I read this book in June 2020 when America was seeing protests and riots over the murder of black Americans. It was especially relatable due to the climate of the country while I was reading. In this series, instead of people being discriminated against based on their race, they were profiled, targeted and prejudiced based on their astrological sign. I felt this is a unique concept, and I haven't read anything similar. The book covers a conspiracy and a string of murders based on astrological signs. Chapters are told from multiple characters perceptions. This isn't usually a problem for me - however sometimes there were time jumps that made things a little disjointed. I also felt that parts of the book were too long, but there were other areas I would have liked more information on, such as what was happening at the school.. Everything did tie together in the end and I am glad to have read it.

I loved this book so much! I loved the characters and the world! I would and have recommended this book to all my friends.

In a corrupt society told though zodiac signs, this book takes you through the work of a serial killer. In a world that plagues society not by race or gender, but through he astrological birth sign. A crime thriller worth reading!!

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book. It may have been the time I was reading it, after a few other similar novels.

An interesting Brave New World-ish dystopia that's fairly inventive. Fun read.

The author has created a world that plagues society, much like what we experience here and now ... except people are judged not by their color, race, religion, nor even gender.... but by their birth signs, date and time of birth.

The 12 zodiac signs are representative of different neighborhoods, different schools, different job markets. Capricorns are the elite. Aries are at the bottom of the pack. This is where you will find the thugs, criminal elements. They are profiled, strip searched, and made to produce their identity documents.

Babies are induced early so as to choose what sign they will be under. Parents must try to have their children born under their astrological sign or it can cause major difficulties. One could be forced to move or to give up a job or social standing because their child is born under the wrong sign...

With adoptions, for example, parents are heard to say ... " We're going to raise him/her in a Gemini household but will make sure he/she (Libra baby) will get lots of exposure to other Libras.

Detective Jerome Butler has his hands full. A maid discovers her boss dead in his back yard. He was the Chief of Police. The maid has disappeared.

Daniel Layton has just discovered he has a 17-year-old daughter. When he tries to track her down, he finds she has also disappeared and cannot be found.

And more bodies will fall .....

When crime soars in this alternative world, psychics and regular profilers are not called in to help. Instead they get Lindi Childs, an astrological profiler. She does readings on suspects and victims alike.

But who is the killer and why is he killing? What these characters find are extremely disturbing.

This amazing debut novel is the most original crime thriller I have read in quite some time. I gave it 5 stars for being well-written so seamlessly and for originality. I can't wait to see what this author will come up with next.

Many thanks to the author / Pegasus Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of ZODIAC. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Going into it because of an amazing sounding premise, I felt like this book didn't live up to what it set out to do. It's not a bad book by any means, but neither is it one that will stick with me much longer.

I was immediately intrigued by the premise of this book. In a land of dystopian YA novels it seemed like finally something different, a breath of fresh air.

My issues began with there being no, in my opinion, likable characters. I have a hard time getting into books where I cannot at least semi relate to anyone. It also started slow, however it did start to pick up.

I love astrology so that whole part of this book is what really kept me reading.

Honestly I do think my 3-stars is a little critical and partially because I wanted so much more because I love the idea. It is fast paced and I thnk a lot of people will really enjoy this book.

What an inventive novel. I don't believe in horoscopes, but it must be possible for the stars and planets to influence our personalities. After all, they control the tides and we're mostly made of water. As random ways to segregate society go, our astrological sign can't be any different than the color of our skin our the class we belong to. This is the way San Celestia is organized and, as with any other form of discrimination, it's just a bomb waiting to go off. A series of murders apparently linked to the victims' signs may become the fuse. We get a lot of different stories, but the lead is Jerry Burton, the detective heading the investigation. Like all cops, Burton is a Taurus, so he is down to earth, reliable and a little stubborn (I had a kick out of this: my hubby is a textbook Taurus and his one regret is not having become a cop!) I found Burton so likable that I was suffering when things got complicated for him. Reluctantly, he starts working with Lindi, a liberal hippy Aquarius, who uses astrology the way profilers use psychology. The more they find out about the motive for the killings, the more their lives are in danger. I'd like to recap all the special characteristics of each sign and their place in society (Aries being the lowest of the low), but I'd run out of space. I can only recommend this excellent novel to everyone.

I chose to read this book because I was curious if someone who has no knowledge of or belief in Zodiac signs and the overarching belief of Astrology could still come away from reading this with an understanding of the storyline and the author’s intent.

I was pleasantly surprised to be able to say the answer is yes. Like most living in America I was at least familiar with the existence of Zodiac signs and knew which was mine but my knowledge ended there. I have no familiarity though with positions of the sun, moon and stars as they pertain to events nor with personality traits that are assigned to each symbol.

Thankfully you do not need a thorough or even basic understanding of these things to understand and enjoy this story as the author does a very good job of including these details to ensure you don’t feel inadequate. Admittedly there were times I felt one of the main characters, who specializes in astrology, was speaking a foreign language but thankfully the author used various other characters and events to flush out these things so I as the reader could grasp the concept.

Sometimes I felt complete disbelief that police procedures and guilt relied so heavily on these seemingly arbitrary and asinine things to the extent I thought about not reading this anymore due to its “stupidity”. Then I realized the society created within these pages which placed such a heavy emphasis on a person’s worth, position in life, choices and guilt vs innocence was no different than a reality which does this exact same thing only instead of using zodiac symbols uses a person’s skin color or religious affiliation. Suddenly the storyline didn’t seem so farfetched or unbelievable.

I loved the originality and how the author blended past events seamlessly into the present to show the consequences of decisions and the long term ramifications.

Wilson is definitely an author to watch for and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.