SUSPECT ZERO [Paperback]

Michael D. Kelleher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2003

In the late sixties, a serial killer calling himself the Zodiac terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area, committing brutal, random attacks, and bragging about them in letters to the San Francisco Chronicle.

In Santa Rosa, fifty miles to the north, investigators Manny Bruin and Mick Millian were asked to tail potential suspect Byron Avion, an odd, portly man admittedly obsessed with the Zodiac. He had other eccentricities as well, not the least of which was his large collection of cardboard boxes, carefully stacked and tied shut with white nylon rope.

But peculiar habits do not a criminal make – that is, not until the bodies of young female hitchhikers began appearing in ditches, tied up with white nylon rope. That and a dozen other connections convinced Bruin and Millian that Avion was the Highway 101 Murderer, a Zodiac-style killer who prowled the Santa Rosa area.

Despite the connections, a decade-long investigation was unable to connect Avion to the crimes, or connect Zodiac to the northern murders. Bruin and Millian eventually became so frustrated that they dubbed Avion "Suspect Zero," and hoped for something to break the case open. When that break finally came, it re-wrote the book on homicide investigations and forever changed the direction of each man’s life.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Suspect Zero is another great book from the author of Mission District Murders.

About the Author

Michael D. Kelleher is the internationally acclaimed author-scholar of Profiling the Lethal Employee, Murder Most Rare: the Female Serial Killer and When Good Kids Kill. His writing is truly exemplary, as is reflected by his long list of publishing credits for such venerable houses as Random House, Dell and the Greenwood Publishing Group. Kelleher's work has appeared in the many of the country's major dailies, including the Washington Post, the New York Times and the San Francisco Examiner. He's a frequent guest on both radio and television and has appeared on the national news program 20/20.

Michael D. Kelleher lives in Northern California with his wife and two dogs. He is a guest lecturer in the California State University system and the father of four grown children. Kelleher specializes in strategic management, threat assessment and crisis resolution.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Dead End Street, LLC (May 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929429878
• ISBN-13: 978-1929429875
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,148,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Truth or Fiction?, January 7, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: SUSPECT ZERO (Paperback)

The book was a fine read and very interesting, but I was very dissapointed to find that so much it was not true. Names, addresses, locations, etc. are almost all incorrect. Perhaps the author or publisher changed them to protect the privacy of those invloved. If so, then that should have been clearly stated. I was hoping for an historically accurate representation of these events and I have no idea if anything in this book is true or not.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUSPECT ZERO - A LOOK AT THE SANTA ROSA HITCHHIKER MURDERS, October 19, 2010

By 

Trainmaster - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SUSPECT ZERO (Paperback)

"Suspect Zero" by Michael D. Kelleher is a sequel to his book "This Is The Zodiac Speaking," which had high reviews from serious Zodiac researchers.

"Suspect Zero" is a follow up on the latter title; it is a work of fiction based on true events. In fact, the details are far more outlined in this work of fiction/true crime which makes it very interesting reading for those readers who like suspense in addition to excellent material for the serious Zodiac researchers.

BEFORE one reads this book, I strong suggest one read and print out
the website [...] for the facts of the real names and events as all the names in this book have been changed.
SPOILER ALERT: The real suspect in the case was Arthur Leigh Allen who lived in Vallejo (NOT San Francisco as written in this fictional account - he had a trailer-home on Santa Rosa Avenue and not an apartment as told in the story - an example on how facts and names were changed, but still true to detail).

I read this book in one entire evening. I am reading it again because there are so many details about the true crimes which have rarely been revealed, I can compare the contents of this book to the actual events on the above mentioned website which displays the actual newspaper accounts of the murders.

On Tom Voigt's site "[...]" this book received high reviews. I can see why. I usually do not care for fiction, especially fiction which contradicts the true facts. That is not the case in this highly recommended book. The first book, "This Is the Zodiac Speaking - Into the Mind of a Serial Killer" by Michael D. Kelleher and well-known psychologist and professor of psychology David Van Nuys analyizes the writings of the Zodiac Killer and Van Nuys comes up with a pyschological profile for the real killer. THE AUTHORS' thoughts as to who the real killer may be is not revealed in "This Is The Zodiac Speaking." However, in the "Suspect Zero" sequel, the theories and analysis points to one suspect who was the favorite of most law enforcement agencies.

For an enjoyable reading of a suspense novel, this book is a must!
For a serious Zodiac researcher, or someone studying the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders, this book is a necessity! Either way, the reader will not be disappointed.This Is the Zodiac Speaking: Into the Mind of a Serial Killer