I would like to thank Netgalley for the ARC!
When I first saw this book on Netgalley, I really thought this was going to be my cup of tea because I love true crime podcasts and Netflix shows and I love funny graphic novels. Spoiler alert: I didn't like it.
The idea is really great and original and the cartoons are well-drawn. Unfortunately, the book was quite boring. Half of it was the author talking about her mother and I just wasn't a fan. The description says this was supposed to be a funny book but somehow I couldn't manage to find anything that was even remotely funny. I'm truly disappointed because I loved the idea, but the result just isn't good, sorry.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read and review.

I am not sure how to describe what this book is. A graphic memoir? Nonfiction about murder and serial killers? Sort of comedy? All of the above. It's an exploration of why some women seem to be drawn to murder cases - in different forms (books, TV, movies, podcasts). The author shares her history of murder obsession and examines why and where she gains this obsession.

3.5 rounded up to 4!

I am not much into true crime, but it does sound interesting to me, and so I saw this book as the perfect opportunity to introduce myself into the 'true crime comunity'.

I liked this book and thought it was super interesting, especially the part about Ted Bundy; I could not stop reading. However, I also think it is a bit morbid to be so obsessed about people being murder, especially when it is not about fictional events, but real ones.

The handwritten font was a little bit hard to read at times, and I think the book could have been a bit shorter.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book.
This was pure serotonin for my true crime loving self. The art, the experience of finding other people who love true crime. I had so much fun reading it!

Thanks to the publishers for sharing this one. As a true crime fan I could relate to it. I also liked the art style. My full review appears on Weekend Notes.

Murder Book is a graphic memoir by Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell that explains her fascination with true crime. The book is mainly intended for other fans of true crime, but it can also explain the obsession to those who are not so inclined to follow true crime stories. Admittedly, I’m the latter. I’ve started reading (and enjoying) thrillers in recent years, so I figured that was enough reason to pick this book up.

For the author, this obsession truly began when she saw the movie Zodiac in theaters at the age of sixteen. She lived close to where the murders happened, and fixated on that for some time after. Campbell discusses proximity as one of the reasons people become interested in true crime.

Campbell also discusses Ted Bundy and Tom Capano at length, but even as someone who doesn’t consider myself a “murderino,” I felt like I knew quite a bit about these cases. It was still interesting to learn about how these cases influenced Campbell, so it’s possible that I’m missing the point.

I think the author’s section of the book on the racial disparities in true crime was well-intended, but it really missed the mark.

I liked the art style of this graphic novel because it felt somehow nostalgic to me. There were a few pages where it was difficult to follow the panels, so I had to reread them a couple of times to make sense of what was happening. It’s also much longer than most of the other graphic novels I’ve read, so I’m not completely sure I could recommend it to someone who is completely new to graphic novels.

I still think this graphic novel will interest people who are interested in true crime, whether they’ve been fans for years or are new to it. All of the cases that got more attention are well-known, though Campbell did her best to include some facts about the victims to shift the focus back to them.

I really like learning about true crime, but this book just fell flat for me. The author is a talented artist, but her storytelling abilities are lacking. Specifically, it felt all over the place, and jumped from topic to topic without a clear path.

Like many I became obsessed with all things murder after listening to the Serial podcast about Adnan Syed & Hae Min Lee, then along came Karen & Georgia with My Favorite Murder and I realised there was a whole world of people who shared the same obsession.

I've recently fallen in love with graphic novels so was really intrigued to see how the format would work with something so macabre and morbid. Hilary absolutely smashed it. There's a perfect balance of the fun, dark gallows humour that's often associated with true crime fans mixed with a real sensitivity for the victims mentioned. I really loved how Hilary concentrated on the individual victims and gave details about things such as their interests, she really showed the people beyond the crimes.

While being a memoir based on her own fascination with true crime and how it passed down through the generations, this graphic novel also takes a look at the reasons society (especially females) have developed this curiosity and compulsion to follow cases of such horrific murder.

Fun and light hearted while being fantastically dark and twisted. A must read for all murderinos and true crime aficionados.

Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an advanced reading copy.

This book wasn't everything I'd hoped it be, but it wasn't bad either.

Everyone has their reasons for being into True Crime. This book touched loosely on what those reasons are. However, most of the book was the author telling rambly true crime stories. I could have especially done without her telling the whole Ted Bundy story, which most murderinos already know.

The book was LONG, and the pacing was off. It was so slow going.

There's also a blip where she mentions how the true crime community is inherently racist, but she doesn't get very far into it at all. While I'm glad she mentions it, she falls into the same trap that she's mentioning.

I didn't hate it, but I didn't particularly like it either.

Murder Book is a fun romp through one person's obsession with true crime. Why do serial killers fascinate us? Why are most true crime fans women? And HOW MANY people did Ted Bundy kill??? Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell explains it all with her lively illustrations and irreverent humor.

REVIEW:

✨This is the perfect graphic novel for a True Crime lover, which is probably evident by the title and the synopsis, but it’s true! The author tries to answer the question of why women love true crime and how she became to love it herself.

✨Sprinkled with real-life true crime knowledge and true crime pop culture references, this was such a fun one to read through, especially since a lot of it was so familiar to me as someone who also has had an interest in true crime. But, not to the extent that most do. So I would say this is a perfect and quick read for someone who is a novice-level true crime buff.

✨I’ve seen a lot of less than complimentary reviews about the art style, though, and I want to say that this art style felt very familiar to me. Familiar in a comforting way, and I’m not an art critic, but I didn’t see anything wrong with it.

✨This one comes out this month and I encourage everyone to pick it up! Thank you ti NetGalley for the opportunity to read this before release!

I don't normally gravitate towards non-fiction, but I was very interested in reading a graphic memoir. This book did not disappoint! It was full of humor but I also learned quite a bit about true crime. It was very interesting seeing things from the author's perspective.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC!

I was really excited to read this graphic novel, but unfortunately I was very disappointed. At first, the flow of the story was very hard to follow. I often didn't know which panel to go next, so that was already a big no for me. I want to continue reading without having to figure out which part I have to read next. Besides, the narrative changes often, which made the flow of the story even worse.
The book also felt quite repetitive at one point.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC.

This graphic novel was not for me at all
The flow was off, I often couldn’t figure out the order in which to read the dialogue. But most of all I found this book to be wildly insensitive.

This book was written/drawn for me. So spot on about all the aspects of true crime that I love. There were areas of text that felt manic reading them. I would like to be friends with Hilary. As she investigates all the reasons why she follows true crime, I found myself wondering the same. I love the bond the women of her family enjoy. Whether they are sharing details of some new crime, or making fun of one or the other for some crime faux pas. Great read!

someone who also loves true crime.

This book brings up important questions about why we love true crime and why women in particular are fans. Some possible answers are posed such as being at risk/vulnerable but this book doesn't go a long way in attempting to answer those questions. In saying that, I don't think the intention of this book was to answer these huge questions but just to make us aware.

The illustrations were great throughout the book. The layout was easy to read & understand.

I liked how much information the book had about different true crime cases and how well conveyed that information was.

Overall, I gave it 4 stars⭐

Thank you to NetGalley, Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell & Andrews McMeel Publishing for an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me a copy of this eArc.

I'm going to be honest, I was a little suspicious when requesting this as the description is, self-admittedly, "A humorous graphic investigation of the author's obsession with true crime, the murders that have most captivated her throughout her life, and a love letter to her fellow true-crime fanatics." The humorous is really what threw me off, so I decided to try to give it the benefit of the doubt because I am a forensic science student who is subsequently also interested in true crime because of it.

Big mistake.

The book opens up with "Welcome to my book, my murder book!" and asks if you're here because you love murder or your sister/girlfriend/some woman in your life loves it. It very much rubbed me the wrong way. I get the whole "grab the reader's attention with a joke" but given the seriousness of the topic of true crime, it felt in very poor taste. There should be nothing to "love" or be obsessed about in relation to true crime, especially as this is not directed towards victim advocation but a seeming fetish for serial killers like the Tumblr fangirls. And this honestly does not improve throughout the rest of it. Making references to Nancy Grace's "determination" when she has been proven countless times to be problematic, talking about a hope to be murdered some day, ignoring the racism within the community itself for most of it, and more. It felt more like an exploration of victims and an author trying to be "not like other girls" than describing an actual interest in true crime investigation.

Also, it was just super disjointed. I had to reread often as I would get lost every few pages.

Save yourself the time and money and don't read this.

I need to start this off with this: I love true crime and I love a good murder mystery. I have watched all the CSI's and all the Law and Order's [and loved them all]. I am forever intrigued by trials for suspected murderers, the hunt for killers and the process behind them. I absolutely adore British crime TV [I may or may not have just binged a whole season of a new show today]. I think John Grisham and his books are amazing. I am a total "guess who the murderer is" junkie. I say all that to let you know that this book should have absolutely been right up my alley.

Unfortunately, it so was not.

I am not sure if it was the format, or how the story was told or what it was, but this was the most disjointed story I have ever read and it made it close to impossible for me to get even a smidgen of enjoyment out of it. The story jumps around a lot, there is excessive language, and there are huge gaps within the story that are never really resolved or the thread isn't picked up again and you are left wondering why it was even in the story to begin with. What was to be a book where I could bond with the author over a love of all things murder [and yes, I am deeply aware of just how awful that sounds], ended up being nothing more than a two day dive into a book of frustration and deep unfulfillment. I am really disappointed in this one - in my opinion, it could have been so much more.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Murder Book is described by the publisher as “A humorous graphic investigation of the author's obsession with true crime, the murders that have most captivated her throughout her life, and a love letter to her fellow true-crime fanatics.” Unfortunately I did not find it humorous, and in fact am rather disturbed that it would be considered humorous for someone to say that they “hope to be murdered someday.”

Thanks go to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Murder Book was one of my most anticipated late 2021 releases and for good reason. Like many others, I have found myself drawn in by the dark world of true crime. And I love what graphic memoirs bring to the table in terms of their storytelling – although I’m sure this would have worked just as well in prose too.

Despite its dark topic, Murder Book is wonderful, witty and warm. The anecdotes are a lot of fun. And it offers an interesting perspective on why we’re so drawn to true crime, especially from a female perspective. I also loved the relationship between Hilary, her mother and sister and the bond that they have over their shared interest in all things murder-related.