Murder Book: A Graphic Memoir of a True Crime Obsession
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- Create Date：2022-04-18 09:51:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell
- ISBN：1524861162
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
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。
Why is it so much fun to read about death and dismemberment？ In Murder Book， lifelong true-crime obsessive and New Yorker cartoonist Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell tries to puzzle out the answer。 An unconventional graphic exploration of a lifetime of Ann Rule super-fandom， amateur armchair sleuthing， and a deep dive into the high-profile murders that have fascinated the author for decades， this is a funny， thoughtful， and highly personal blend of memoir， cultural criticism， and true crime with a focus on the often-overlooked victims of notorious killers。
Why is it so much fun to read about death and dismemberment？ In Murder Book， lifelong true-crime obsessive and New Yorker cartoonist Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell tries to puzzle out the answer。 An unconventional graphic exploration of a lifetime of Ann Rule super-fandom， amateur armchair sleuthing， and a deep dive into the high-profile murders that have fascinated the author for decades， this is a funny， thoughtful， and highly personal blend of memoir， cultural criticism， and true crime with a focus on the often-overlooked victims of notorious killers。
Reviews
Jacqueline
，
I really wanted to like this more than I did。 I wanted to love it， and I really did relate to the entire thing， being a Murdering myself， but it just missed a few points for me。My favorite parts were when she was talking about her personal experiences and family stories， though sometimes it was repetitive。 My love of True Crime is also a family trait with my sister and Dad， so it's relatable。 I'm really glad she took time to talk about the issue of Racism and Misogyny in true crime reporting and I really wanted to like this more than I did。 I wanted to love it， and I really did relate to the entire thing， being a Murdering myself， but it just missed a few points for me。My favorite parts were when she was talking about her personal experiences and family stories， though sometimes it was repetitive。 My love of True Crime is also a family trait with my sister and Dad， so it's relatable。 I'm really glad she took time to talk about the issue of Racism and Misogyny in true crime reporting and police work。 I wish she had told a story about one of those cases instead of just saying not enough people tell these stories。 I will take the blame for reading this comic on my phone which is not the ideal medium， but it was really hard for me to read。 The handwritten style was so sloppy my eyes wouldn't focus sometimes， and I had a really hard time following the story flow of the panels on some pages。 I really liked the art style， I thought it suited the story well。 A lot of the crimes she detailed I already have heard the details a million times so found myself speeding through and kind of skipping panels。 Just you know have heard everything I'll ever need to know about Zodiac and Bundy and got bored。 All together there were moments that I had to share with my murderino friends and say "looks its you！" So I'm happy to have made it all the way through。 。。。more
Eden
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Dude。 The author and I need to be friends！ I found this to be informational and loved to read about how it related to her personal life！
Katie Long
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What a delightful book about murder。 Campbell writes of her long obsession with true crime and examines why she， and so many of us， can’t seem to get enough。 That part is great， but I really love the way she writes about sharing this obsession with her mother。 Their relationship fondly reminded me of the countless hours my own mother and I spent watching Law and Order and coming up with theories about JonBenet Ramsey。 It won’t be for everyone， but it was definitely for me。P。S。 Just so I’m not ma What a delightful book about murder。 Campbell writes of her long obsession with true crime and examines why she， and so many of us， can’t seem to get enough。 That part is great， but I really love the way she writes about sharing this obsession with her mother。 Their relationship fondly reminded me of the countless hours my own mother and I spent watching Law and Order and coming up with theories about JonBenet Ramsey。 It won’t be for everyone， but it was definitely for me。P。S。 Just so I’m not making my mother sound like a morbid weirdo， she also gave me a love of art， birds， flowers， dogs， and reading。 Oh and show tunes…man， she was great。 。。。more
Amy Coupe
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Fascinating story， clunky execution （pun not intended）。
HaileyAnne
