Between Good and Evil: A Master Profiler's Hunt for Society's Most Violent Predators

by Roger L. Depue, Susan Schindehette

He was a pioneer in modern law enforcement, a trailblazing leader in the hunt for serial killers. But after decades of staring deep into the darkness, he entered a seminary to search for the good... Between Good and Evil .

No one gets closer to evil than a criminal profiler, trained to penetrate the hearts and minds of society's most vicious psychopaths. And no one is a more towering figure in the world of criminal profilers than Roger L. Depue. Chief of the FBI Behavioral Science Unit at a time when its innovative work first came to prominence, he headed a renowned team of mind hunters that included John Douglas, Robert Ressler, and Roy Hazelwood. In a subbasement sixty feet under the Academy gun vault in Quantico, he broke new ground with analytical techniques and training programs that are still used today.

After retiring from the FBI, he founded an elite forensics group that consulted on high-profile cases, including the Martha Moxley and JonBenet Ramsey murders, and the Columbine school shootings. But coming face-to-face with the darkest deeds human beings are capable of took a horrific toll. After suffering a devastating personal loss, Depue, on the brink of despair, walked away from the outside world and joined a seminary. For three years this was his safe haven, a place where he exorcised personal demons and found a refuge from terrifying memories of real-life monsters. And it was there, while counseling maximum security inmates, that he rediscovered the capacity for goodness in people, and made the decision to return to the world to resume his work. Here is Depue's extraordinary personal account, from growing up as a police officer's son to tracking down some of today's most brutal murderers.

With its harrowing descriptions of human depravity and passionate call to fight against evil, Between Good and Evil is both a riveting dispatch from the front lines of a war against human predators...and the powerful story of one man's journey between darkness and redemption.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Psychology, Audiobook, Memoir, Serial Killer

320 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2005

Reviews

[Lady ♥ Belleza · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this book. Mainly because it didn't live up to the description. Instead of saying 'A Master Profiler's Hunt for Society's Most Violent Predators', it should have said, 'The Life Story of a Master Profiler'. The book cover's his childhood, how he came to be in law enforcement, ended up in the FBI and an instructor at Quantico. During this time, he references cases they helped solve with the new 'Science' of Profiling and Behavior Analysis. He talks about how they interviewed serial killers in prison and gained valuable insight into their thought processes and behaviors, it was all very interesting. Even when he retired he started a consulting firm, using the same principles he applied as an FBI profiler to help solve cases.

Then his wife died and he just fell apart. The rest of the book is talking about how he coped with his grief, how he tried to find good in the world, tried to get away from the evil.

It is a very well written auto-biography or memoir, however you decide to view it, but that is not what I was expecting. I was expecting something more along the lines of a profiling book such as Hazelwood or Douglas would write. That is why now, having finished this book, I feel let down and disappointed.

[Krystin | TheF*ckingTwist · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book Blog | Bookstagram

I thought I was going to be reading about the creation of profiling and the cases that helped shape it, as told by the man who oversaw that creation. But, what I got instead is Roger Depue’s religion-heavy memoir and life story which can be boiled down to him marching through town crashing symbols and screaming, “I AM SO GREAT and Jesus saved me!”

That’s not really my vibe.

You are told about Depue’s childhood, personal life and career which he clearly thinks very highly of himself for, with only a smattering of profiling information throughout. When you get to the last third of the book where Depue’s wife dies – though I was incredibly moved by his love for her and may have shed a tear or two – the book completely leaves true crime behind. Literally. Depue, in his grief, left the FBI to join a seminary. He was so destroyed, the man was like, I am going to go as far away from having to date again as I possibly can.

Depue eventually goes back to law enforcement when he starts finding crimes to be investigated within the seminary and the nuns are like, “Dude, chill. We’re all god’s children, even the criminals.” That’s not a direct quote, but I can’t wait for millennial nuns who call people dude and queen.

But honestly, Depue has so much toxic masculinity swirling around him that you can literally see how he should have just gone to therapy for his grief, but that wasn’t what men do, so he ran away to a seminary instead.

If what you’re really interested in are the details of Depue’s life, this will work for you. But if you’re more interested in the true-crime aspect and details on profiling, then I’d stick with any of John Douglas’ books. He always gets the assignment.

The vibe for this one:


⭐⭐ | 2 stars

[Mara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved reading this, but it's definitely literary candy

[Beki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. Great and unexpected mix of psychology, philosophy and spirituality as they relate to both the social phenomenon of serial killers and to Roger Depue's life as a whole. Well written and informative.

For my money, best of the profilers' "these are my stories" books (and I've read most, if not all, of them) because it isn't just a series of case studies and doesn't foundation itself on a sense of ... self aggrandizement, I suppose would be the word. The narrative voice is humble without being falsely so, and it offers even-handed insight into the outsized personalties of the early years with the BSU that have spent almost as much time flinging mud at each other's reputations as they have solving crimes. While that kind of politicized "He said"/"He said" thing can be entertaining, it is also distracting from the psychological and sociological impact of the crimes under discussion; and I found Depue's willingness to speak candidly about both the strengths and the weaknesses of the profilers under his command a welcome change of pace.

Beyond that, this book, unlike any of the other profiler memoirs I've read, struggles with the humanity and inhumanity of what Depue has seen/experienced in his professional and personal life while seeking to explore those things in more meaningful ways than simply imparting stats or sharing details in the name of shock value.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in anticipation for my criminal psych class...

One of the reasons I really enjoyed this book was because like the author, I'm from Michigan. I knew of the places he spoke of, and I had visited some of them. I also was in the military, and finally, the firm he built is now about an hour away from where I relocated. (Small world!) There were many parts where I could relate to the author.

There are some very dark parts of this book. The author is a criminal profiler, and this book explains how the career path started. So you are going to come across some very dark information about human beings while reading this. I am not personally as disturbed as I could have been by the material. The author takes a look at criminals through a detached lens, which in most cases also forces you to do so as well. The information was intriguing.

Do expect to find for comfort in this book. The author does explain why criminals do the things they do and how to avoid it. (Hint: In some cases, you really can't.) This book did allow me to look at the world differently. Some of the material I already understood, but it was interesting to watch the world of criminal profiling grow up.

[Eduard Kutscher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting insight into the head and experiences of Roger L. Depue, former head of BSU (Behavioral Science Unit) at FBI. BSU is the place where they besides other things do the profiling of serial killers, sexual predators, child molesters etc. To be a profiler is an incredibly difficult and hard job. Depue's honest testimony in this book is a proof of that. People there are witnesses of and are fighting different kinds of horrors, terrors. And such experiences naturally influence them. Depue is very open in his book, he describes what these people are going through. Such job is defintely not for everyone, only small number of people can do that.

I didn't receive what I expected. I hoped that to book would be more focused on the cases, on the investigations, on the profiling. There is not much of that. This book is really more about what goes on in the people doing this job.

All in all the book was OK (btw. the chapter about his wife is one of the most moving chapters I have ever read). For me 2 stars out of 5.

[Esteban González · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read on the nature of behavioral science for criminal justice. It combines the analysis of criminal behavior with the impact on the life's of law enforcement officers (with emphasis on the latter).

[TE · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the kill, there is the feast.
Andtoward the end, when the dancing subsides
and the young have sneaked off somewhere,
the hounds, drunk on the blood of the hares,
begin to talk of how soft
were their pelts, how graceful their leaps,
how lovely their scared, gentle eyes.

This unsettling poem sets the tone for much of this book, which is essentially the autobiography of one of the founding members of the famous FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit. I've read a few of these books in recent years, having inherited them among a collection of books given to me by a colleague who was moving overseas. This wasn't one of my favorites, as it admittedly focused more on the individual than the material, but it was still a worthwhile, if disturbing read.

A former marine, the author kind of went the long way 'round in getting to the FBI, having been in law enforcement previously, albeit in a rather small town. What I think I appreciated most was his candor in revealing his private thoughts about the subject matter, which, without rehashing or sensationalizing the cases, are some of the most horrific imaginable. It also describes how someone can deal with the absolute worst of humanity, and still make it through the day. I was still kind of irked by the focus on the perpetrators, my greatest criticism of books of this type, rather than their victims, whose courage and strength, even in their final moments, is what should be remembered, their lives celebrated, rather than those of the twisted freaks who prematurely ended them.

The twist in this book is the author's later career (calling), specifically a stint in seminary after the untimely death of his first wife from cancer, which is a unique take on how someone can cope with the depths of evil and travesty. Overall, as above, this wasn't one of the most detailed "profiler" books, but it's an interesting foray into a fascinating life, one rich with experiences, even the dark and tragic ones.
------------------
"look at the facts, gather absolutely as much information as was available, digest it all and then apply what he called the law of probability. In other words, the operate question should not be what MIGHT have happened, or what possibly COULD have happened? Instead, it should be In all likelihood, what PROBABLY happened?

