A popular true crime story, this one takes a long, hard look into the mystery of Rebecca Zahau. If you have a vested interested in the what or why in true crime, grab this one.

The author very clearly did extensive research on the case in order to write this book. I enjoyed learning about Rebecca and her life prior to her death. I think the interviews the author did helped the reader gain an overall picture of her life and herself as a person. The case was very mysterious and I can see why it was hard to determine a cause of death based on the evidence. I enjoyed reading the novel and felt it was well written and informative.

Rebecca Zahau is the much younger girlfriend of Jonah Shacknai, a wealthy business owner. They seem to have a close relationship and Rebecca loves his six-year-old son Max like her own. She has a contentious relationship with Adam's ex-wife, Dina, and his daughter, Cindy, from his first marriage. Max fell from the second story balcony, Rebecca tried to revive him and he was taken to the hospital. A couple days later Rebecca's naked body is found bound and gagged hanging from a second story balcony.

This is rounded up from 2.5. I felt that the book was very well researched but I have read books by Ann Rule and enjoyed them. I found the second half of this book to just be speculation. A lot of time was devoted to a civil suit against Jonah's brother, Adam by the Zahau family but there were no real conclusions. Was it murder or suicide? Was Adam, responsible because he was staying at the guest house at the time? It read like a 20/20 episode. One chapter recounts the findings of a website called Websleuths where 90% of the members felt that Adam was responsible and any of the posts advocating the suicide were removed because they were thought to come from the Shacknai family. From that point on I lost interest and skimmed to the end to find that I was right and they still don't know what happened.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a well balanced analysis of the death of Rebecca Zahau, who was found hanging with her arms and ankles tied, her hands were behind her back.
How this can be ruled as a suicide is beyond me, those facts alone of how she was found surely points to murder?
It was a fascinating audiobook, analysing the circumstances around Rebecca's death and the people who may be involved, and the narrator kept me engaged throughout.
The book was effective in not accusing one or more person, but was left to the reader to make their mind up.

Death on Ocean Boulevard, Inside the Coronado Mansion Case” is the “real-life” saga of the unique circumstances surrounding the hanging death of Rebecca Zahau in Coronado California. There were actually two tragedies in 2011 in the Spreckels Mansion, one a few days prior to the sensational death of Rebecca. How could these two unimaginable events happen? Were they independent events or were they sequentially causal with some unthinkable connection. Author Caitlin Rother knew from the start that this case would be of interest to the public, so Rother conducted extensive research and tracked the case in detail as it unfolded. The case made headlines across the nation and created enormous media frenzy. More than half a dozen news outlets and documentaries featured this controversial and hotly debated mystery. There were five possibilities in Rebecca’s death; it was not natural or accidental, and no one wanted to say “‘undetermined.” That left homicide or suicide, and everyone wanted to be very sure which one it was.
Right from the start, circumstantial evidence, unreliable statements, and overlooked details clouded the already murky waters of Rebecca’s case. Someone was dishonest, or perhaps everyone was. There were a lot of people involved, so Rother systematically introduces them to readers and provides detailed information on their backgrounds and relationships to others; readers get to know them well. Most are not consistent in their recollections of these tragic events, and many have secrets to protect.
“Death on Ocean Boulevard” is a comprehensive look at a disturbing and complicated series of events. This is not a mystery-thriller book that can be quickly wrapped up on the last page. The case itself lingered over multiple years, cost millions in legal fees, racked up uncountable hours of law enforcement time, and caused unimaginable grief for those left behind.

This is a gripping and fast-paced true-crime story that follows the events before and after the deaths of Max Shacknai and Rebecca Zahau. The events are so bizarre that they defy explanation. Was Max's death really an accident? Did Rebecca kill herself out of guilt, or was she killed to avenge Max's death? There is little doubt that the two deaths were related, but just how or why remains a mystery.

Caitlin Rother does an excellent job of laying out the facts, and follows up with interviews with many of the key players in this drama. She leaves it up to the reader to come to their own conclusions about what actually happened. I wished that there were a more conclusive end to this tragic story, but in real life there are not always tidy answers.

Recommended for fans of true crime and compelling story-telling.

