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Inside Their Minds
On the couch with some of Australia's most notorious criminals, this book explores the secrets, motivations, and inner workings of the criminal mind
He is 29 years old and commits his horrendous crime alone. He is an underachiever, unskilled, doesn't have a regular job and he is now a mass murderer. What made Martin Bryant go on a brutal killing spree at Port Arthur taking the lives of 35 people? Working with a leading Australian forensic psychologist, investigative journalist Rochelle Jackson takes readers deep into the minds of eight of Australia's most notorious criminals: serial killer Ivan Milat, female sex offender Karen Ellis, serial arsonist Peter Burgess, armed robber and escapee Brenden Abbott, child killer Kathleen Folbigg, murderer Matthew Wales, and gangland warlord Carl Williams. She probes their motivations, delves deep into their pasts, and unlocks the dark side of their humanity, making for a penetrating, forensic, and revealing investigation of the criminal mind.
He is 29 years old and commits his horrendous crime alone. He is an underachiever, unskilled, doesn't have a regular job and he is now a mass murderer. What made Martin Bryant go on a brutal killing spree at Port Arthur taking the lives of 35 people? Working with a leading Australian forensic psychologist, investigative journalist Rochelle Jackson takes readers deep into the minds of eight of Australia's most notorious criminals: serial killer Ivan Milat, female sex offender Karen Ellis, serial arsonist Peter Burgess, armed robber and escapee Brenden Abbott, child killer Kathleen Folbigg, murderer Matthew Wales, and gangland warlord Carl Williams. She probes their motivations, delves deep into their pasts, and unlocks the dark side of their humanity, making for a penetrating, forensic, and revealing investigation of the criminal mind.
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First published August 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 25, 2020
"Covering eight different criminals of Australia, some of the most well known such as Ivan Milat the notorious backpacker murderer, Carl Williams the central figure in the gangland murders of Melbourne and Martin Bryant the mass murderer who went on a shooting spree at Tasmania's Port Arthur historic site.
Rochelle Jackson attempts to delve into the minds of these people to find what makes them tick. Along with the occasional criminal psychologist, she discusses the reasons behind each atrocity, often delving into the perpetrator's past to seek out a starting point for where it all went wrong.
To read my previous paragraph is to read the EXACT reason why I picked up this book. I want insights, I want to pull apart these abominable peopl
e and suck out all that is wrong with them in their screwed up heads. The age-old argument of whether they are born this way, are nurtured this way or do they just become this way. I got a little of this from the book but only enough to warrant a two-star review.
""Inside Their Minds"", suggested to me just that, what I was looking for, but too often it was like re-reading the front page of the newspapers back when the crimes were committed. The book leans heavily towards how the crimes were enacted, following footsteps in Bryant's case to where he shot each victim. I cannot condemn Jackson for the lack of insight because it was evident from reading the book that she received little, or no, assistance from the criminals themselves, but whilst that makes things difficult perhaps there is a case for this book to not be published due to lack of anything new?"
Rochelle Jackson attempts to delve into the minds of these people to find what makes them tick. Along with the occasional criminal psychologist, she discusses the reasons behind each atrocity, often delving into the perpetrator's past to seek out a starting point for where it all went wrong.
To read my previous paragraph is to read the EXACT reason why I picked up this book. I want insights, I want to pull apart these abominable peopl
e and suck out all that is wrong with them in their screwed up heads. The age-old argument of whether they are born this way, are nurtured this way or do they just become this way. I got a little of this from the book but only enough to warrant a two-star review.
""Inside Their Minds"", suggested to me just that, what I was looking for, but too often it was like re-reading the front page of the newspapers back when the crimes were committed. The book leans heavily towards how the crimes were enacted, following footsteps in Bryant's case to where he shot each victim. I cannot condemn Jackson for the lack of insight because it was evident from reading the book that she received little, or no, assistance from the criminals themselves, but whilst that makes things difficult perhaps there is a case for this book to not be published due to lack of anything new?"