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less autobiography, more violence please.

Depue has an interesting record at one of the world's most interesting jobs, that of an FBI profiler.

But Depue is not an interesting person. Actually he is pretty boring.

And that is the tension in this story, between him wanting to spin boring tales about his life and between him talking about the interesting cases he worked on. When he is doing the latter, this book is fascinating.

I loved reading about the arson cases in the various Jewish sites around Connecticut that were initially suspected to be motivated as anti-Jewish crimes; Depue explains why his profile pegged the arsonist to be a nebbishy Jew (his was right). These are the stories that make the book worth reading.

But a lot of this book is actually just him talking about his life. A lot of the book talks about stuff completely unrelated to his work as a profiler. There are several chapters on a fight he got into in high school (skipped), his early police work that did not involve profiling, the death of his wife (I know it is coldhearted, but I don't give a shit), his time in a Catholic monastary. All of this is soporific, and makes up more than half the book.

Even though Depue is surprisingly stingy with stories, seeming to withhold more than he gives us, the stories he does tell can be thrilling. That is what kept me reading this book to the end.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started out really loving this book. But ended up hating it. He doesn’t understand why evil exists or where it originated. He knows nothing about the truth of Scripture.

It isn’t money is the root of all evil. It is the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, 1 Timothy 2:6-20. Other scriptures are Matthew 15:19, Rom. 5:12, James 1:15, Matt. 19:16-30 just to name a few.

Thomas Aquines was not a believer. He was delusional. Said no man willingly commits evil. That is false. This author says evil comes from genetics and the socialisation process. No, we are born in total depravity. That means every part of us has been touched by sin, spirit , soul and body and have no desire for God. He is the One that calls us to Himself and we choose to respond or not to do so.

I don’t like his theology. Love him but he is messed up spiritually and his 3 years in Catholic seminary didn’t help, only hurt. The technical part of the book was good, about catching people that are evil, or not. But they try really hard in this story. CathyR

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Between TV shows, movies and books, I have to balance my serial killer content intake with other subject matter, lest I lose my sunny disposition. So I picked this one carefully and found it to be a rewarding read (well, listen, as I had the audiobook). It has the right mix of autobiographic detail and personal musings/challenges, with just enough stories of actual cases woven through to generate a bit of suspense (rare in this genre) and to create a common thread throughout the book and tie it together (the Terry Brooks case particularly). This is especially important for audiobooks, since the "reader" has less cues as to how the book is structured i.e. # of pages, # of chapters. I also found Depue's voice authentic and engaging, not at all talking down to the reader or trying to prove how smart he is.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting something a bit more like Mindhunter (admittedly I haven't read this one yet--just basing off the David Fincher show). This is different than that. There are a lot of anecdotes of particular cases and such which you might recognize from that, but this is more of a biography of the profiler himself, beginning with his early years to his career as a criminal profiler and his later life vocation in the Catholic Church, and back again. There's a definite religious feel (Catholic specifically) to this book, so if you are turned off by that sort of thing, I wouldn't recommend it.

It's really one man's quest to find the origins of good and evil as a person who has seen the evilest parts of human behavior.

This one was a random grab off the library shelves, so I would say I was happy with it as something to read, but it wasn't exactly what I expected.

[Dawn Hogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between Good and Evil by Roger L. Depue
I read this book for research for my next novel I’m writing. It is the nonfiction telling of the life and career of one of the first FBI profilers. I found it interesting, especially the psychology methods they used to identify who the criminals were. The BSU (Behavioral Science Unit) formed in 1972 and developed educational programs for FBI agents as well as law enforcement agencies throughout the world. It was no surprise to me that the work of these FBI agents took a heavy tole on their personal lives as well as their own mental health. The work of Roger L. Depue and his counter parts has made a significant impact on how the agency functions today.
D.W. Hogan author of Unbroken Bonds, Intentionally and contributing author in Feisty Deeds and Grief Like Yours anthologies

[Donald Larter]

A fascinating look into the life of one of the pioneers in the FBI's Behavior Science Unit (BSU). The investigators in the BSU became famous for closing many seemingly unsolvable crimes by profiling the perpetrators of some of the most horrific and heinous crimes imaginable.