3 for neutral. Unfortunately, I was unable to download properly, so until I can buy book and read it, I’m unable to review. I’ll update after buying and reading.

As a true crime fanatic, this book was right up my alley. I've seen at least one or two true crime episodes about Rebecca Zahau's untimely death and was confused as to how the conditions in which she was found could have logistically occurred if she committed suicide. But I'm also not a forensic scientist so I have zero expertise in that regard. What I really appreciated about Rother's work in Death on Ocean Boulevard was the detail in which she explains the timeline of events, the description of the crime scene, and also the backgrounds of the people involved, including Rebecca Zahau. None of the TV shows I've seen that covered Rebecca's case went into any of the detail Rother explained. I had no idea she had an ex-husband who was accused of being abusive, that she was alone on the property with her boyfriend's brother the night of her death, that her boyfriend Jonah had an ex-wife who did not get along with Rebecca, and the extent of Jonah's son Max's injuries from his fall a few days prior. Rother gives such a vast picture of the case that I almost want to write an email to those TV networks to tell them they need better investigators. I was enthralled by Rother's work on this case, including the strength it took to get past her own personal issues that would trigger anyone working on a case such as this.

In her latest novel, Death On Ocean Boulevard, investigative journalist / author Caitlin Rother takes the reader behind the scenes of a riveting true crime story for an in depth look at a highly publicized mystery death case set in picturesque Coronado, California.

On July 13, 2011, thirty-two year old Rebecca Zahau's naked body was found bound, gagged, and hanging from the second-story balcony of her multimillionaire boyfriend, Jonah Shacknai's San Diego mansion by his brother, Adam Shacknai. What ensues is an intricate and multi-layered story of Rebecca's mysterious death, an inept investigative process, and the ongoing suicide-murder debate that continues to befuddle the public for the past ten years since her death.

Death On Ocean Boulevard is a riveting story that easily draws the reader in from the start, keeping them captivated as the author weaves a thoroughly intriguing and intricate recounting of a highly publicized true crime case. I remember seeing this case profiled on the NBC Dateline investigative / mystery show, so when I saw that the author was writing an in depth true crime novel based on this case, it peaked my interest and I knew that I had to read it.

You can't help but get drawn into this complicated, fascinating, and multi-layered story, it is a gripping account into the mysterious death of Rebecca Zahau, and whether her death was a suicide or a murder. The author provides the reader with a fascinating and richly detailed and in depth look into the back stories and lives of each participant; an extensive research of the shoddy investigative, legal and financial aspects of the case.

After an extensive and determined investigation into this case, the reader follows the author's accounting of a haunting tale of one woman's tragic and senseless death, and the ongoing pursuit of her family to change the cause of death from suicide to undetermined, with the hope to reopen the investigation focused on a criminal case. In addition, the reader is also provided with information of Jonah Shacknai's six year old son Max's tragic accidental death while under the care of Rebecca two days before Rebecca's death, and the speculation that both deaths are either a coincidence or could be connected.

The author provides an impartial account of the mysterious death, while leaving it up to the reader to form their own opinion on whether Rebecca's death was a suicide or a murder. After reading both sides of the suicide-murder debate, I found myself waffling back and forth on this debate, and I fear that this conundrum will never be resolved.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much I loved the author's vivid description of Coronado's history, and the landmarks on this picturesque peninsula locale along the San Diego Bay.

Death On Ocean Boulevard is a gripping and haunting account of a tragic and mysterious death that is a must read for all true crime fans.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

https://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/04/death-on-ocean-boulevard-by-caitlin.html

I am definitely a stereotypical millennial true crime fan, but it was difficult for me to get into this. About half way through, I did put it down. While incredibly thorough and well researched, it felt very... dry. I didn't feel scared or spooked or even curious. Not my cup of tea, but I am sure there are some true crime fans who would really enjoy this.

I really enjoyed this book. Especially with such recent updates. The research and writing is done so perfectly and I am very interested in any other true crime anything that she has to offer.

