Dennis Nilsen - Conversations with Britain's most evil serial killer by Russ Coffey (2013) Paperback

by Russ Coffey

In February 1983, civil servant Dennis Nilsen was arrested after body parts were found to be blocking drains at the house where he lived. As the squad car drove him away, he confessed he had strangled 15 young men. But it wasn’t just the crimes that stunned the police, but the way Nilsen spoke. He said he loved the young men he killed. When newspapers carried stories of how the 37-year-old lured men back to his flat and why, the nation was shocked by his sheer evil. Yet some psychiatrists considered him a man of rare, complex, and extreme psychological problems. In addition, none of them had met a killer who seemed so keen to understand his own psyche. Whilst on remand in Brixton Prison, Nilsen filled 55 exercise books with thoughts. During his subsequent 30 years in prison he has continued to write—most notably on the first draft of a multi-volume autobiography—which the Home Office has banned. Using exclusive access to Nilsen's writing and extensive independent research, Russ Coffey explains what Nilsen says and how much of it we can believe. This is a shocking glimpse into the mind of a killer.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Serial Killer, Biography, History

Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting look into a disturbing character. The author corresponded with the killer for a while as well as gained access to his unpublished 'autobiography', if you want to call it that. What became fairly obvious out of this book is that Nilsen is still just as disturbed as ever. I took off one star because, in this Kindle edition, a few too many spelling errors slipped through. Also, the book isn't always very linear; it jumps back and forwards though time a bit a few times, something which could annoy some. Definitely worth a read though.

[Steven Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

7 out of 10

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering the subject matter, it's difficult to say that I 'liked' this book. I found it taught me something (don't flush body parts down the toilet) and that I learned a little about the life and times of this infamous killer. Coffey tries to present an impartial study of Nilsen but every now and then his personal views creep in and you can tell he wasn't won over by the narcissistic sociopathic serial killer. Nilsen definitely deserves life imprisonment for what he did and his lack of remorse for the lives he took.

[Ed · Rating 2 out of 5]

In dire need of a proofreader. Plagued by an unacceptable amount of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. The book itself is derivative of earlier, more accomplished works and the non-linear chapter style only serves to disorientate the reader.

[john richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Having read killing for company a few years ago I came across this book.
Very interesting read, plenty of detail in to all parts of the crime.
Great read.

[teleri · Rating 1 out of 5]

i feel like this book would be better if i hadn't read history of a drowning boy beforehand, but since i have it's not holding my interest so it's a dnf from me :/

[Lainy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 271

Publisher -

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

In February 1983, civil servant Dennis Nilsen was arrested after body parts were found to be blocking drains at the house where he lived. As the squad car drove him away, he confessed he had strangled 15 young men. But it wasn’t just the crimes that stunned the police, but the way Nilsen spoke. He said he loved the young men he killed. When newspapers carried stories of how the 37-year-old lured men back to his flat and why, the nation was shocked by his sheer evil. Yet some psychiatrists considered him a man of rare, complex, and extreme psychological problems. In addition, none of them had met a killer who seemed so keen to understand his own psyche. Whilst on remand in Brixton Prison, Nilsen filled 55 exercise books with thoughts. During his subsequent 30 years in prison he has continued to write—most notably on the first draft of a multi-volume autobiography—which the Home Office has banned. Using exclusive access to Nilsen's writing and extensive independent research, Russ Coffey explains what Nilsen says and how much of it we can believe. This is a shocking glimpse into the mind of a killer.


My review

Despite reading/watching a lot of true crime Dennis Nilsen isn't one I have read/seen much of. So this was a bit of an eye opener. I knew the basics & there were similarities of him & Dalmer without cannibalism but equally horrific. The book covers Nilsen's childhood albeit it through mostly his tellings/recollections. Work history, relationships and how he descended into alcohol abuse & eventually killing people & doing the most horrific abuse to the bodies after he had murdered them/

The book is quite graphic, gore, horrific, it covers his crimes, what he did to himself & dead bodies, abusing & butchering them for removal. His thought processes and musings on many topics & he wrote copious amounts on almost everything in his life/experiences/thoughts.

The book does a lot of jumping around which was a bit distracting at times. We heard from Nilsen himself, his own writings & excerpts from books/essays he has written. He also admitted candidly about the killings (once he was caught) although later retracted a few of his confessions. He also covers some of his prison experiences, abuse from inmates & the author covers some relationships Nilsen had too. Nilsen comes across very much looking down on others & the authors personal feelings on Nilsen are quite clear throughout the book, 3/5 for me this time.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

HIS :
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS:A fake family name of  dad, a suffocating/manipulative/promiscuous mom, an avuncular yet potentially pedophile grandpa

LIFE JOURNEY:An abject childhood;childhood fixation on defecation and anus as a result of being possibly/ambiguously stimulated/molested by grandpa;a sufficiently, if not exceedingly long service at the Army to get himself ready for his undertakings;a period of peculiar experiences of amorality(witnessing the rape of a girl by colleagues;corpse appearing to him passive/submissive/controllable/arousing) ;a conviction of superiority in special taste in classical music, visual arts, writing(psychograph), grasping and utilizing empathy, self-analysis. 

INNERMOST FEELINGS:being cynical about social norms('remorse is not to be shown, but to be done') ;specific and eccentric about certain details important to him(letter dates);use of florid language--thinking the EMOTIVE words describing emotions are absurd while writing them;holds it to be self-evident that everyone in the society compartmentalize things simply to cope with others and survive, hence his doing so is justified as others normally are

[Mousellina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think that the tittle sums it up perfectly - exaggerated, sensational and just a click bait equivalent of a book.

I would like to say that author is writing through his biased view however it’s more likely a mere way to grab attention and provoke strong emotions such as shock, disgust and anger.

Look, I am not here to condone serial killers actions, I just think that this book is twisted and not factually accurate.

Firstly, Nilsen was far from the most evil killer - he felt deep remorse and never stopped punishing himself for his crimes.

I think that book “Killing for company” shows all sides of the story. And it’s a truly complex one. There, having a much more impartial interaction, Nilsen was more comfortable talking and hence revealed more intimate parts of his mind.

This book, on the other hand is just profiting from the tragedy which is sickening in its own way.

[Harriet · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in-depth insight into the creation and life of the twisted and deranged mind of Dennis....if it can be believed. As alot of it is drawn from his own 'auto-biography'. He assumed a very abnormal sense of normal from his imagination being blended into real life leading to him committing crimes, and saw nothing wrong with his actions giving him the title of a devious psychopath.

Worth reading if you are interested in psychology. It all seems plausible what is written in the book and I'm sure the author put alot of research into its fact finding, however the constant references to Nilsen's 'confessions...' it always left a seed of doubt whenever I finished reading a section.

[Deb Lancaster · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars helps to complete some kind of picture of Nilson. After all the books I've read my main conclusion is that he killed because he wanted to and he could.

[John Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a hard read for me as it felt too real even though it was it was just so hard to stomach

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid read

[Catherine Barnard-Rivero · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read it all and was interested but I was put off by it being non-chronological and I didn’t feel I learned anything more than what was on Wikipedia

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book about a week after I listened to a podcast episode. This guy was a weirdo. Nilsen was a serial killer who murdered at least twelve boys. He was active in England in the late 1970s to early 1980s. After luring boys to his home, he murdered them and kept the bodies for extended periods of time. How his neighbors didn't report him many times over for smells of decomposition, I will never understand. He finally got himself caught after flushing body parts down the toilet and causing a clog, in which they determined came from the weirdo on the top floor. This was a pretty good book, and learning about his activities in more depth was interesting.

[Peter Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good insight

A very good insight into the mind of a serial killer Dennis Nielsen who tried to manipulate everyone thought provoking