Obviously a committed believer in Jesus Christ, Depue found his faith tested many times, but he succeeded in maintaining his faith, in part, by attending a Roman Catholic seminary, the Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut. He describes his years at the seminary as a way for him to "take a sabbatical from evil."

A book which is not for the faint of heart, it is nevertheless very well written and riveting in its own way, thanks in part to Depue's coauthor Susan Schindehette.

[William Engle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Preachy and boring. Hardly talked about any of his actual work, besides a few cases. These were by far the most interesting points of the book. Really this is just Depue talking about reckoning with God, and that just isn’t what I came into the book expecting. I almost DNF’d this one, but I stuck with it and it still didn’t get any closer to what the title promised. I wish these guys who write books from interesting perspectives in law enforcement would realize that we aren’t interested in a diatribe on their thoughts on the universe that exceeds one chapter. We’re here to learn about their work and accomplishments for the most part. The rest is gravy.

[Mark Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose the book and read it for the stories involving serial killers and such. It's obviously an interesting topic and I wanted to read about the profiling. And there was some of that but much of the book was more of a memoir. There was way too much about how tough he was as a kid, what a great cop he was, how quickly he rose through the ranks, his interest in religion, and his own business. The profiling was interesting and the cases that he worked on were gruesome but there wasn't enough of that. It's almost like he had something to prove.

[Lori Dunbar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Depue has no lack of self confidence. His "dig me" attitude was off-putting. He's definitely old school. Lots of cliches. Hard- boiled criminal style. I actually liked his 180 when he wrote of his experiences in a seminary.

This is not a kind of book I'd normally reach for. A neighbor thought I might like the criminal profiling aspect. Depue certainly had his hand in a lot of famous cases--Ted Bundy, Jonbenet Ramsey, Columbine, to name a few.

This was an interesting enough diversion, but not a go-to type of book for me.

[Beach026 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book but kind of disturbing. Written by a guy that helped invent criminal profiling; he touches on everything from how it began, to serial killers, and his time in Seminary School. As I read it I thought it reminded me of Silence of the Lambs, then a few chapters later he discusses how they helped the director to somewhat understand a psychopath. It began a little slowly but I couldn't put it down.

[David Szatkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is more autobiography than a specific book on profiling. The profiling and consideration of specific criminal behaviors are considered as part of the author's wider life. The author touches also on the philosophical questions of good/evil, punishment/mercy, rehabilitation and recidivism. This is an easily read book and one that lends itself to understanding just a bit more about human behavior and the mystery of the human person.

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memoir from one of the FBI's first master profilers. Well-thought-out account of his life and career.

[SPOILERS FOLLOW]




I was surprised that he ended up becoming a seminarian. That shows how essential his wife was to his emotional health.

Depue makes it as clear as possible without getting sued that he believes Patsy Ramsey killed JónBenet and wrote the ransom note.

[Steve Parcell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally interesting and vivid book by the author on his tough upbringing and early life as a copper. Then moving in to the BAU at Quantico.

Your really get a feel how much their work affects them and how difficult it is not to take the horrors they see home with them.

Not as good as works by his peers Ressler, Douglas and Hazelwood but well worth a read.

[Russty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the mix of how he got where he is, and how / why he got there... It sometimes helps clarify the journey from there to here, then expounds on what he did one he got here!!!

Highly recommend!!!

[Chy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a terrifying book even for a fan of true crime. I enjoyed the behind the scenes look at the beginnings of the BSU and the psychology that use, but I didn’t care so much about the chapters on religion.

[Connor Farrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Between Good and Evil was so incredibly dark and deep! Roger Depue really goes into all the absolutely astonishing and horrible things he witnessed as the Chief of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit. Fascinating stuff.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to give this a higher rating, but some of the details that he shared about people that he had to deal with and investigate were very hard for me to get through due to the level of criminal evil, and I use that term very accurately, that he was describing.

[Paulina M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyment: 3.5
Total rating: 4

I was very disappointed with this book. I was hoping for more anecdotes from this author's professional life and a considerable discussion of psychopathy. Between Good and Evil is more of an autobiography or insight into the author's life.

[Janell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. If you love criminal minds or mindhunter, so good, and if you are a fan of true crime and the psychological aspects, it's great. No one case focus, but great for when you want true crime without a single heavy case.

[Sarah atkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow to start but impeccably written. Humbling and inspiring

[barbara stanisz · Rating 5 out of 5]

very interesting and very relevant for out times. this was well worth reading

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the material was hard to read due to the graphic content.