When Good Kids Kill

by Michael D. Kelleher

In the first few months of 1999 alone, school shootings in Littleton, Colorado and Atlanta prove the terrifying trend that adolescent rage is spinning out of control throughout America. What makes a "good" kid snap? What breeds the thrill to kill that lures kids to murder? Michael D. Kelleher reveals the sobering facts behind teen murder, outlines a detailed list of behavior that may lead to crime, and offers practical solutions for stopping the violence.

Genres: True Crime

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 19, 1998

Reviews

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting collection of killer-kids cases, ranging from friends who kill friends to school shootings, cult murders and home again. The author gives a very superficial analysis of each case followed by head-slappingly obvious advice to prevent future violence: set a good example, be there for them, etc. He completely ignores the oft-stated fact in his own text that nearly every kid in the book had all that going for him, or her, and went ahead and killed someone anyway. He would have done better to admit the limitations on the information obtainable to him from the newpapers in a juvenile criminal case. His uncritical statement to the effect that the Robin Hood Hills murders were committed by a Satanic cult under the command of Damien Echols were more than enough proof for me that he didn't dig past the surface at all. He tried hard to sound scholarly and analytical but couldn't even manage subject-verb agreement in here. With all that said, these were some fascinating cases that I hope will lead to further reading.

[Izabela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information presented in this book is relevant, even though it was published in 1998. The case studies are easy to follow up on and I particularly enjoyed the snapshot profiles of the accused, as little summeries of their crimes. The only downside to this book, in my opinion, is the subjective writing. Too much of the author's own opinion is inserted into a book that struck me as an objective study.

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

As someone who enjoys reading true crime and also had read a fair of the academic literature on criminal policy/criminal psychology, this was sort of the worst of both worlds for me. I didn't think the "case studies" all fit really well with the book's basic premise, and I didn't think the author's conclusions/takeaways were especially insightful. Just not very good, in my opinion.

[A.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel really makes one think. Are kids who've never been in trouble, then kill, evil? Or are the parents to blame for expecting their children to be perfect? And should the bullies at school also share that blame?

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was really interesting!