This book just goes to show all the investigative TV shows don't tell you everything, this books delves so much more into everything that happened as well as the people involved in both tragedies that occurred at Spreckels Mansion.
This book steps you through the lead up and aftermath of Rebecca and Max's deaths as well as the many layers and different turns the lives and investigation took which actually left me going from confident in regards to what I thought occurred from watching shows to feeling conflicted about almost everyone especially Rebecca after learning so much more about her past which is complex, along with Adam and how he acted then and since, then we have how the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department acted then and now which infuriated me.
This is definitely a book where you can get the honest and hard facts that have been meticulously gathered and laid out for you to draw you own conclusion on, you are not swayed one way or the other into what is believed to have happened it is up to you. I also felt when added in the personal connection that the author has to the subject it gives everything a more personal feel and depth to it that makes you take note of actions and information so much more.

Unfortunately, I did not care for this book. Normally I am a true crime junkie, but this book followed a case that it shouldn't have. They don't even know if it was a crime! I personally feel that the author locked onto this story because her ex committed suicide and this woman may have too - the difference being her ex's was PROVED a suicide, and this one was not. I lean more towards murder given the staging of the body. BUT. NO ONE KNOWS. So I just read a 300+ page book for....nothing. No answers, no conclusion. Nothing. 2 stars.

Death on Ocean Boulevard: Inside the Coronado Mansion Case (Kensington Books 2021) by Caitlin Rother is a deep dive into the infamous Rebecca Zahau case. Rebecca was found hanging nude from a balcony at San Diego’s Spreckels Mansion with her wrists and ankles bound. Her hands were behind her back, and she was gagged with a t-shirt. Rebecca lived at the residence with her boyfriend, Jonah Shacknai, a pharmaceutical CEO. An ominous message was drawn crudely on the door of the room that led to the balcony where Rebecca was found. It read: “She saved him, can he save her”. This message was investigated as a possible link to the death of Max Shacknai, Jonah’s six-year-old son. Max was in Rebecca’s care when he fell over a staircase banister and sustained serious injuries that he eventually died from. Rebecca’s body was found two days after Max’s fall by Adam Shacknai, Jonah’s brother, who was staying in the guest house overnight. Rebecca’s family, along with many in the true crime community, have long since suspected Adam of killing Rebecca.

Rother’s book focuses on what has long been debated by investigators and true crime fans alike: was Rebecca’s death a murder, or did she die by suicide? The San Diego’s Sheriff’s Department, the investigating agency, has always maintained that Rebecca died by suicide. Conversely, Rebecca’s family believe that Rebecca was murdered. Rother herself struggles to identify a definitive answer. In her quest to understand the case, Rother hunted through “public records…the sheriff’s investigative files and photos, discovery materials from the various lawsuits, witness interview transcripts and audio files, trial depositions, and outside expert analysis.” She also conducted many interviews herself. Despite all this information, Rother still found it difficult to come to a conclusion about this case. There are complex reasons for this, none of which have to do with Rother’s reporting, which is detailed and excellent. Death on Ocean Boulevard serves as the definitive account of this case and includes new information that likely would have never seen the light of day had Rother not run down every lead. The lack of a conclusion to this case is largely, as Rother’s text suggests, because of the initial investigation by the San Diego’s Sheriff’s Department. The poor testing of evidence, as well as their reluctance to test or re-test evidence has plagued this case from the beginning.

Rother enters this chaotic case via a personal connection of her own: in 1999, Rother’s husband died by suicide. Rother states in her preface that “[w]hen I first heard about the Rebecca Zahau case, I was intrigued, just like everyone else. But due to the parallels in my own life, the more I learned, the more haunted I became.” Rother does not use this personal connection as a major thread in the book—in fact, she only explores her feelings about her husband’s death alongside the Zahau case a few times throughout. I found this strategy effective. In a case that is already complicated, having too much biographical content about the author would have been distracting. Instead, Rother quietly develops and explores the details of her husband’s death throughout and explains how it motivated her to keep investigating the Zahau case. The brief places where Rother explores her husband’s death alongside the Zahau case were some of my favorites in the book.