June 6, 2009
Finished this book last night. For me most interesting was the case of the mom who murdered her 4? babies. First they thought it was because of SIDS but they should have known with baby 3 that it could not be SIDS.(10 and a half months) and definitely with baby 4 Laura who died at the age of 2 years.
Another interesting case to me was the Matthew Wales one who murdered his mom and dad.
The first case in this book about the Port Arthur massacres are also very interesting. I did not know about this so I decided to look it up on The Internet. To my surprise I discovered a lot of conspiracy theories. People thinking Bryant did not do it alone. Interesting indeed. Especially when you discover he shot 20 shots in a few seconds and at least 15 of those were head shots? I do have to read more though about this case. So all in all a very interesting read.
Another interesting case to me was the Matthew Wales one who murdered his mom and dad.
The first case in this book about the Port Arthur massacres are also very interesting. I did not know about this so I decided to look it up on The Internet. To my surprise I discovered a lot of conspiracy theories. People thinking Bryant did not do it alone. Interesting indeed. Especially when you discover he shot 20 shots in a few seconds and at least 15 of those were head shots? I do have to read more though about this case. So all in all a very interesting read.
October 20, 2013
I was hoping for a nice detailed investigation into the minds of some people who chose to kill instead of working out their problems other ways. What makes them tick?, being a bit of a question for us all. Sadly, I found that this author didn't go very in depth at all, and her writing style was far too familiarly casual and laced with Australian slang. Had I not had an Aussie sitting at my side while I read this one, I would've been constantly looking up meanings of certain terms online. Jackson is supposedly a journalist. Sad, that. I've seen better writing in high school newspapers. I have to recommend that you do not waste your time. You can find better info, writing and explorations of these criminals elsewhere.
August 2, 2017
Poorly written No structure Lacks detail Seems to just skim over information we have already seen on the news Fleshes out the content with details & history of people other than the criminals I didn't buy this book to learn about the long drawn out history of a detective or psychologist that hasn't got much to tell me anyway Reminds me of a teenagers assignment complete at midnight before the due date
August 5, 2018
This book was touted as more of a criminal psychology book than it actually is. There are some really insightful interviews with the criminals and the people around them. They talk about the upbringing and the events that led up to the crimes of the subject. I found it interesting, but it is not what I was expecting.
November 9, 2020
Interesting and well-written, though in most cases not being able to interview the actual criminal themselves meant that the author had to rely on others' reports and impressions. So getting 'inside their minds' might be a bit of a misnomer.
August 13, 2022
It was a good book delving into some interesting cases and looking at the motives behind. Psychological analysis to understand what would drive one to do such haenous crimes with many of them with some type of mental inadequacies. Intriguing.
December 4, 2022
(Audiobook) An interesting book, however it was a bit superficial. The title of the book tends to suggest a psychological analysis of these criminals minds. The criminals backgrounds were exposed and the author interview them, however, there was no true analysis.
March 3, 2024
As I'm in Australia I thought I'd listen and learn about a few Australian serial killer's.
Listened to this this on audio while working.
Not a bad book but the author made it too personal for my liking.
Listened to this this on audio while working.
Not a bad book but the author made it too personal for my liking.
March 17, 2019
Interesting and well researched but opinion creeps in and the journalist voice is heavily present. Good for background information however and easy to read.
February 27, 2021
Lacked any real insight into the psyche of most of the subjects and was mostly just a rehash of boring publicly available details of each.
March 7, 2021
A great book if you don't like committing to big reads. Several shorts stories on some of Australia biggest criminals. I love reading the criminal profiler reports in this book. Great easy read.
February 18, 2022
quite surface level and written poorly
April 12, 2025
Loved it!
September 11, 2017
Good insight into the criminal mind of some Australia's worst prisoners.
August 12, 2020
⭐️ 2.5 stars ⭐️
September 15, 2008
One of the strongest messages you get from a true crime book like INSIDE THEIR MINDS is that no matter how hard we try, no matter how much analysis goes on, there is something about so many of the more notorious criminals in our world that the rest of us will simply never fathom.
