The Zenith Man

 

 

Welcome to my reading corner , where we talk about the books I've read and think you should know about , and that you might be interested in. From the bad to good, to even audio books and before you ask you did read that right,buts its a new a year and I'm slowly getting in to them but I'm still going to be reading more books then audio books , each month the plan is to try and listing to 2 or 3 audio books and then talk about them , so pull up a set and if you want to get a drink. 

This is the start of the list of book I read in March , each post will have up to 5 books with short reviews on them of course some books might have this post as will as another post because their blog tour post or show case about them .

Today's book we're talking about is 

Zenith Man 

Author : McCracken Poston, Jr

Published by Kensington Books, Citadel

Pub date : Feb 20,2024

Genres : True crime and Biography

Pages : 296

Format : Hardback as well as ARC 

Source: Publisher Kensington Books ( for physical copy ) & NetGalley ( ARC) 

Buy links : 

Amazon : Zenith Man

Audible : Zenith Man

Barnes and noble : zenith man

Ration : 5 

Would I recommend it ? Yes 

Read it as a  buddy read

Now on to my thoughts : 

First off a big thanks to the publisher Kensington as well as to the author McCracken Poston Jr, for sending me a copy of Zenith Man, and to my friend for reading this with me as a buddy read . Two of the main reasons I said yes was 1: it's true crime ( and I love reading true crime) and 2nd : I've never even heard anything about this case until now. And I kept wondering why.And yes this question was in fact answered in the book , so I guess you could  say I went into this book blind since I knew nothing at all about this case. In which I'm glad I did because I actually enjoyed it and loved talking about  it with my friend, from how hard working McCracken was, to how Alvin Ridley acted, how reading the parts of the Trial actually made both of us feel like we was actually there, how I was so glad Alivn's sister in law got put in her place , and I especially enjoyed how the medical talk was wrote in a way that not only explained it but also in a way where I could understand it . Other win for this book besides the black and white photos that's  init , is that  you get to see the people themselves as actual people and not fictional ones , you see their lives come to life right off the page, and of course there was a few funny parts to it but even they didn't take away from the story. In fact this book was so much more it was told in away that it felt that you walked away known both the author himself and Alvin Ridley . 

Like a nonfiction John Grisham thriller with echoes of Rainman, Just Mercy, and a captivating smalltown Southern setting, this is the fascinating true story—sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking—of an idealistic young lawyer determined to free an innocent neurodivergent man accused of murdering the wife no one knew he had.

An inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of true justice for readers of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Just Mercy.

Was this small-town TV repair man “a harmless eccentric or a bizarre killer” (Atlanta Journal Constitution). For the first time, Alvin Ridley’s own defense attorney reveals the inside story of his case and trial in an extraordinary tale of friendship and an idealistic young attorney’s quest to clear his client’s name—and, in the process, rebuild his own life.

In October 1997, the town of Ringgold in northwest Georgia was shaken by reports of a murder in its midst. A dead woman was found in Alvin Ridley’s house—and even more shockingly, she was the wife no one knew he had.

McCracken Poston had been a state representative before he lost his bid for U.S. Congress and returned to his law career. Alvin Ridley was a local character who once sold and serviced Zenith televisions. Though reclusive and an outsider, the “Zenith Man,” as Poston knew him, hardly seemed capable of murder.

Alvin was a difficult client, storing evidence in a cockroach-infested suitcase, unwilling to reveal key facts to his defender. Gradually, Poston pieced together the full story behind Virginia and Alvin’s curious marriage and her cause of death—which was completely overlooked by law enforcement. Calling on medical experts, testimony from Alvin himself, and a wealth of surprising evidence gleaned from Alvin’s junk-strewn house, Poston presented a groundbreaking defense that allowed Alvin to return to his peculiar lifestyle, a free man.

Years after his trial, Alvin was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, a revelation that sheds light on much of his lifelong personal battle—and shows how easily those who don’t fit societal norms can be castigated and misunderstood. Part true crime, part courtroom drama, and full of local color, Zenith Man is also the moving story of an unexpected friendship between two very different men that changed—and perhaps saved—the lives of both.

About the author

McCracken King Poston, Jr. was born and raised in Catoosa County in Northwest Georgia. A four-term member of the Georgia House of Representatives, his world unraveled after a number of personal and professional setbacks, including a losing bid for the U.S. Congress. 

Soon, Poston found himself representing a most unusual client - a man once revered as a natural TV repairman who had also suffered several downfalls, including being accused of holding his wife captive in their basement for almost three decades before killing her. Poston went on to complete the representation of Alvin "Zenith Man" Ridley, and the community was shocked to hear the truth of what went on at the dilapidated house in Ringgold, Georgia. 

Only recently, Alvin Ridley was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, which explains much about how throughout his life he was misunderstood by his community.

Poston's first book is a story of redemption, of more than one man in Catoosa County, Georgia.

Poston went on from this case to a distinguished career as a criminal defense lawyer, with cases featured on television's "Forensic Files," A&E's "American Justice," and several national publications. He and his secretary continue to help Mr. Ridley, now eighty-one, making and getting him to appointments, and helping him navigate a neurotypical world.