Rother also does an excellent job of developing, in minute detail, every direction this case has taken. She seriously considers, via all existing pieces of evidence as well as the interviews she conducted, whether or not Rebecca was murdered, or if she died by suicide. Rother’s text seems to posit that jumping to quick conclusions is what has stalled this case, and she implicitly asks her reader to avoid this by considering both sides in tandem with her. Rother doggedly searches for the truth, often at great personal cost. Rother develops a relationship with Adam Shacknai, who discovered Rebecca’s body, and his girlfriend, Mary. She interviews them both multiple times, but eventually Adam begins to send her angry and insulting emails. Rother states that “[a]ll told, he sent me forty emails over three months, sometimes four a day, and offensive to the end”. Even though Adam’s harassment made Rother reconsider if Adam was in fact an innocent man, she still presents evidence, as well as interview transcripts excerpted from her 2020 interview with Adam’s brother Jonah, that could suggest Adam’s innocence. Her reasoning for this was simple:

“I believe that the [true crime] community at large still actively engages in conspiracy theories about this case partly because many evidentiary details weren’t released…I’ve tried to remedy that here, by exploring all evidence and theories—in context. The result is a more detailed, balanced, and current account of what happened to Max and Rebecca than you’ll find anywhere else.”

I have to agree with Rother’s assessment of her own reporting. Rother’s book not only presents evidence that had previously been withheld from public view, but it places these pieces of evidence in chronological order, and it contextualizes and grounds this evidence in order for the reader to have a complete picture. Even after being harassed by a key suspect in the case, presenting pieces of the truth was still Rother’s goal. Rother leaves us to assemble these pieces, and after reading her account, we are much better equipped to do so. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Zahau case.


Please add Death on Ocean Boulevard to your Goodreads shelf and follow Caitlin Rother on Twitter. Check out Caitlin’s website here.
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A copy of this proof was graciously provided to True Crime Index via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
About the Writer:
Jesyka Traynor is an academic living in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. When she’s not writing or researching her dissertation, she’s consuming all the true crime and non-fiction she can find time for. Jesyka holds two degrees in English literature and is currently pursuing a doctorate in contemporary Californian literature. Her work on women in twenty-first century true crime is forthcoming from Crime Fiction Studies.

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..

The story of what happened to Rebecca Zahau and her boyfriend Jonah Shacknai’s son, Max, is both a mesmerizingly compelling puzzle and deeply sad. No matter how you puzzle over its innumerable oddities and curious details, and the heaps of evidence and information provided here, two people who still had so much life ahead of them — one a six-year-old child — are still dead.

Max seems to have fallen over a banister in the Coronado Mansion in San Diego, and Zahau was unable to revive him. There are a lot of questions about how he fell and what transpired afterwards. Two days later, police were again called to the mansion, where Rebecca’s body was found hanging. Tragic, of course, but this is also where it starts to take a turn for the very weird. The only other person in the house was her boyfriend’s brother, Adam Shacknai, a somewhat odd guy to begin with, and the question arises of whether Zahau’s death was murder or suicide.

Caitlin Rother is an established investigative journalist and followed the story from its beginning, attended Adam Shacknai’s trial, and researched heavily into Zahau’s background and her relationship history with Jonah Shacknai.

It leans a bit too heavily on trial and police transcripts, which may sound odd because of course that’s where the information is, but it feels like rote recitation of that data. When Rother analyzes deeper, it’s better. What I found most interesting were its disprovals of some of the fixed details or assumptions, like about who watched Asian bondage porn the night before Rebecca’s murder. That seemed like a telling clue but turns out it really isn’t. I admit I haven’t followed this case closely, only watched a documentary and read a bit when it first happened, but not all of the common narrative or details were correct which surprised me, that these have been allowed to remain accepted facts.

A few times I found myself somewhat irritated with observations and assumptions, however. Jonah’s brother Adam stayed in the mansion’s guest house the night of Rebecca’s death, discovered her body in the morning and made the 911 call, and was judged “responsible” for her death in a civil trial. When the author ran into Adam’s girlfriend in the bathrooms of the courthouse, she notes, “She seemed quite normal and sweet, not the type of woman who would date a sexual deviant.” What kind of observation is that? This is the kind of throwaway comment that makes me distrustful, because that’s obviously a slant based on emotion that doesn’t belong in an objective facts story. It also connects to a more old-school style of true crime which is why I didn’t love the genre in the first place, until in the last decade or so it became more literary in style and accountable in content.