Rochelle Jackson looks at some of the most notorious, mass murderer Martin Bryant, sex offender Karen Ellis, serial killer Ivan Milat, serial arsonist Peter Burgess, armed robber and serial escapee Brenden Abbott, child killer Kathleen Folbigg, murdered Matthew Wales and gangland killer Carl Williams. Each of these cases, in their own time, created a wave of reaction within Australia - and probably, in the case of Martin Bryant and Carl Williams in particular, outside Australia as well.
Where possible Jackson has sat down and talked to the offender in their own right. Where that wasn't an option she has spoken, in particular, to a leading Australian forensic psychologist who has worked with all of them. This gives many of the sections of the book a real sense of immediacy and intimacy which is disquieting.
The chilling factor in all these cases is how frequently the perpetrator's absolutely and utterly refusal to acknowledge what they have done - either because they maintain that they are innocent, or because they simply don't seem to "get" the enormity of what they did. There's certainly nothing in Jackson's revelations that make you question the decisions drawn by the courts - but then this is not a book that seeks to prove or disprove innocence. It's about what goes on in the mind of those tried and found guilty of their crimes - what made them do it. The truly chilling part is in cases like that of Martin Bryant - 35 people dead, and the motivation - or what can be extrapolated as possible motivation as Bryant isn't talking - isn't really all that obvious. The book is worth reading for the Bryant chapter alone. That's not to say that other chapters are not equally as enlightening. After years of living in a highly flammable, bushfire prone area, the chapter one on one with serial arsonist Peter Burgess was very illuminating.
INSIDE THEIR MINDS is a fascinating book for those of us who read crime in fictional form, if for no other reason than to remind you that real life is often not all neatly resolved.
Rochelle Jackson looks at some of the most notorious, mass murderer Martin Bryant, sex offender Karen Ellis, serial killer Ivan Milat, serial arsonist Peter Burgess, armed robber and serial escapee Brenden Abbott, child killer Kathleen Folbigg, murdered Matthew Wales and gangland killer Carl Williams. Each of these cases, in their own time, created a wave of reaction within Australia - and probably, in the case of Martin Bryant and Carl Williams in particular, outside Australia as well.
Where possible Jackson has sat down and talked to the offender in their own right. Where that wasn't an option she has spoken, in particular, to a leading Australian forensic psychologist who has worked with all of them. This gives many of the sections of the book a real sense of immediacy and intimacy which is disquieting.
The chilling factor in all these cases is how frequently the perpetrator's absolutely and utterly refusal to acknowledge what they have done - either because they maintain that they are innocent, or because they simply don't seem to "get" the enormity of what they did. There's certainly nothing in Jackson's revelations that make you question the decisions drawn by the courts - but then this is not a book that seeks to prove or disprove innocence. It's about what goes on in the mind of those tried and found guilty of their crimes - what made them do it. The truly chilling part is in cases like that of Martin Bryant - 35 people dead, and the motivation - or what can be extrapolated as possible motivation as Bryant isn't talking - isn't really all that obvious. The book is worth reading for the Bryant chapter alone. That's not to say that other chapters are not equally as enlightening. After years of living in a highly flammable, bushfire prone area, the chapter one on one with serial arsonist Peter Burgess was very illuminating.
INSIDE THEIR MINDS is a fascinating book for those of us who read crime in fictional form, if for no other reason than to remind you that real life is often not all neatly resolved.
December 12, 2013
This novel gives a great insight into these Australian criminals starting with Martin Bryant who went on a killing spree at Port Arthur taking the lives of 35 people. Also several other notorious criminals Ivan Milat serial killer, Karen Ellis female sex offender, Peter Burgess serial arrsonist, Brendan Abbott armed robber & escapee, Matthew Wales murderer, Carl Williams gangland warlord & Kathy Folbigg child killer who killed her own 4 babies and managed to somehow get away with it until the 4th baby died. The results of the first 3 babies on record as dying of SIDS which of course they didn't but should have investigated more thoroughly. This novel was indeed intriguing.❤❤❤
July 22, 2016
I found this an interesting book. To hear the background of the criminals was interesting and somewhat sad. There wasn't the goriness I knew of the crimes yet have enough to remind or enlighten readers to who they were.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews