Thanks to NetGalley I just completed listening to the Audiobook entitled “Death on Ocean Boulevard” by Caitlin Rotherham. This book tells the “true crime” drama circling the mysterious death of a young lady found hanging, naked and gagged, completely bound at a multimillion home. The death was deemed a suicide but, in light of an entire book having been written, there appears to be some serious questions about the “suicide.” The audiobook was well done and the story also done equally well.
If true crime is your thing then jump in and enjoy!

Somehow missed that I was provided a copy of this audiobook. BUT... no worries, because I found it and still gave it a listen because I find this case SO intriguing. I've watched all the true crime specials on this case (Dateline, 48 Hours, etc.) & so I was very excited about this book for the chance to dive a little deeper into what is such an unsettling and strange case. Ultimately, I really liked the way Rother wrote - the book flowed very well & it was clear the amount of time she put into her research. However, I just don't think I came out of the book learning much of anything new. I still find the case extremely baffling & am just as unsure about what happened today as I was before I listened to the book. BUT... if you haven't ever heard of the case, or maybe just don't know much about it, this is a great true crime read.

Thank you to Tantor Audio & NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to Net Galley, the publisher, and audio staff for this excellent True Crime story!

Max Shacknai is a 6 year old boy who was found dead from an alleged fall and cardiac arrest while under the care of his father, millionaire Josh Shacknai 's girlfriend, Rebecca Zahau.

A couple of days later, police are called to the mansion again that Rebecca committed suicide by hanging herself over a rail, nude, tied up and gagged. Suspicion later arrises from the police and Rebecca's family that she was murdered. That how can one hang themselves in the position she was found and why was she nude?

I really enjoyed this. .Great narrator, kept me engaged , and very well researched. Highly recommend !

3.5 rounded up
This was an interesting look into a strange case. It is well written and well researched. Flows nicely

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* I've never heard of this case to be honest so it was an awesome read! really loved learning about this case and plan on doing more research on it!

I enjoyed the reading of this well-written book by a good narrator whose speed, tone, and overall performance were top-notch. The events surrounding this true crime were researched to the point where the author was able to perform an in-depth analysis and write an intriguing account of the case.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy of this audiobook to listen to. The impressions expressed here are my own honest opinions written voluntarily.

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 non-fiction accounting of the real life mystery of the deaths of both Rebecca Zahau and Max Shacknai. Rebecca’s death has been the subject of intense scrutiny worldwide as no one has ever been criminally prosecuted for her death and instead it was determined to be a result of a suicide.

Caitlin Rother does an excellent job researching and presenting the case without making it salacious or full of bias. It would be too easy to make this case over-dramatized just due to the manner in which Rebecca’s body was found (naked, bound and gagged) and the fact that she was the girlfriend of an extremely wealthy man. Also undetermined was how exactly young Max died in her care just two days prior from a fall off a second floor landing. The reader is left with a lot of unanswered questions but not due to anything Rother has excluded but because of the illusive nature of both the life and death of this complicated young woman and the unusual manner in which her life ended.

The audiobook was narrated by Rachel Perry who presented the text in a serious way that was not too dry and dull.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that is interested in true crime, cold cases and mysterious deaths. I found it to be objective, well-researched and written in a way that kept me engaged and interested until the very end.

Four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received the audio of Death on Ocean Blvd by Caitlin Rother from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. I never heard of Rebecca Zahau’s death. This remains a mystery. Did she commit suicide or was she murdered? The police department, in my opinion, did a terrible job in investigating this death, but this case was never reopened.
I haven’t read many true crimes. I’m not a fan, but judge for yourself.

A lot of work went into this book, there's tons of information here. The problem is that it's just not interesting. What was, at the time, an intriguing story about a "suicide", has been turned into a rather boring report on people behaving badly. While I find it tragic, it didn't keep my interest and I put it off for other books several times.

This story is filled with lots of bizarre, unexplainable details, but the narrative was so straightforward that it didn’t capture my attention as much as I hoped. The author spends a lot of time chronicling the events and I got a little lost in the weeds, particularly during the legal section. I got a lot more interested when the author talked about her personal experience with mental illness and suicide and how those insights affected her view of Zahau. I listened to this one and it was a solid audiobook, although maybe not spectacular.

Two days after her boyfriend Jonah's son suffered a tragic fall while in her care, 32-year-old Rebecca Zahau was found bound and gagged, with Adam Shacknai, Jonah's brother, claiming he found her hanging by a rope from a second floor balcony, near a message “SHE SAVED HIM CAN YOU SAVE HER”. Did Rebecca commit suicide, feeling guilty about 6-year-old Max's fall, or did someone murder Rebecca? Author Caitlin Rother lays out all the evidence in this case, which the San Diego Sheriff's Department ruled a suicide, while a civil trial jury found Adam responsible for Rebecca's death.

This was such a disturbing case, and I felt my opinion of what happened changing as more and more evidence was revealed throughout the book. Rother did a fabulous job of researching the book and presenting all the evidence that has been found by various resources. The only downside to the book for me was that Rother's ex-husband committed suicide sometime before Rebecca was found dead, and at a few points throughout the book, she would talk about how her experience with her ex-husband affected the way she felt about this case. Personally, that took me out of the story and did not enhance the book. Rachel Perry did an excellent job narrating the audiobook.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

I have seen bits and pieces of this story before, but I never knew all the ins and outs. This book was interesting and informative. It’s a true crime junky’s dream! But know going in that there is no clear resolution; though the book ends the story clearly hasn’t. The author brings in personal connections that give the reader an empathetic ear from the very beginning.

I loved this story so much. I honestly wish that the audiobook had more to offer, but with this narration, it just was not as enjoyable as it could be. Still such an intriguing story, though.

This was enthralling. Like listening to a long podcast, full of fascinating legal information and rich, complex characters. I had almost no knowledge of the events that took place at the Spreckles Mansion, or those involved prior to listening. This book presents the story well, offering detailed background information on the people and locales involved, as well as digging deep into the investigation itself. I was riveted. I very much enjoyed Rachel Perry's reading, and I found her clear and easy to listen to whether I was in the car or wandering about the house doing chores. A deeply sad and shocking story, and a gripping piece of Californian history. Thanks.

I think overall this was a well written true crime story. It was an interesting case that I'm surprised I've never heard of. With the confusing evidence, the reader is able to listen and decide if they think it was truly murder or suicide. The evidence for foul play is pretty convincing but there a lot of questions left to be answered. When you look at the context of other family issues, one can only wonder. I'd recommend this for true crime fans and armchair detectives!

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. I felt the narrator's delivery may be better suited to fiction but I still enjoyed the audio version.

Thank you to the author, Tantor Audio, and NetGalley for my review copy.

Death on Ocean Boulevard tells the strange and convoluted story about Rebecca Zahau and her death. The story starts with her boyfriend Jonah's son, Max, having a freak accident while in Rebecca's care. Then, two days later, Rebecca's body is found hanging. Was Max's accident really an accident? Did Rebecca die by suicide or was it murder?

This book is not one where those questions will get answered because those answers don't exist. I was not familiar with this case when I started so I wish that I had known that it was still unsolved when I started the book. HOWEVER, that did not deter from how crazy this story was. I kept going back and forth on what actually happened. I have my own opinion at this point but the amount of facts that are included in this book was extensive. I really enjoyed getting to learn more about this case. At points, this felt a tad longer than it needed to be. I was just so devastated for Rebecca, no matter how it happened to her. I was so devastated for Max. There was so much promise in these people that was snubbed out too soon.

Admission: I am kind of obsessed with true crime (shout out to my fellow Murderinos out there!) and have been for decades. I don't know what it is, but true crime has me hooked. Documentaries, books, and - more recently - podcasts. Audiobooks are now available on NetGalley, and I was very excited to get early access to listen to Death on Ocean Boulevard, which takes a deep dive into the death of Rebecca Zahau. (Was it suicide or murder?)

I am listening to audiobooks more and more, and true crime audiobooks are one of my favorite genres. Death on Ocean Boulevard has a good narrator, and listening to it felt like I was watching a documentary. This book is well written and very engaging to listen to. Right from the introduction, Ms. Rother pulls you into the bizarre death at the Spreckels Mansion in Coronado, California.

I have seen several documentaries on the Zahau case, and this book intrigued me right from the beginning. Death on Ocean Boulevard is well researched, and through her writing we learn that Ms. Rother has followed this case from very early on. She paints a vivid picture of the days leading up to the death, but also the backstory of the victim and those closest to her. While I knew most of the details of the case thanks to the documentaries I’ve seen, the backstories were something I hadn’t heard before, and I think this knowledge does muddy the suicide vs. murder waters even more.

I appreciated that Ms. Rother ultimately never makes her own judgement on whether Rebecca Zahau killed herself or was murdered. Honestly, I think we probably will never know the answer to that. But she lays out the facts we do have, leaving both possibilities open, giving the reader the chance to sort through the facts and make their own determination.

If you like true crime and have never heard of the tragic (and bizarre) death of Rebecca Zahau, this is a great book to read. If you’re like me and have seen some of the documentaries about her death, you probably already know most of this story, but there are some new pieces here if you want to dive in again.

Two days after Jonah Shacknai’s son took a catastrophic fall at home, Rebecca Zahau, Jonah’s girlfriend who was babysitting Max at the time, was found hanging by a rope with the message: SHE SAVED HIM CAN YOU SAVE HER. This incident led to a number of bizarre, head scratching events that people are still trying to figure out. Was this an act of suicide, or a well-planned homicide?

I am a self-proclaimed murderino, and a great lover of true crime. I love reading true crime stories about incidences that I am not familiar with, and Death on Ocean Boulevard fit the bill for me. I was not familiar with the case at all when I started the book, so I did not go in with any preconceived notions. The story itself was bizarre and baffling, and I found myself constantly changing my mind on what actually happened.

At times I found the writing style to be disjointed. I had a hard time following along, and at times I was confused on what was happening due to the way facts were presented by the author. However, I will give the author props for trying to present the case in an unbiased way, so readers were able to form their own opinions. And in the end, there are still no conclusions. Readers can agree that everything is not how it seemed but there is really no definitive answers uncovered, at least at the time of publication.

An interesting and thorough review of a wild, fascinating case. A must-read for any true crime fan. 3.5 stars.

I received a free digital ARC from NetGalley and RB Media in exchange for an honest review.