Rother’s ex-husband committed suicide after a troubling path of substance abuse, mental illness, and threats, factors which she compares to Zahau’s lack of them all. Still, she says what she learned “is that you can’t apply reason or reason or rationality to an irrational act like suicide, because the person committing that act is not of sound mind.” I agree, and this is worthwhile for its presentation of that idea in context.

Nevertheless, it’s disorganized in structure, long sections address parts of Rebecca’s past that have nothing to do with what came later, information is repeated too often, and totally unhelpful detours taken — like a psychic who examines the bed used to anchor the rope Rebecca was hanging from. This is completely ridiculous and unacceptable and not worthy of a serious journalistic endeavor.

If you’re deeply interested in this story of course read this – it has a few worthwhile insights. Zahau’s biographical story of immigrating first to Germany and then to the US is told respectfully, but elsewhere I felt it skirted the line of acceptable speculation or insinuation. And worth knowing that if you prefer clear, organized narrative, it’s all over the place with too much information to always separate what’s important and what’s superfluous, and leans toward an older style of sensationalist true crime. If that’s not your taste (as is the case for me) this can be frustrating.

The image of the Spreckels Mansion is an apt metaphor for this true crime story of death and terrifying loss. At first glance the historic mansion looks impressive, but inside there is mold on the bathtubs, the carpet is in need of replacement, the decor is somewhat dated - appearances can be deceiving.

On the surface, Rebecca Zahau was living the good life with her millionaire boyfriend Jonah and his teenage kids, as well as sweet adorable six-year-old Max. But on July 11, 2011, Max falls face-first from a second story staircase onto the floor below and is taken to the hospital in critical condition. Two days later, Rebecca is found dead .... nude, bound in red rope, hanging from an exterior balcony. Max dies of his injuries on July 16, 2011, having never regained consciousness.

What happened in Coronado has never been fully solved, despite a jury in a civil case finding Jonah's brother Adam responsible for Rebecca's death, and the San Diego Sheriff's department declaring Rebecca's death a suicide. And ... Max may have simply tripped and fell over the bannister, although a trauma doctor believes he was suffocated prior to his fall.

Caitlin Rother begins by sharing her husband's 1999 death by suicide, as well as some unsettling events from Rebecca's past which creates a framework of sorts for the larger mystery. As Dr. House would say, "everybody lies" and with that unsteady foundation in place, we move on to investigate the case.

Rother's narrative at times is a bit unclear and while she gives us brief sketches of the major players, at times I found myself trying to remember exactly who some of those players were. There is also a lot of repetition along the way. But then again, there are a lot of details about the case, most of which are still highly disputed. As Sheriff Gore stated: "Sometimes family members hear what they want to hear" or as Rother says:

"What comes out in a trial is not a single truth. Each side tries to win its case by presenting witnesses who offer conflicting interpretations of the same evidence [...]. I came away convinced that the whole truth had not come out - from either side."

Rother's book provides some new information and theories of the case and overall, I felt she did a good job of balancing all the various "truths" about what happened those summer days in 2011. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the case and anyone seeking to learn more about the inner workings of investigation and analysis. 4 stars.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department may have quickly deemed Rebecca Zahau's death a suicide, but to this day, the circumstances surrounding the fatal injury sustained by little Max Shacknai and Rebecca's demise just two days later remain a mystery. If the Sheriff's Department was motivated to rush to a specific conclusion, the reason(s) have not yet been revealed. But award-winning author Caitlin Rother has spent years searching for answers.

Death on Ocean Boulevard may well be Caitlin Rother’s best book yet. She again presents a thoroughly researched, thoughtful examination of an actual case, the unsolved Spreckels Mansion deaths, but this time with a personal twist that makes her narrative even more compelling and compassionate. Rother relates that her curiosity was aroused as soon as she heard about the case, but "the more I learned, the more haunted I became." To her memoir, Secrets, Lies, and Shoelaces: A Story of Hardship and Healing, Rother brings the same unsparing honesty and journalistic integrity that make her meticulously researched true-crime novels intriguingly readable. Therein, she relates the harrowing story of her marriage to Rich Rose, who threatened to commit suicide several times before following through in April 1999. He took his life by hanging in a hotel room in San Quintin, Mexico, where he left his driver's license and bank card on display so that he could be identified and notification made to Rother. She had no way of knowing then that twelve years later the death of a local thirty-two-year-old woman by hanging would become "so all-encompassing that every time I would try to walk away it would pull me back in." Her exploration of the case would not only span years, but also prove enormously difficult, exasperating, and a "compulsion -- obsession even -- to solve this mystery."