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This book is so much fun。 I LOVE true crime and get judged about it a lot。 I really enjoyed Hilary's exploration into why people （mostly women） love true crime so much。 She acknowledges the problems with the true crime world， such as the focus on the killers rather than the victims; the fact that victims of color get little to no attention; and that many people of color are wrongly imprisoned。 I also found it fascinating that she found a connection between being an anxious person and enjoying tr This book is so much fun。 I LOVE true crime and get judged about it a lot。 I really enjoyed Hilary's exploration into why people （mostly women） love true crime so much。 She acknowledges the problems with the true crime world， such as the focus on the killers rather than the victims; the fact that victims of color get little to no attention; and that many people of color are wrongly imprisoned。 I also found it fascinating that she found a connection between being an anxious person and enjoying true crime because that is me。My only complaint about this book is that the type was so small on some pages and it was hard to follow the panels。 But I still thoroughly enjoyed it。 。。。more
Jolee
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yeah…。I was looking forward to this， being both into true crime myself and Being intrigued by the concept of ‘why’ behind true crime obsession。 But， like a lot of other reviews allude to， the author has this — what to me feels like lack of empathy for the victims and families behind these crimes。 She definitely had a voyeuristic draw and would say such stupid things like ‘I wish I were murdered’ for the novelty of being part of an ultimate true crime， murder case…。 Or maybe she just thought that yeah…。I was looking forward to this， being both into true crime myself and Being intrigued by the concept of ‘why’ behind true crime obsession。 But， like a lot of other reviews allude to， the author has this — what to me feels like lack of empathy for the victims and families behind these crimes。 She definitely had a voyeuristic draw and would say such stupid things like ‘I wish I were murdered’ for the novelty of being part of an ultimate true crime， murder case…。 Or maybe she just thought that it was funny？ Anywho， I think she went so far at times that it made me loose the joy for the book。 It became irreverent and disrespectful to genuine loss。 。。。more
Shayla Scott
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3。75 rating。 A really interesting book however I felt that the author was so excited about the subject matter of True Crime that she was all over the place with her thoughts。
Kelly Eggleston
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This book is magic。 My husband has been trying to get me interested in comics/graphic novels since we met 11 years ago。 In all that time， he never succeeded。 Hilary accomplished it in one night of reading this amazing book。 She explains why we love true crime so much and does it in an honest， hilarious way。 She gets it。 I had my husband read it so he could understand my murder obsession a little more。 He。。。kind of gets it。 This book is great。 It refueled my love of true crime and got me hooked o This book is magic。 My husband has been trying to get me interested in comics/graphic novels since we met 11 years ago。 In all that time， he never succeeded。 Hilary accomplished it in one night of reading this amazing book。 She explains why we love true crime so much and does it in an honest， hilarious way。 She gets it。 I had my husband read it so he could understand my murder obsession a little more。 He。。。kind of gets it。 This book is great。 It refueled my love of true crime and got me hooked on graphic novels。 Hilary is THE BEST！ 。。。more
Kerri
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As a Murderino I was drawn to this book like many true crime fans would be。 I enjoyed the premise and the overall content。 The book was part memoir and part devotion to how "we" （meaning the author and the rest of us） become true crime fans。 I guess I was a little disappointed， the book didn't grab me。 It seemed a little disjointed。 That may have been the stream of consciousness way of following her memories through her journey of true crime。 Overall， I'd recommend it to other Murderinos。 As a Murderino I was drawn to this book like many true crime fans would be。 I enjoyed the premise and the overall content。 The book was part memoir and part devotion to how "we" （meaning the author and the rest of us） become true crime fans。 I guess I was a little disappointed， the book didn't grab me。 It seemed a little disjointed。 That may have been the stream of consciousness way of following her memories through her journey of true crime。 Overall， I'd recommend it to other Murderinos。 。。。more
Megan Brown
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I picked up this graphic novel in hopes for something light hearted re true crime， or even self exploration of one’s fascination with the genre。 However， this one didn’t do it for me。 It just felt overwhelming and a bit all over the map。 This might be for some but unfortunately not for me。
Bandit
