Rating: 3.25 🌟
My sincere thanks to Netgalley for providing this e-arc.
Reading this book has provided me with a wealth of new information about crime and the people who are obsessed with it. In the middle of the book, I was surprised to learn that the killer was based on an actual individual.

At the start of Campbell stated, she is a ‘murderino’. I am one as well. I did have some issues where I felt some parts of the book was a re-creation of the podcast. I enjoyed reading the flashbacks between her family dynamics. I would have appreciated reading more about them. I do hope to read more of Campbell’s work.

***Many thanks to #Netgalley for the free digital ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.***

I liked the in depth road to understanding why Hilary likes true crime. I learned alot about popular true crime. However, near the end it seemed like endless therapy sessions that never ends.

Also the brief description of people of color as murders /victims and the racial issues was too little and no example stories. Unlike the other popular killers she described. It seemed like why add that in the book if you are just going to add to the issues.

Blah. Nope. Guess what? She's a Fitzgerald of the F. Scott Fitzgeralds. Did you know that? Well, you will SEVERAL times before the end of this graphic novel. 🙄 Which is probably why she kept it in her married name. This graphic novel was not cohesive and super annoying. I just didn't jive with it.

I really enjoyed this book but due to only being able to read it on my phone as it was not compatible for my tablet, I struggled to follow the story due to needing to zoom in and out again to move to the next section.

As a result, I only got half way through but will be trying to get a hard copy so I can finish it as the subject and style are right up my street and very relatable.

When I picked up this graphic novel, I thought it was interesting to have a memoir on why someone would like true crime. Overall, it was quite interesting and I learnt a few things. However, I think it was a bit too long. There was one point where I wasn’t so much interested but kept reading just because why not.
Apart from the length, I thought it was quite interesting. I am not one of those true crime lovers and have watched/read very few of them. But I always wondered why people would like it so much. I’m not going to lie, I found it a bit disturbing and did not like how it made murder/death into something casual almost. But now, I understand it better and my view on it has changed. I liked how Hilary also looks at the gender aspect of it. I never thought about it before. The last part of the book also talks a bit about racism and feminism but I wish this section had been longer.
I recommend to people who wonder why others can be into true crimes or to those who wondered why they enjoyed it so much.
3/5

This graphic memoir of true crime obsession was a lofty post halloween read for me. Its dark humour entertains the reader and is funny and psychological at the same time. I found the art style a bit abstract and comical. But once my eyes adjusted with that, it was pretty good. The only thing that might hold back its potential is that it's a bit too wordy. This is something that challenges your patience if you sit with a mindset of reading a pure graphic novel. Putting these aside, if you focus on the plot and the characters, it's worth a read.
Also, thank you so much NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at p.202

In trying to summarize my thoughts, the thing that didn't work out for me with this book is the way it executed the story and placed too much emphasis on what was supposed to just a foundation of the story. In addition, there were too much panel within a page that it became too much to bear. This strategy with the paneling, I believe, ruined the ease of reading the story - there were too much dialogue/description within a page that (together with a stylized font style) the writings were barely legible.

I'm a little torn about how to feel about this book. I love the simplistic art style but sometimes the font and layout make it hard to read and follow where the story should be going. Also I couldn't decide how I felt about how the story was told. I know it's a memoir but so much time in the beginning was spent on just trying to remember what parents and grandparents had read. Not even like here were stories they liked or told us about; but several panels of aunts and uncles trying to remember what somebody talked about. I feel like maybe if I had heard some of Hilary's stand up before reading this I would have a better feel for her delivery and might not be as annoyed by the side stories. I just couldn't get the rhythm for it that it would go from hyper specific to super rambly and that quick change just didn't keep me hooked. Also I realized that although I love learning about true crime, reading a super detailed history of someone else's every moment becoming familiar with it wasn't going to be as entertaining. The beginning chapter felt like a humble brag.

In Hilary’s ode to true crime memoir, she explores her obsession with murder. Through recounting infamous murders, we’re taken back to the fear, fascination, and focus on cases like the Zodiac Killer, Ted Bundy, Tom Capano, etc -- and see how they became popularized through media outlets like tv, films, and podcasts. On a more personal note, Hilary talks about her love for Ann Rule, watching the Forensic Files, and her own mother’s obsession. I did feel like some crimes were a bit glamourized and the graphic novel was hard to follow at times but it was still an interesting read (esp as a fellow true crime fan).

Thanks NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for my copy!

My thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing for an advance review copy via NetGalley of ‘Murder Book: A Graphic Memoir of a True Crime Obsession’ by Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell in exchange for an honest review.

Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell is a cartoonist for the New Yorker and in this quirky memoir she celebrates her life-long love of true crime (and some crime fiction). She credits her mother for this obsession. Indeed, it appears to run in her family back to her great-grandmother, Annabel Fitzgerald, sister of F. Scott.

While I am more drawn to crime fiction, I too have been bitten by the true crime bug so could definitely relate. Fitzgerald Campbell has a playful, tongue-in-cheek style and her humour is very dark.

While I was aware that women are avid readers of mysteries and crime fiction, I wasn’t aware that the same was so of true crime. She offers some possible reasons for this trend.

She analyses some famous cases including The Zodiac andTed Bundy and celebrates Ann Rule’s prolific career as a writer of true crime. She then moves on to true crime documentaries and the rise of true crime podcasts, something that I expect is more of an American phenomenon as none mentioned were familiar to me.

Woven throughout are witty personal anecdotes. Aside from her work as a cartoonist, she is also a standup comedian, so some of these were a bit edgy. I definitely could relate to her love of Law & Order and its ‘ripped from the headlines’ storylines.

Overall, I enjoyed this memoir and Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell’s playful cartoon style of art.

I love true crime and this was a new take on it for me. I love how graphic novels are expanding into new territory.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Murder book is part memoir, part true crime, and part psychological foray into why people love true crime as a genre. I love how everything was woven in together, and it was interesting rereading some of the classic true crime cases through the lens of someone else and look at how it impacted on her and her family. ​

I also found the peek into the psychology of true crime very interesting - about the various theories behind why people like it, and the types of people that tend to gravitate towards the genre. I did like how the author used herself as the lynchpin for it all - there were some fairly disparate ideas, and she was able to pull them all together really well.

If you’re a true crime buff, you may well find yourself exclaiming “OMG I DO THIS!” fairly frequently - I definitely did! I would recommend this to anyone who’s interested in true crime as well as anyone who wants to know why people like something that’s so macabre.

I liked this book a lot. Being into true crime myself, I recognized a lot of myself in there. This is the first graphic novel I've read in my entire life and I must say I'm very impressed. I didn't expect to like this (and a graphic novel in general) so much. On multiple occassions it made me laugh out loud. This is perfect if you want a light read. The way the author explained her love for true crime really made me connect with her. I love true crime a lot and those reasons are also very similar to why I like true crime so much.
It wasn't the best thing I've ever read but I will gladly give this a 4 star read for the fun time this book gave me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for a copy of this eARC. Here is my full and honest review.

When I first requested this ARC I was very much interested in True Crime, the idea of the graphic novel was interesting, this woman's memoir of being obsessed with murder and at first it was interesting but then it just felt very long. This novel seems like it's supposed to be for the person who loves Murder and True Crime, you're supposed to connect with Hilary's story but a lot of the story just felt like repetition of popular true crime cases that anyone who was into True Crime would already know. Overall it ended up just being sort of boring. The art was nice, some of the print was a little small in e-format to be able to read but I could zoom in to get a better look. If you want to read more about true crime cases I guess this would be a good pick up but really it didn't add anything to what I already know and I get most of my true crime from Bailey Sarian so, keep that in mind when looking to read this.

This is a mix of a memoir & an expose/education on the 'true crime' genre.....done in comic/graphic novel form......& it is fun to read! I found so much to relate to & laughed out loud in a couple places in the book. I would guess that many women (& men!) will find something to relate to! She did a real good job of covering the progression/development of the true crime genre & I remember many of the crimes she talked about, & the books & tv shows she mentioned. The author's descriptions of her past & present life situations were entertaining too!
The only problem I had with the comics were that occasionally some of the words in some of the panels were so small that I had a hard time reading them! Otherwise, I really liked her artwork/drawings. I learned some new things in reading this too.....always a plus! 3.5 stars might be more accurate!
I received this e-ARC from Andrews McMeel Publishing via NetGalley, for review purposes.

Well, it might have saved me watching Zodiac... This oh-so-wordy graphic documentary is the yack of one woman about her love of true crime stories. And whether it's dressed as a college lecture to the sole audience of her fellow-addictee-mother, or trying to be as inventive with the word art as possible, this is just a meandering free-flow. Our narrator, whoever she is, seems to never really become likeable, and certainly didn't sell me either on the genre of true crime or her kooky response to it. I mean, it might be OK for a certain audience, but if you're looking for a fine guide to all the nuances of the genre, look away, and if you want an academic survey of why its success continues to grow, this is far too chatty. Oh, and someone needs to learn that "there's" is for the singular only. There're no reasons for that kind of thing.

One of the best graphic novels I've ever read and one of the best conversations on the true crime genre I've read. Laugh-out-loud funny and very lighthearted for such a serious topic. A must read for fans of true crime and graphic novels!

As soon as I finished the graphic novel, I immediately sent the information to a friend who loves the true crime genre. I think this will appeal to all true crime fans and is a solid purchase for public library graphic novel collections.

This book was not for me at all, I did not enjoy the story and felt like it just wasn’t for me. I could appreciate the illustrations but it just was not for me.