Most Evil: Avenger, Zodiac, and the Further Serial Murders of Dr. George Hill Hodel

An interesting view into possibly the most prolific serial killer ever, Steve Hodel lays out all of his evidence and trys to place his father around the scenes of this horrible crimes.That being said this book is evidence and facts not fiction, if you're after a crime story look elsewhere.

Very good to read

I liked Hodels books about his theories?! about his father being the Avenger. But felt he really journeyed off with this one. But interesting read for sure.

This is an interesting book even though the writer's belief that his late father was a mass serial killer is not entirely proven here.

First of All, í have huge resprect of People who do not fear to say that their parents (father in this case) was a very evil Human! There are enough examples that children/grandchildren of most evil Nazi Murderer still say their fathers, mothers & grandpa's were very nice & BLA BLA BLA ... Give a shit for the victims!I already had some hints many years ago that a famous surgeon was with a high probabilty the Black Dahlia Avenger!And i think same, that as far as Steve Hodel says: When there are far too many coincindendes then there is a strong evidence that something is nasty! This book is based on a very good Research & many conclusions done can have been be done with a real homicide cop who had a vast experience! The other Chicago & LA killings are very good researched & i also think that the wrong guy is since 65 years in prison.I do not understand why People think Steve Hodel's only interest is Money! I am pretty sure he could have taken much easier ways to get much Money than being a homicide Cop for so many years. And did not go into the Marketing Business of his father to earn MUCH MUCH more Money than he did.And many years ago i did read many books about the Zodiac murderer & most real experts already told that they think , the Zodiac Murderer is an older Man who very surely has a Military "tick" & is very often outside USA & when he he is back in the Area he does the crimes! This true Detective did a great Job (most of Police didn't in the many cases! And i am happy He wrote this book (also the other books) & in myopinion they bring back a bbit of justice for the victims! And People having read this book get an Image of how evil humans (is the only being in this world of being capable of torture / real joy of murder on this planet) can be & run around in elite circles without ever being brought to justice!A MUST READ IN MY OPINION!

The print is so small that I gave up one the book and moved on to the Black Dahlia Avenger II which is much more complete. A fascinating story that makes your blood run cold knowing there are such evil people capable of such terrible crimes. Can't imagine how you come to terms with such brutal knowledge that the author's own father was the single person responsible for so much blood shed.

I started reading this book with some skepticism, but am fully convinced that the murders of the black dailia and others have been solved.The book was well written and showed that the author's conclusions were thoroughly researched, and given his personal knowledge of the killer made his conclusions easy to believe.I definitely recommend this book.

Un ouvrage à posséder pour ceux qui se sont plongés dans la terrible enquête de Steve Hodel sur "L'affaire du Dahlia Noir" et qui n'en peuvent plus d'attendre d'en savoir plus, quitte à rouvrir leur dictionnaire d'anglais ! Il est toujours ici question du Dahlia mais bien plus que cela, car nous apprenons que Hodel, le père, pourrait être aussi l'auteur d'autres crimes aussi macabres que celui d'Elisabeth Short. Steve Hodel va-t-il trop loin dans sa quête de vérité sur la face cachée de son père, jusqu'à le soupçonner d'être le "Zodiac", un des plus célèbres serial killer des Etats-Unis ? Je préfère ne pas "spoiler" les lecteurs et je les invite à se faire leur opinion sur la question...Bonne lecture !

I've read all of George Hodel's books over the years. What he wrote in the first turned out to be true. People were skeptical at first, but facts have come out that show it's not just likely, more like obvious, if you follow how Hodel has put all his ducks in a row.I was skeptical about this book. The Chicago and Manila murders seemed likely. But not Zodiac. But just like he did with the first book, he keeps layering facts. He's come out with another book, with additional evidence and there is new info on his website--layer after layer.So skeptical or not, I have to say that Hodel is building another solid case. It must be a bit difficult for him emotionally when he steps away from his roles as author and investigator. When he's back to being George Hodel's son, it must be awfully wrenching.

I'm not 100% convinced but Steve Hodel makes a good case showing the parallels between the Black Dahlia Killer and the Zodiac. As the primary witnesses age and pass on, a definitive 'he did it' is unlikely barring a DNA match that could show Dr. George Hodel was involved. I'd recommend reading Black Dahlia Avenger first to get a handle on the prime suspect. Robert Graysmith's Zodiac book gives better overall look at the evidence in that case and comes to a completely different conclusion. Graysmith had never heard of George Hodel's very real connection to the Dahlia case, as those files were sealed at that time. Had Hodel been publicly named a suspect in the Dahlia case it's very possible he would have been looked at for Zodiac as well.