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I don’t care for true crime。 But I am intrigued by its ubiquitous popularity。 So sure， why not have a professional cartoonist， stand-up comic， and an all-around funny person explain the appeal to me。I should mention， I’m also not a memoir person。 Nor do I think young people should be writing them。 But all my preferences only serve to highlight the fact that I really enjoyed this true crime flavored memoir。 Surprisingly so。Mostly because it’s funny， sure， infuse any story with enough humor and it I don’t care for true crime。 But I am intrigued by its ubiquitous popularity。 So sure， why not have a professional cartoonist， stand-up comic， and an all-around funny person explain the appeal to me。I should mention， I’m also not a memoir person。 Nor do I think young people should be writing them。 But all my preferences only serve to highlight the fact that I really enjoyed this true crime flavored memoir。 Surprisingly so。Mostly because it’s funny， sure， infuse any story with enough humor and it’ll go the distance， but also because it was an objectively well-done book。 And yes， it was loaded with murder。The author’s obsession might be partially genetic， though she goes a long way to make it her own。 Easy enough to do in a culture that shares her obsession， that can’t get enough of true crime – books， podcasts， movies， Netflix’s trashy docudramas， HBO’s too-serious docudramas， etc。 etc。 As the world around us is rapidly spinning out of control and violence rates and real-life crimes and murders are shooting up through the roof， people apparently still want to tune in to see what motivated this or that criminal to do this or that crime。 In great exhaustive detail。It is interesting to an extent， the psychology of it all， it’s possible to see the appeal without sharing the attraction。 Makes this book a more enjoyable read， not like an author is chronicling her obsession with something genuinely inexplicable and unappealing， like， say， eating seafood。 True crime aficionados will relate， all others might be delighted since the book alternates between personal and murderous narratives， alternating between family dynamics and true crime accounts。The cartoons are fun， very much in style of The New Yorker; the writing’s fun。 All in all， a charming read。 One that goes by surprisingly quickly for its bulk。 Recommended。This and more at https://advancetheplot。weebly。com/ 。。。more
Sarah
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I felt seen。
Ruby
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It was awesome and funny and oh-so-true。 She explores the connection we have with true crimes stories， why she was drawn to it herself， and some of her favorite murders。 It gets a little repetitive at points and part of me just wished she told the stories of murder victims because it was interesting。
Lindsay
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My little murderino heart loved this！ So fun and witty！
Cris
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Murder BookMurder Book is a graphic novel about the obsession some of us have with murder！ Oh you know it’s you！ She tells the story of some great murders！ （That sounds horrible but you know what I mean。）。 One I have never heard of， I am going to have to check out the book。
Johanna
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Rambling and self-obsessed。 I found the handwriting hard to read at times。 Unsatisfying， in that much as the author might think otherwise， her experience isn't all that enlightening to the reader who is actually curious about the subject。 Why do people like true crime？ Wish I knew。 Rambling and self-obsessed。 I found the handwriting hard to read at times。 Unsatisfying， in that much as the author might think otherwise， her experience isn't all that enlightening to the reader who is actually curious about the subject。 Why do people like true crime？ Wish I knew。 。。。more
Meghan Palmer
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A little hard to follow at first but reading about the different murderers kept my interest。 I’d love if Hilary would do a series graphic novels about these along the lines of Nathan Hales Hazardous Tales！
Steve
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Thoroughly enjoyed the author’s telling of her true crime obsession， including her detours into the ZodiacKiller tale and a lengthy recounting of Ted Bundt’s crimes and his relationship with Ann Rule。 While I’m not a true crime fan it turns out I’ve read many of the books she mentions and seen even more of the movies。 All of them left a mark of me but the author here explains why they had such an intoxicating impact on her。 Charmingly illustrated and quickly paced， a fascinating and somewhat qui Thoroughly enjoyed the author’s telling of her true crime obsession， including her detours into the ZodiacKiller tale and a lengthy recounting of Ted Bundt’s crimes and his relationship with Ann Rule。 While I’m not a true crime fan it turns out I’ve read many of the books she mentions and seen even more of the movies。 All of them left a mark of me but the author here explains why they had such an intoxicating impact on her。 Charmingly illustrated and quickly paced， a fascinating and somewhat quirky memoir about crimes against women and obsession。 Would make a great Netflix series or podcast - or hey， a movie！ 。。。more
Abby
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I have literally never felt so seen in my life。
Alex Greco
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Couldn't finish。 I know more than her （about true crime） and she isn't funny。 Couldn't finish。 I know more than her （about true crime） and she isn't funny。 。。。more
Kristin
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Started off strong， but lulled on a bit in places。 Even still， this was entertaining and clearly I feel very intensely connected with this author and her feelings lol。
Emylie
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Ehh it was okay。 I was expecting more of a discussion about why people are obsessed with true crime， but it was like 70% famous murder， 20% memoir， and 10% "why are people obsessed"。 Campbell never really answers the question—which might be the answer！ No one knows why people （mostly women） are obsessed。 The panels were hard to follow too。 But it was still interesting to read about Campbell's experience with true crime， and it is pretty relatable。 I think if I was not obsessed I might have enjoy Ehh it was okay。 I was expecting more of a discussion about why people are obsessed with true crime， but it was like 70% famous murder， 20% memoir， and 10% "why are people obsessed"。 Campbell never really answers the question—which might be the answer！ No one knows why people （mostly women） are obsessed。 The panels were hard to follow too。 But it was still interesting to read about Campbell's experience with true crime， and it is pretty relatable。 I think if I was not obsessed I might have enjoyed it more。 。。。more
Sky Seery
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I loved everything about this book。 Growing up in a murder family， it was completely relatable。
Amanda Robins
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When she talks about the cases that affected her personally and the history of true crime， I was captivated。 Sadly， a lot of this book is the same joke written over and over。
Keshav
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it's international woman's day so i read two comics by women authors JK i didnt even notice， im just another guy who purchases far more books than he should :D （but hey！ occasionally i read them too， and even more occasionally i feel like writing a review about them！） slight pet peeve， Hilary's great grandmother was F。 Scott's sister， hence her middle name。 Does such a talented artist need to resort to such signalling？ or maybe i should just ignore thatanyway so its a hilarious book， Hilary is s it's international woman's day so i read two comics by women authors JK i didnt even notice， im just another guy who purchases far more books than he should :D （but hey！ occasionally i read them too， and even more occasionally i feel like writing a review about them！） slight pet peeve， Hilary's great grandmother was F。 Scott's sister， hence her middle name。 Does such a talented artist need to resort to such signalling？ or maybe i should just ignore thatanyway so its a hilarious book， Hilary is so charming， her drawings so effortlessly fantastic， a true student of New York's greatest - Eisner - in her ability to use the plainest of squiggles to represent real faces， emotions， things， landscapes。 a slightly curved line is a backpack， two of them the reflection offered by a glass window， a slightly off-centre nose her face in concentration - Hilary is a true genius。 And respect grows further for the New Yorker， it was Adrian Tomine last year and now this - such quality！ Anyway so the book。 Hilary and her family have been obsessed with True Crime genre since forever - books， TV， movies， news， gossip， podcasts - you name it。 Law and Order is mentioned at least 50 times （i dunno， must be， she's wearing a tee in half the panels bearing the logo） and this is her memoir/tribute to it。 She discusses the Zodiac killer， her watching David Fincher's take on it， Thomas Capano， Ted Bundy， and other such characters， how Ted Bundy was charming and how （surprisingly） even at his trial （for unspeakable crimes against an alarming number of women （atleast 36 a per official records）） he found supporters （included a woman who married and had a child with him（？）， what might go on in such people's minds， the queen of this genre Ann Rule （who incidentally was a colleague of Ted Bundy at one point （？ fact is stranger 。。。 ）， how that an overwhelming majority of the consumers of this genre tend to be women （Hilary mentions some studies about women have more empathy and hence relate to the wronged person more， they also need to be alert out of risks posed to them， 。。。） and how it is obviously gripping and thrilling， and less obviously enjoyed in some dark humour terms by a section of the populace （i'm not one of them， but i have been intrigued by Netfix's The Serpent or Tiger King， so who knows， maybe I'm not as indifferent to the genre as i think）， and why we should really just watch Law and Order。 An entertaining and hilarious read， in spite of the topic！ 。。。more
Chelsey
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This graphic really made me consider my own appreciation and love of True Crime。 It also made me feel like I wasn't alone in my weird hobby of watching shows about murder during my dinner。 Hilary F。 Campbell really delves into the psychology of WHY， specifically she but also people in general， have such an interest in true crime。 Hilary fully believes she has her mother blame because of her mother's own obsession with "all that murder Sh*t。" The illustrations， while all in a black and white pall This graphic really made me consider my own appreciation and love of True Crime。 It also made me feel like I wasn't alone in my weird hobby of watching shows about murder during my dinner。 Hilary F。 Campbell really delves into the psychology of WHY， specifically she but also people in general， have such an interest in true crime。 Hilary fully believes she has her mother blame because of her mother's own obsession with "all that murder Sh*t。" The illustrations， while all in a black and white pallet， made me feel like I was reading something made by a friend after a conversation we had。 Hilary made me feel understood and brought up her own thoughts and evidence that just blew my mind。 She discusses the cases she finds/found the most interesting and how she feels connected to them。 The humor and understanding she presents pulls the reader in and makes us say， "Yeah！ Me too！" I found it particularly poignant when she discusses that women have made the true crime genre better because our interest fuels the fire。 She also mentions that perhaps women's interest in true crime stems from a need to know how to NOT become a victim by recognizing the signs and situations related to various murders。 I loved the artwork and the story and I hope to see more awesome work from the author。 。。。more
Jill
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This book was amazing。 I loved every second of it。 I was born the same year as the author so a lot of the things she talked about were really familiar to me。 I can’t wait to read this again。
Ella Reynolds
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This book was a really cute take on the grisly， macabre topics of murder and true crime。 I loved learning about different cases and getting snapshots of Hilary's life。 I liked how she analyzed why she had a true crime obsession and traced it back to her mother and her female relatives。 My aunt loves horror and true crime and my mom is an avid watcher of Criminal Minds。 I personally love Criminal Minds and true crime podcasts。 （My current favorite is Medical Murders。 You can find it on Spotify。） This book was a really cute take on the grisly， macabre topics of murder and true crime。 I loved learning about different cases and getting snapshots of Hilary's life。 I liked how she analyzed why she had a true crime obsession and traced it back to her mother and her female relatives。 My aunt loves horror and true crime and my mom is an avid watcher of Criminal Minds。 I personally love Criminal Minds and true crime podcasts。 （My current favorite is Medical Murders。 You can find it on Spotify。） I loved Hilary's art style。 I hope I can find another graphic novel written by her soon！ 。。。more
Autumn
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When I first picked up Murder Book I thought， “Finally， we get a book about true crime fans”。 I wouldn’t call myself a “fan” of true crime because， you know， those are real people who are being affected in the stories I consume。 But I am interested in criminal cases and DNA technology used in them。 That being said， despite guiltily enjoying this book， I definitely had issues with it。Campbell is just another millennial， wine-drinking true crime stan who claims to care for victims but proceeds to When I first picked up Murder Book I thought， “Finally， we get a book about true crime fans”。 I wouldn’t call myself a “fan” of true crime because， you know， those are real people who are being affected in the stories I consume。 But I am interested in criminal cases and DNA technology used in them。 That being said， despite guiltily enjoying this book， I definitely had issues with it。Campbell is just another millennial， wine-drinking true crime stan who claims to care for victims but proceeds to boast about how she was a true crime fan before it was cool。 This has resulted in a memoir with subjects that jump around in her attempt to explain her lifelong fascination。 She only discusses the cases everyone knows about （Zodiac and Bundy get their own chapters） and brushes past the two child cases she jokes about。 It makes you wonder if she’s actually a huge true crime fan as she says she is， or if she’s just another woman who obsesses over the big cases （like the people she hates on in the beginning）。 I’m honestly more interested in learning about her mother， who lived in California as a young adult during the time the referenced， famous murders were happening。If you hate the artwork in most newspaper comics then you’re going to hate this book。 I wanted to give the art the benefit of the doubt because it is a long book， however there were some issues I had with it （and I’m so glad I’m not the only person complaining about the art）。 1。 The speech bubbles are everywhere。 It was hard figuring out which direction I was supposed to read， especially in panels where multiple people were speaking。 2。 There’s an instance where it seems Campbell either drew over old pages or the publisher messed up。 On pages 130 and 131， there’s visible eraser lines from a different drawing in the darker parts of the panels。 I can’t attach pictures here， but I will tell you what I see; random text （the words EVADING AN OFFICER in bubble text and I can make out a small ‘Bob’）， deep， stretch-like lines， and seemingly random figures in the background of panels。 They aren’t seen-through images from the surrounding pages。 By the way， what was up with the multiple panels of Campbell on the toilet？Tldr; if you don’t like quirky millennial humor you should skip this one。 。。。more
Liralen
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