In painstaking detail, Rother tells the story of Rebecca's familial history, as well as her bizarre relationships with three men. She had an on-again, off-again relationship with her allegedly abusive ex-husband, Neil Nalepa, who, even at the time of her death, had "exceedingly insistent contact" with her, texting daily to declare that he would do anything to make their marriage work. Additionally, Rebecca was involved with Michael Berger, a martial arts instructor, from whom she initially hid the fact that she was still married to Neil. In fact, when she began dating Michael, she was still living with Neil. Michael urged her to move forward with the divorce she said she wanted when she related that her marriage to Neil had been arranged by her father and Neil was an abusive drug user. At one point, she disappeared but contacted Michael claiming that someone "took me." Insisting she didn't know where she was because her purported abductors put "something over my eyes," she told Michael she was only able to make a call because her kidnappers permitted her to use the bathroom. She then hung up, but called him several more times. He filed a police report. In one call, she seemed to recite a drafted statement informing Michael he was "not to see me anymore, ever again." Michael heard men's voices in the background, and one of them threatened, "I know where you live." When Rebecca showed up at Michael's house again, he insisted they go to the police. In reality, Rebecca had again reconciled with Neil and, meeting alone with detectives, confessed she had failed to inform Michael of that fact. A couple of days later, she disappeared yet again, texting Michael that she was in Portland, Oregon, to "clear my head," but professing love. In truth, Rebecca had by then made her way to her sister's home in Missouri after living with Neil in Portland where things "went sideways once again." After further stints with Neil in Pennsylvania and Colorado, Rebecca went to Arizona in December 2007.

Rebecca told her sisters that every time she tried to break away from Neil, he begged for another chance. He supposedly promised repeatedly to go to counseling, and that he would refrain from yelling and threatening Rebecca, who loaned him money and returned to the marriage time after time. Rebecca purchased a home in Arizona and got a job as an ophthalmic technician. It was there, in October 2009, that she met Jonah Shacknai, a twice-divorced father of three children, and then-CEO and founder of Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation, headquartered in Phoenix.

Jonah initially purchased the historic Spreckels Mansion to serve as a summer home, but it became his full-time residence. Jonah was able to supply Rebecca with the lifestyle she had always wanted and she called him her "warrior." Although they came from very different backgrounds, and Jonah was significantly older than Rebecca, they were both interested in health and fitness, and Rebecca was willing to be a caregiver. Unfortunately, after Rebecca moved into the Jonah's house in March 2010, without Jonah's knowledge because he was away visiting his parents, Rebecca's relationships with Jonah's two oldest children and his second wife, Dina, were fraught with conflict. But she and Max loved each other, even though Dina was concerned about having Rebecca caring for her young son when he spent time at his father's house. To Dina, "something felt amiss," but she was initially unable to ascertain any information about Rebecca's past. Dina's sister, Nina, felt Rebecca was "never what she seemed. She was presenting herself in a way of what Jonah would want."

On July 11, 2011, Ariel, Rebecca's thirteen-year-old sister had just arrived for a visit. When she heard Rebecca scream her name, she looked down to the foyer of the mansion from the second floor landing. She saw Rebecca cradling Max's hear in her lap as he lay in an alcove hear the bottom of the stairs. Around him was glass, the broken chandelier lay nearby, and Rebecca's dog was pacing around. Ariel called 911 and responders reported that Max was lying on his back with a razor scooter across his right shin with a soccer ball nearby. Rebecca claimed she had given Max mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but could not recall if she had found him on his back or flipped him over. The chandelier's cord had been "severed" and Rebecca was distraught, relating that she was in the downstairs bathroom under the stairwell when she heard a crash, ran out, and found Max, who had gone upstairs to his bedroom twenty minutes earlier. She also related that she's heard Max say several unintelligible words, but then he lost consciousness after uttering her dog's name, Ocean. When Max arrived at the emergency room, he was resuscitated but not before he was deprived of oxygen for twenty-five to thirty minutes. Tragically, Max was later declared brain-dead and removed from life support.