After thoroughly enjoying Mr. Hodel's page-turner, "Black Dahlia Avenger", I was very eager to dive into "Most Evil" and was engaged from page one of this riveting true-life thriller.Once again, Mr. Hodel affords the reader the luxurious intimacy of fly-on-the-wall status as he presents his readers with compelling facts that strongly suggest his late father, Dr. George Hodel, was indeed the infamous "Zodiac" killer. Countless photographs from the "Zodiac", "Black Dahlia" and other cases (as well as from the author's personal collection) enrich the details Mr. Hodel puts forth. We are also given a history of Dr. George Hodel's involvement with the "Black Dahlia" (Elizabeth Short) murder (which the author meticulously spells out in "Black Dahlia Avenger") in order for us to better understand his father's tie to the "Zodiac" case.This is no campfire story. Mr. Hodel (with Mr. Pezzullo) presents his case in layman's terms so the reader feels he/she is being treated to an engrossing story over a multi-course gourmet dinner and a fine wine.True crime story lovers who appreciate exhaustively-researched books will get a great deal of enjoyment from "Most Evil" (as did I). Treat yourself and make this your next purchase!

Most Evil is one of my all time favorite true crime books! I was a child living in the Los Angeles area when the Black Dahlia murder occurred. I remember it being in the LA papers. When the Zodiac Killer roamed the San Francisco Bay Area, I lived in Marin County and was scared many nights when my husband was away. I have read Most Evil more than once and will probably read it again. Thank you Steve Hodel - you have a number one fan.

Steve Hodel makes Sherlock Holmes look like an amateur! While he has been derided for naming his father as the most notorious serial killer of the 20th Century, he has supported his investigation with unlimited circumstantial evidence and while it is "circumstantial", it is so completely explained that there is no doubt in my mind that his father, Dr. George Hill Hodel was the infamous murderer of The Black Dahlia while also being "The Lipstick Killer" ("stop me before I kill more!"), San Francisco's "Zodiak" killer and perpetrator of other unsolved killings.Though it appears on the surface to be a ridiculously fanciful thesis, Mr. Hodel, a retired homicide policeman has in my opinion, solved these crimes, tying them together with a motivational thread and accompanying the text with copious illustrations.This book is impossible to put aside.Bravo, Steve Hodel. This could not have been pleasant for you.

That's not hyperbole -- I feel he truly has. The moment I read that his father was influenced by James Joyce, the word play in the Zodiac letters came chillingly into focus. This alone, coupled with the (thankful) rarity of George Hodel's madness and the huge canvas he was painting on (which Steve Hodel has highlighted by giving us his father's aesthetic perspective) makes it highly unlikely that there could exist *two* people as crazy and brilliant as the BDA and Z. It would be easy to chalk off the correspondences he highlights as simple coincidence mistaken by pattern perception, but the background and structure behind the theories makes that assessment highly unlikely. This is a brilliant analysis. I do wonder if his father persuaded Steve to become a detective. Perhaps that is why he is Daedalus who made the flight through brilliance without his wings burning while his father (Icarus, with the father/son roles swapped) did not. George Hodel was an insane genius -- happily, his son is a sane one. That is evidenced by this book.

