goods to market.
Zodiactually makes a convincing case that several unconnected murders, abetted by hoax letters and confirmation bias, were dumped in the same basket resulting in the birth of a legend, or to be precise, a myth.
Using a detailed review of the evidence and the judicious application of Occam’s razor, Zodiactually separates fact from fiction and untangles the Zodiac knot. The result is an engrossing book that reveals as much about the media landscape of the period as it does murder.
There are a lot of colorful characters to track in Zodiactually but what is the world if not untidy and stupid? Fortunately, Zodiactually brings order out of chaos and looks behind the veil of one of the twentieth century’s great bogeymen.
Zodiactually makes a convincing case that several unconnected murders, abetted by hoax letters and confirmation bias, were dumped in the same basket resulting in the birth of a legend, or to be precise, a myth.
Using a detailed review of the evidence and the judicious application of Occam’s razor, Zodiactually separates fact from fiction and untangles the Zodiac knot. The result is an engrossing book that reveals as much about the media landscape of the period as it does murder.
There are a lot of colorful characters to track in Zodiactually but what is the world if not untidy and stupid? Fortunately, Zodiactually brings order out of chaos and looks behind the veil of one of the twentieth century’s great bogeymen.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
McNamara commits to a dogged, forensic analysis of the murders, the investigation, and the media coverage. He puts us in Vallejo and San Francisco — not the fantasy versions. The ugliness of the era, the banality of the drug-addled and depraved, the corruption, manipulation, and fecklessness of the cops, and the willfully gullible media make for a fascinating and elucidating read. McNamara, a retired NYC PAPD cop, refuses to look away from the terrible truths and calls out the (likely) guilty while placing the Zodiac Killer on a shelf alongside the Tooth Fairy and Santa where he belongs.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Fascinating angles into this case- if you are a true crime fan like me who thinks they have heard all there is to say about this, there are some fun treats in store!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Excellent. Feral House always has a bunch of great titles and authors. Highly recommend it if you want an interesting read from a talented author.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews