Serial Killers by Brian Innes

by Brian Innes

Il fascino del male, l’ambiguo carisma di uomini e donne che dietro una parvenza di normalità nascondono una natura quasi diabolica. Sebbene si tratti probabilmente di un fenomeno che esiste fin dalle origini della storia dell’uomo, è soltanto grazie ai più recenti progressi compiuti nell’ambito della scienza forense e del profiling psicologico che si è arrivati ad identificare quei soggetti che possiamo definire “serial killer”. Ma chi sono questi uomini e queste donne? Perché commettono delitti tanto terribili? Come scelgono le loro sventurate vittime? E, come possono essere fermati? Per rispondere a queste domande, questo volume ripercorre, in ordine cronologico, le storie di oltre 50 tra i più efferati serial killer di tutti i tempi – da Jack lo Squartatore e la “Contessa Sanguinaria” fino ai più recenti Ted Bundy, lo “Strangolatore di Boston” e il “figlio di Sam” – raccontandone lo sviluppo, i delitti, la macabra doppia vita, il profilo psicologico e le tecniche di indagine messe in atto per catturarli. Dalle pagine di questo volume emerge l’agghiacciante spaccato di una società nella quale, sotto un velo di apparente rispettabilità, individui razionali e spesso estremamente intelligenti si rivelano capaci di azioni di ineffabile crudeltà e selvaggia brutalità. E sebbene questi assassini rappresentino senza dubbio il lato più oscuro della natura umana, dalle loro storie emerge un fascino terribile e quasi ipnotico, a cui è impossibile sottrarsi.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, History, Serial Killer, Adult, Psychology

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 5, 2006

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this one up for a little light reading to while away the midnight hours sitting at the desk at work. In the course of reading it, I was struck by the realization that one of the killers featured in the book, Earle Nelson, had choked out his last breath at the end of a rope just 75 yards from where I was reading. I'm sure I walk by his former cell every night as I do my rounds. If I were inclined to be superstitious, that could be a troubling thing since Nelson had been a monster when alive.

This book is full of monsters, I can't think of any other name for them. I don't care what their underlying motives or reasons were, their deeds were monstrous and were often perpetrated against the most innocent and vulnerable victims. I care not one whit about their mommy issues, their absent fathers, how much they were teased by their sisters...when you are as depraved as the people in this book, I think you have forfeited any right to compassion. All of these killers were very calculating in their efforts to elude capture, and therefore knew that they were doing wrong.

But enough about them, this is about the book. As you might imagine, at just over 200 pages an illustrated book will have very little print devoted to each of the 50 killers it intends to present to the reader. You get a thumbnail sketch of the participants, a list of those killed, and a rough outline of their trial and what subsequently became of the killer. All your favourites are here, from Jack the Ripper to Paul Bernardo. The book is reasonably well presented and competently written but attempts too much in too few pages. One particular annoyance for me was the story of John Muhammad. The writer takes you right up to the trial and stops without giving any closure...the next page is Index. I don't know if Mr Innes just ran out of steam or if a page was lost, but I was curious about Muhammad. After all, when most killers get to languish on Death Row for decades, isn't it a bit odd that Muhammad and McVeigh were both essentially rushed off to the executioner after the gavel rapped down on their respective cases?

Any time you start getting a warm fuzzy feeling about your fellow man and start thinking the world is a pretty good place, just read a book like this. It will bring you back to your senses.

[Zaide · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really honest and powerful book, and not one that can be easily read in large sittings. It contains all of the most brutal and well-known killers from across the world, and probably many more that you’ve never heard of.

Each murderer has their terrible crimes trimmed down to the most honest and brutal detail. It is short, to the point, and only deals in facts. There are little snippets of information that detail the killers behavioural profile, their motives, and details of the police investigation including what led to their arrest.

It isn’t light reading. There are very frank details about the cause of death of the victims and how their bodies were found. It’s as intriguing as it is dark. It never ceases to amaze me what cruelties human beings are capable of, and what horrors they will inflict on others - especially the innocent.

This book pretty much does what it says on the tin, that should be enough for you to determine whether it’s to your reading taste, and isn’t something you normally recommend. But it was an incredibly thought-provoking book.

[Cristina Mariana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, but not good enough.

What the book promised and delivered:
"However we may deny it, we are fascinated by what serial killers do, how they do it [...]" . Check.

The reading obviously affected me. The stories were horribly real and I felt the urge to vomit sometimes, I'm not going to deny it.

What the book promised and didn't deliver:
"[...] and why they do it."[...].. Nope.

I was expecting a more detailed analysis of their minds, to understand what triggered their bodies to perform those crimes. The book is just facts and more facts. I'm disappointed.

Hence the two stars.

[Zen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of interesting facts presented. A bit dry at times as it almost felt like a research paper/project, but very informative.

[Missy (myweereads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘he turned to the hangman, smiled, and said: ‘take your time, old man.’- H.H. Holmes

Serial Killers by Brian Innes is a book which explores the vile acts committed by 50 serial killers from around the world over the past couple of decades.

I picked this up as a kind of palate cleanser between books so to speak. I wanted to read more true crime books however my concentration has been all over the place during this quarantine. This book provides bite-sized chapters on several serial killers and their crimes. Some were known to me and many were not which have now captured my interest.

The chapters give a brief outline on who they are, past, crimes, and future. Some focus in on the behavioural psychology of certain killers to explain why they may have done what they did and what drew them to it. I like this kind of analysis and without being too much this book touches on it enough to make you want to explore further.

This book is easy to pick up at any time and I found myself going back to it a lot and searching for more information on the killers I had not heard of before. There are several familiar names such as Jack The Ripper, John Wayne Gacy, H. H. Holmes, John George Haigh, Ian Brady, Myra Hindley, Zodiac Killer, Edmund Kemper, Richard Ramirez, David Berkowitz and many more.

I think if you’re looking for a book for general information which captures your interest then this is a good one.

[Lainy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time taken to read - Over 8 days (but I left it in work and dipped in and out)

Pages - 272

Publisher - Quercus Editions Ltd

Source - Can't remember, bought from The Works or Amazon I think

Blurb from Goodreads

The terrifying story of the most monstrous serial killers through history.

Serial Killers are the most notorious and disturbing of all criminals, representing the very darkest side of humanity. Yet they endlessy fascinate and continue to capture the public's attention with their strange charisma and deadly deeds. From Jack the Ripper to Ted Bundy and the Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, these killers transfix us with their ability to commit utterly savage acts of cruelty and depravity.

Only with modern police detection methods and psychological profiling, have these figures that have existed throughout human history finally been identified in the deadliest category: serial killers. These methods, the killers' characters and their crimes are described here in fascinating and terrifyingly gripping detail.

The whole history of serial killers is brought to life in 50 chapters, including:

Herman Webster Mudget, Devil in the White City
John Christie, 10 Rillington Place murders
Zodiac Killer
Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, The Moors Murderers
Ted Bundy
Fred and Rosemary West
Jeffrey Dahmer
Aileen Wuornos
Harold Shipman, Dr Death




My Review

A collection of true crime on some of the worst atrocities to have happened to life. I knew some of the more famous case and some I hadn't heard of. Each case/killer gets a few pages with a very brief overview of their crimes and some of their upbringing and what happened to them in the end. There is minimal information on profiling, there is some detail of the crimes which is absolutely not for the faint hearted.


I think if you want to learn more about crime history then it is a good starting point, there is no in depth analysis of behavioural patterns, it is this is who they were and what they did. I don't think I could read this one one sitting, yes it is a relatively small read and the chapters are only a few pages long however it is so dark and depressing the things humans have done to one another.

A morbid history of some of the worst acts committed, short chapters so you can dip in and out as required. Well written, engaging and gives disturbing details without going into the very nitty gritty as some of the books of this type. This is my first time reading this author, I would look out for anything else he has written, 4/5 for me this time.

[Varsha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very vague. Good for noobs. For anyone interested in the genre, this book only states facts most of us would already know.

[Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two points to be made: it's pretty difficult to rate a true-crime book, but it's even more difficult to rate a true-crime book that contains the cases of many murderers. However, I feel like three stars is a pretty accurate rating based off of my experience reading this book.

I thought the author did a good job of researching most of the crimes and killers themselves. There were lots of details; some were confusing and others crystal-clear that made the effect of the murders felt by the reader. To really absorb the information I was reading - because it contained a lot of dates and details - I decided to underline and highlight all throughout the book. I found it to be really effective.

All around, I think this book is a great option for true-crime junkies such as myself. There are several well-known serial killers included and also others that I had not heard about.

[Shan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enthralled by all things murder and mystery, so this audiobook has been right up my street. I have found it very interesting to learn the ins and outs of all these different serial killers, serial rapists turned killers, genuine psychopaths of all backgrounds.

I would definitely recommend to anyone else also interested to learn about these sick people!

[Sophie Nixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a super quick summary of some of history’s most prolific serial killers then this is the book for you. It covers a range of harrowing tales from across the globe and does occasionally shift the focus to the victims although this could be done consistently. A recommended read if you are interested in true crime.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally finished this beauty. It was definitely something nice to wake up to read every morning. Just a bit of light reading before school or before I sleep. I highly recommend. It’s also very interesting and holds many facts

[Elena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don’t know if I got bored of this book or of serial killers.

Learned some interesting things but ultimately got tired of the very repetitive storytelling. Also where were the women??? I know it’s a male dominated field but come on

[Gemma Hinton · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Johnny King · Rating 4 out of 5]

I genuinely enjoyed this. It was overviews of the kill sprees. I thought it was good.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remind me not to read books like this just before I go to bed. I found myself waking up in the middle of the night after having nightmares about murderers!
Some of the crimes made for very uncomfortable reading as there is quite a lot of grisly details. But I think it was the photos in this book that creeped me out the most, there is a photo of each serial killer, sometimes ordinary looking family snapshots. Just makes you realise how good some criminals are at acting 'normal'.

This was a good introductory book about serial killers. It contains details of their crimes and victims, how they were caught and what their punishment was. I already knew a lot of the facts about the most famous serial killers, having read books about them before, but this book also contains some less well-known murderers. After reading this there are now a few more murderers that I'd like to read more about.

One thing about this book that really annoyed me was that there were grey boxes scattered on the pages containing extra information, which wouldn't normally bother me, but they were always in really odd places and I found myself having to flick pages backwards and forwards to read things in a sensible order.

This book is a good starting point for learning about serial killers, but there are plenty of other books out there with more in-depth information.

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fine to read as something to pass the time, but would not recommend to actually learn anything from.

There is an entire chapter written about a serial killer who did not exist – Lucian Staniak. He was likely invented by a crime fiction author and there is no evidence of his existence nor of his crimes, yet somehow there is an entire chapter written on his notoriety as a serial killer.

Also numerous factual errors and mistakes. Off the top of my head, ones I remember include:
• Ed Gein's chapter stating, 'Despite the fact that it was known that Ed did get along with his brother...' which should be 'did not'.
• In the chapter on Ivan Milat, one of his victim's names is misspelt (written incorrectly as Simone 'Schidl' rather than 'Schmidl').
• In the chapter on Robert Pickton, the book states that a task force was established in early 2008...then goes on to say that 'in July 1998, the task force finally got the break they needed'.

Additionally, the book is just poorly written, with multiple grammatical mistakes and odd word choices. Random apostrophes and quotation marks scattered throughout, with missing question marks when needed and odd use of commas, making it awkward to read.

[Buxom · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is moderately good, brief, informative, effective pictures but it can also be quite cluttered, the sub-points (in the grey boxes) are put in the worst places so when it can get to the middle of an important sentence that continues on the next page, and I felt annoyed because I could never decide, do I continue where I am on and go to the next sentence or is it important to read the subtext at the bottom of the page and lose momentum?

Also I couldn't quite work out why Charles Manson wasn't discussed, even though he was mentioned in the introduction.

If this sort of thing fascinates you, then i would recommend you search for a more in-depth book because if you're wondering if Bundy did go to the 'chair' Crying, or Where Ian Brady is now and how he's being treated, it wont tell you.

A final note, The book was great at showing the contrast of the british and american justice system, american serial killer David "son of Sam" Berkowitz got 365 years in jail, Where as Peter Sutcliffe The yorkshire ripper was 'Recommended' to serve at least 30 years.

[Stephanie Schrenk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great profiles of some of the most infamous/most unique serial killers in history. Some of them I had not even heard of, and others had a much more detailed description of their lives than I had previously known. Such a great book to own/read if you are into this kind of thing.

[Madison Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too gruesome but what else do you expect...still it was thoroughly detailed...

[Chris Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overview insight into various Serial Killers through the ages. A great reference book.

[Kate Mac · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dry regurgitation of facts about a handful of well known and lesser known serial killers from across history. I found this a difficult read; not because of the subject matter, but because it could have been so much better in terms of its writing style. I especially struggled with the introduction, as it contained a woeful number of errors about the field of profiling, which anyone with even a basic knowledge of its history and conception would be able to pick up on right away.

As a true crime fan who also studies psychology (with specialist interests in the media/cyber and forensic fields), I didn’t much care for the way the victims were discussed in a number of the cases. For example, Peter Sutcliffe’s victims were all WOMEN- some of whom, and for far too long- have been defined by their professions, rather than as women who did not deserve their fates. I didn’t like the use of the word “corpse” either; it’s so demeaning and dehumanising, which ironically was a trait of many of the killers discussed- dehumanisation of their victims. For me, it’s the job of a crime writer or any writer discussing such cases to be respectful of the victims and I just felt that if I had been a family member, reading this impersonal version of events would have turned my stomach.

I was familiar with the vast majority of the cases discussed in this book, but even in those cases that I knew about, I found it so hard to picture the timeline of events for each story, probably because the text was so convoluted as well; jumping here and there, almost like the writer was just reeling off a bunch of facts rather than trying to create an actual narrative that would have been much more readable. It just felt like really disorganised in spots and the terminology used was really inconsistent; one minute a victim was a corpse, then a body, then a corpse again.

I personally think that this book would have benefited from discussing half the number of killers and going into more detail on each one. I was kept sufficiently interested to keep reading though not enough that I would want to read more books by this writer; the style is way too problematic overall for me. The only plus point for me is that this book has given me a few new cases to look up and read more about, with a level of detail that I would expect from a writer who has done the research, rather than just given basic information with no further substance to it. Wouldn’t recommend.

[Carly]

The introduction at the beginning of the book is informative and interesting, not many books have a introduction that mentions real-life FBI agents like Robert Ressler or John Douglas. Both are significant FBI agents that have had interesting careers. Robert Ressler was one of the FBI agents responsible to Ted Bundy being caught. John Douglas work with the FBI in the Behavioural Science unit that created "psychological profiling" of serial killers, to categorise the characteristics, mindset, personality of serial killers. If psychological, geographical or other forms of profiling never existed, then a lot of serial killers would have not ever been discovered, so Israel Keyes (an Alaskan serial killer and someone that terrified the FBI when he was questioned about his crimes would never have been known about or caught. That is terrifying!)
Profiling is absolutely necessary to discovering a serial killer, murderers, terrorists etc..
It is not a exact science though, and a psychological profile of a serial killer, or potential murderer, mass murderer can be wrong, inaccurate.

Jack the Ripper has always interested me, but some aspects of the information available about the murders can be false, a hoax for attention or inaccurate. If Aaron Kosminski's brother Wolf, was a Jack the Ripper suspect then why was he never questioned about the murders? Why is there no information about him in the book? It's a bit frustrating, as a reader of true crime.

[Emily Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll read any genre of book, except, usually, nonfiction. I don't know why for certain, but generally, these books don't really interest me. This one, though? I couldn't put it down. This book sparks a morbid fascination in all things murder, and although its content is dark and frankly, emotionally disturbing to read, it's completely captivating.

It outlines the lives and killings of 50 of the world's most notorious serial killers, most based in the US. The facts seem to be corroborated and the book balances education and interest well, giving readers information through high-intensity and revolting stories. This book outlines the very darkest corners of humanity, and it does it excellently.

Innes' book is dark and horrifying; the stories that were told often physically repulsed me. But never have I read a nonfiction book so riveting, one with so much societal weight. Using pictures, quotations, police reports, and thrilling first-hand accounts, Innes shares the stories of some of the world's most evil, sadistic members of society. This is a book that I wouldn't recommend to the faint of heart, but for anyone who wants to know about such a horrifying truth of our population, this is the book for you.

[Caroline Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following my last read of ‘A Father’s Story’ by Lionel Dahmer, I was invested in the topic of serial killing and the psychology/facts behind it. This book had all the staples I required from a book of this nature. I liked the detail that Innes went into with every case and the focus on the victims as well as the murderers. I learnt a lot from this book as it had many chapters on killers that I either knew very little about or had never heard of before. I also liked that it focused on cases from all over the world and not just the USA or the UK.

The timeline that Innes follows is interesting to follow along with as it dates back from the late-1800s to the mid-2000s, so you get a good briefing of the overall history of studied serial killing. It’s also fascinating to see the similarities as well as the differences of how these attacks were carried out over the course of time and the changes that occurred within this area. Seeing the change in police work, investigation methods and the rise of profiling as a way of detective work throughout history is also an interesting point as well.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who has any sort of interest in this particular field as I found it an insightful read into some of the most horrific crimes ever committed.

[Danielle Pountney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did listen to this as an audiobook rather than reading the physical copy, but I don't think that would have changed my opinion in the slightest! A book that claimed to look into the serial killers who were caught for their crimes and how. Problem number one: you can't include the capture details of serial killers who were never caught (see Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac Killer). I thought this book would go into some detail but it feels like it was only skimming the surface of these individuals, sure, some got little extras added at the end more focusing on changes in policing, the use of psychology, development of databases ect...

While this could be a good introduction for someone who then wanted to go and read more about these individuals, as a whole it wasn't a very gripping book, hence why it feels like it took me a year and a day to read even though it only took 3 months. Two out of five stars just for the contridiction between the blurb and the contents and the general feeling of wanting to throw the book out the window and give in reading it.

[Jenni Coutts · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to find this book interesting, but just couldn’t. I think the problem arose because the author attempted to cover a huge number of serial killers, and as a result the opportunity for analysis, or humanising details about victims lives, was lost.
Clocking in at 261 pages, the author attempted to cover the extensive crimes of around 50 serial killers, which clearly limited his words. Unfortunately, this left the writing feeling like a laundry list of crimes, which were horrific and yet somehow made mundane by the way they were listed. It stripped out all of the horror that most definitely should be felt when reading about these crimes, and did not adequately do justice to the victims, who more than deserve to have their stories told too.
Giving a star for depth of research, but not much else.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is brief summary of the crimes, capture and history of some of the most notorious serial killers. People heavily read or educated in this fields might find this simple or surface level. However for me I thought this was an interesting. It provided top level overview of the killers and their crimes in an engaging and easily accessible writing style. This is written for the novice in a very criminal minds esc way. It was a three star from me as there was nothing original to this writer, no new research done by him, or new evaluations or analysis by him, it was more of a summary of other research. So while interesting, it was not unique nor offering anything new. Also the information about Jack the Rippers victims has since been found to be incorrect they were not all prostitutes so some factual inaccuracies.

[Lauren Crofts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative and interesting but also nothing special?

The author went into more detail than past true crime books i’ve read, so you get the full horrific picture, but I also didn’t quote gel with the author, which is astounding when you think about it as he is essentially just stating facts.

And I wish some of the chapters had had more details.
For example: Harold Shipman, his chapter was only two and a half pages long and it barely delved into his horrific killing spree, so for me, some chapters were wrapped up a little too quickly with not enough details.

But overall an interesting read nonetheless.
I learnt of some cases i had not heard of before!

TW : I think to read about some of the sickening cases within this book you need to have a strong stomach.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick synopsis of several serial killers. Some I had never heard of and that was more than okay. Those people were freaks. Ordinarily I would have finished this short of a book in an afternoon but due to the subject matter, I had to take breaks every 2-3 chapters. All those people killed and some weren't missed until their bodies were identified. How sad that is. On the bright side, some of the killers were, themselves, killed in prison, or died of a horrible disease. All that hate had to go somewhere, it poisoned them.

[J Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book which covers some killers that aren’t often spoke about but also includes more famous people such as The Night Stalker, Zodiac killer etc. I found the book very repetitive, whilst the stories were different it was hard to stay interested throughout the whole book - getting to the end I almost felt relief.

Graphic and brutal details are shared and it has given me more insight into some of the worst killers the world has seen. As a fan of true crime, overall, I would recommend to others who have an interest but just be warned that it may become quite mundane.