I found this book to be quite interesting as Steven Hodel makes a compelling case for the alleged murders committed by his father, Dr. George Hill Hodel. Allegedly, the LAPD knew that George Hodel killed Beth Short, the Black Dahlia. Papers were put away secretly in a safe regarding this case. Dr. Hodel left the country shortly after the Black Dahlia murder in 1947. Before this murder, he allegedly committed several other murders, including two in Chicago and several in the southern California area. What I found interesting about this is that Sylvia Browne, the psychic, addressed the Black Dahlia murder in one of her books, saying that Beth Short was killed by a doctor who was insane. This would fit this man's profile. According to his son, he hated his mother who insisted he become a concert pianist, and also fathered a child with a much older woman when he was 15 years old. His son confirmed the existence of that child by doing work on the internet. George badly wanted to marry the mother of this child, but she just laughed at him and said he was a child himself and to never contact her again. These incidents probably helped caused what the psychiatric experts call DID; Disassociate Identity Disorder, or commonly, multiple personality syndrome. Dr. Hodel could not remember some of the details of what he had done and wondered if he had dreamed them or had been hypnotized. His son also connected his father to the Zodiac killings in the Bay Area which occured in the 1960s for the most part. Although it was difficult for me to realize that one man could have committed all of these crimes, I found myself wishing that someone would do DNA tests on the objects that are in the possession of his son and compare them to what the police in different jurisdictions have. Steven's mother, Dorothy divorced George many years before George died and told her son that he was evil and that she was afraid of him (she had been married to director John Huston before her marriage to George). I have read "The Black Dahlia Avenger" before this book and this one went further with proof and ideas. If all of this is true, the Black Dahlia murder was only one of very many terrible crimes committed by one man.

I have just finished reading on my Kindle (purchased via Amazon) all three books written by Steve Hodel concerning the Black Dahlia, Chicago Lipstick Murders and the Zondiac Murders. I also read as a cross check, Gilmore's "Severed"Hodel's technical investigation and presentation of his research is amazing. I analyzed his analysis looking for incongruities and issues but did not find anything that led me to believe that his father, Dr. George Hill Hodel was not the most likely murderer in all three geographic sites. The LA killings have stronger evidence, Chicago killings less so and Zondiac about the same level of results. Steve's development of "thoughtprints" and the curious tie ins with street names and cities is very, very interesting. Dr, Hodel's geniuos IQ certainky supports these high level linkages such as a Chicago body was found on Hollywood street, Beth Short's body was found on Degnan (actually Norton which unbeknownst to Dr, Hodel changed its name at a split Y in the street from Degnen to Norton! street (the Chicaogo murder victim was Degnen). Similar curious profiles followed throughout Dr. Hodel's life as murder piled upon murder.Some say the Zodiac had a different Mo but the difference in a 38 year old man and a man in his late 60s would obviously have different MOs due to his physical abilities being different.I cannot say that I would convict a living man to execution based upon Steve Hodel's research but I would send someone away for 1000 years!Steve Hodel's books are excellent and although at first I did not like his repition of so many statements or points, at the end of the day, tat technique burned into my mind the points steve was wanting me to get. Good job Steve.I posted a rather long review of Gilmore's "Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia:. It posed some interesting concepts such as Beth Short's "Infantile Vagina" and she was portayed as a loos woman. Unfortunately there were no references, foot notes, bibliography, etc in the Kindle Version (and I believe also the printed versions)and I personally do not ascribe to Mr. Gilmore's premis that a drifter.looser was her murderer. I gave that book a 1 star due to it's first have narative of Beth's daily life, but it did not convince me that he has the coirrect solution. I will chose Steve's position based upon his presented research.I recommend all three books Steve has written on this subject. I would arn you that you might want to limit your photo reviews mased upon those that Steve presents. Other authors and the web is full of the more graphic photos of Elizabeth Short's totured and bisected body. These are so awful that they will cause a grown man to have a few restless nights.

I've repeatedly tried to write a review of Steve Hodel's 'Most Evil' (as well as his other books). After multiple rewrites, I've come to realize my words are woefully inadequate to annotate the magnitude/depth of this book (Steve's extensive and thorough investigation). So, I can only say to those considering reading this DO IT!!! In fact, read all off his books! Even if you disagree with Steve's theories (which I find extremely hard to do), you wont regret delving into this complex and compelling series!

Hard to believe but maybe George Hodel or a conspiracy of which he was a member, really did have something to do with the Zodiac crimes in San Fran late 60s. You won't believe the weird coincidences that may not be coincidences at all. If he was good for the Black Dahlia who knows what else, or who else under his "guidance", could have been responsible. If you are a true crime literature devotee you'll like this one. Hodel was "into" the kinky avant garde art scene in L.A. Personally, I have learned that these people had no reason to confine their behavior to kinky sex. I think they were amoral and willing to go just about as far as a human can.

Fascinating story. It is not great writing. It is redundant and you can most definitely tell that the author spent most of his life writing reports. That said, the story itself is so compelling that I gladly overlook the shortcomings. In fact, sometimes the story gets so convoluted that I appreciate the repetition. I don't know that I buy all the claims made, but it's a great ride!