And just two days later, tragedy befell Jonah again when his brother, Adam, who had come to San Diego to support Jonah when Max was injured, placed another 911 call from the mansion, stating that he found Rebecca's body.

Rother employs her signature straight-forward style to relate the details of a case that continues to fascinate and confound those who have followed it. She lays out the various ways in which the investigation conducted by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department was rushed, flawed, and inconclusive, even though officials quickly ruled that Rebecca took her own life. That Rebecca could have logistically killed herself in the manner the evidence at the scene suggested is not just implausible, but virtually impossible, according to some experts. Moreover, the forensic evidence does not bear out that Rebecca managed to bind her own hands and feet, place a t-shirt around her neck and into her mouth as a gag, and tie rope around her neck before hurling herself off the second-floor balcony. Notably, she showed no signs of being distressed or feeling guilty about Max's injuries to the point that she might be contemplating suicide. It appeared there was no blame hurled at her by Jonah, even though he pressed her for answers, and she did not express responsibility for Max's fall, contending that she found him in the foyer and did not know what happened. Experts on the topic opined that women do not take their own lives in the way Rebecca allegedly did -- and certainly not nude -- even though, in rare cases, individuals do take steps to ensure that, at the last moment, they will be unable to change their minds and save themselves. Rebecca's family has steadfastly maintained that she would never have taken her own life. And most certainly not in such a spectacular manner that would bring shame to herself or the family. And what of the cryptic message scrawled on the door? If Rebecca wrote it herself, what did it mean?

Rebecca's injuries were inconsistent with suicide. An autopsy showed that she had four subgaleal hemorrhages on her scalp, and even though she allegedly fell nine feet from the balcony, her spinal cord and cervical vertebrae were intact. Although she had abrasions and contusions on her body, they were not on her arms, face, and the front of her body where they would logically appear as a result of contact with the large plants under the balcony. Perhaps most telling, if she had been actually been hanging by the neck for several hours before being discovered by Adam, blood should have pooled in her feet and lower extremities, not across her back and in other areas of her body where signs of lividity were observed. The evidence suggested that she had, in fact, been lying on her back, not hanging upside down.

In clear, readily understandable prose, Rother highlights the disparities between the Sheriff's Department's conclusions and the evidence collected at the scene, as well as the various steps that investigators stepped, clues they ignored (willfully, perhaps), and evidence they failed to collect and analyze. Rother attempted unsuccessfully to uncover a connection between Jonah -- a powerful, wealthy resident of a community known as a safe environment where people did not, even in 2011, lock their doors -- and Sheriff's Department officials that would provide the impetus to rush to a conclusion and close the case.

Likewise, Rother explains that Max's injuries were not consistent with conjecture about the manner in which he fell. In the opinion of Max's physician, it would have been impossible for him to speak when Rebecca discovered him lying on the floor. And if she had truly performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation Max might have had a better outcome. Did he fall over the railing while riding his Razor scooter on the second floor, grabbing for the chandelier as he fell? Or did he suffer from an underlying medical abnormality that caused him to suffer sudden cardiac arrest before falling to the floor below? Or was he murdered?

Rebecca's family filed a wrongful death suit and Rother attended the contentious jury trial. Her play-by-play of the legal machinations, including the performances of the parties' attorneys, is absorbing and entertaining. She relates her first-hand observations and impressions, as well as the shocking verdict delivered by the jury.

If Rebecca did not kill herself, but was, instead, murdered, who is responsible for her death? Rother ponders the motives that various potential subjects might have harbored for wanting both Rebecca and Max dead. Jonah wondered if a disgruntled former employee could have hurt him by harming his child or girlfriend. Dina never enjoyed a harmonious relationship with Rebecca, even banning her from Max's hospital room after he was injured, and her sister, Nina, was closely aligned with her. Could a grieving mother or aunt have sought retribution? Dina, at least, was confirmed to have been at Max's bedside when Rebecca died, and Jonah's whereabouts were also confirmed. A neighbor claimed to have heard a woman screaming for help, raising questions about whether Adam killed Rebecca after she rebuffed his advances.

Rother explores the various conspiracy theories that have abounded and continue to be floated by interested observers, as post-trial legal proceedings continue winding through the courts. She notes that her investigation caused her to reject many of those theories outright because they were unsupported by forensic, medical or mechanical evidence, or debunked by uncontroversial clues. Despite her dedication to the case and quest for answers, Rother concedes that, at this point, no one is able to state for certain what happened to Rebecca or Max. Rebecca's history of lies, deceit, and instability certainly call into question whether someone from her past caught up with her in Coronado and murdered her. But Rother also knows from personal experience, as well as professional expertise garnered through her years of investigative journalism, that family members frequently are unaware that a loved one was contemplating suicide . . . until it is too late. Even so, Dina and Rebecca's family remain convinced that both Max and Rebecca were murdered.

Rother's tautly-constructed, enthralling telling of their story is both fascinating and haunting, and a must-read for true crime fans. A less-skilled author could easily have imprinted his or her personal experiences upon the writing. But Rother deftly strikes a perfect balance between compassionately exploring Rebecca's life and what transpired. She considers the complex emotions of all involved, and objectively examines the available evidence through the lens of a woman who survived a dysfunctional marriage and suicide of an ex-spouse. Because of her background, she credibly offers insight and perspective while inspiring readers to take all of the information presented into account before drawing their own conclusions.

For Rother's part, she concludes that, based upon her years-long, intense exploration of the case, "Rebecca's death was staged to look like something it wasn't." But she concedes that she doesn't "know what happened. I can see both sides of it, and I have never been convinced either way. There are big holes in the investigation that will never be filled."

But what really happened may forever remain a mystery that little Max and Rebecca took with them to their respective graves. Rother observes, "This is a tragedy, no matter how you look at it."

Like practically every millennial woman, I love True Crime. Whenever I’m out for a walk on the trails near our neighborhood, the sun shining through the trees, quiet, no one else around, I stop and think - “Am I gonna get Datelined right now?” And yes, I use Dateline as a verb.

Ann Rule, Michelle McNamara, James Renner, a slew of others. I will read, listen, and watch ALL of the things that have to do with True Crime. I read Helter Skelter in middle school. The Black Dahlia, Son of Sam, The Golden State Killer, Ted Bundy, the Yogurt Shop Murders in Austin, TX, which literally still boggles my mind to this day.

I don’t dabble too much into recent crime stories, besides the big ones like Laci Peterson or Chris Watts, the not-so-perfect father, so I didn’t really know much about the Rebecca Zahau case. I buddy read this one with @pazthebookaholic who has seen the Dateline episode of this case, and who told me that some information she thinks she definitely remembers from the episode, so if you have watched it, a lot of this book will seem a bit repetitive.

This book is absolutely dense with information. Rother does an amazing job of researching and interviewing key witnesses nine years after the fact of Rebecca being found dead in the Coronado Mansion.

My issue with the book was, all of this information was written in a way that I could not engage with. It felt clinical and dry. I wasn’t spooked, I didn’t feel creeped out, or like someone was watching me through my windows. I didn’t feel anything. This was just the facts.

Usually, when reading True Crime the author gives us something, some personal connection that ties it all together. At one point, Rother does try to connect with Rebecca’s case by offering a personal story, but it comes in the last quarter of the book, and mostly mentioned in passing and I just thought, damn, that was a missed opportunity.

It’s a highly informative book, especially if you have zero knowledge of this truly bizarre case. Unfortunately, it was just missing a little extra spark of something for me.

Thank you @netgalley & @kensingtonbooks for the eARC. This is out April 27th.

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read and review this ARC. I went into it with no knowledge of the case and ended with a firm grasp on all the possible details and scenarios to form my own opinion. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the true crime genre. It's very detailed and unbiased, reminiscent of late author, Ann Rule.