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The Evil Within
Throughout his time as a murder squad detective, Trevor Marriott has seen firsthand the wanton slayings and butcheries that have been committed by both men and women who have warped, depraved and sadistic minds.
In this fascinating and chilling book, he examines the world's most notorious serial killers and the despicable crimes they committed. From William McDonald (the 'Sydney Mutilator') to 'Dusseldorf Vampire' Peter Kurten, Steve Wright (the 'Suffolk Strangler') and the USA's satanic Ripper Crew, these are the horrifying true stories of serial murder from across the globe.
In this fascinating and chilling book, he examines the world's most notorious serial killers and the despicable crimes they committed. From William McDonald (the 'Sydney Mutilator') to 'Dusseldorf Vampire' Peter Kurten, Steve Wright (the 'Suffolk Strangler') and the USA's satanic Ripper Crew, these are the horrifying true stories of serial murder from across the globe.
Audible Audio
First published November 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 24, 2016
Bah! Goddamn serial killers. I thought this would be a book on the psychology and such but it ended up just being a list. /sigh
November 21, 2014
Not worth a single minute of your time. A reprint of a number of high profile cases, adding nothing new to the information already widely available. Author lists what, where, when and how. The book was very basic and disappointing. Not a single attempt is made to explore the psychology of these killers. You are better off reading about these cases on Wikipedia.
April 17, 2014
Surprised of some of those included and those missed out, though I suppose you can't include all the serial killers in the world.
December 24, 2016
The horrors of serial killers listed with all the grace of a grade school primer.
February 5, 2019
The blurb of The Evil Within makes it sound like the author has professional knowledge of serial killers and will be examining the crimes from his perspective, presumably making observations about the killers' motives and psychology.
Instead, we mostly get a brief biography of each killer's childhood followed by a list of the dates of his murders and the name, age, and profession of the victim. The kind of information you could pick from Wikipedia at a glance.
Occasionally the book lives up to its potential, enriching the bland biographies and lists of murders with quotes from the murderer's confession and details about the court cases. But this is the exception rather than the rule, and at least 80% of the book feels like filler.
The author also has a bizarre attachment to the word "buggery," using it constantly. I keep feeling I've been transported back to the 80s.
I'm sure there are MUCH better books out there for people interested in true crime.
Instead, we mostly get a brief biography of each killer's childhood followed by a list of the dates of his murders and the name, age, and profession of the victim. The kind of information you could pick from Wikipedia at a glance.
Occasionally the book lives up to its potential, enriching the bland biographies and lists of murders with quotes from the murderer's confession and details about the court cases. But this is the exception rather than the rule, and at least 80% of the book feels like filler.
The author also has a bizarre attachment to the word "buggery," using it constantly. I keep feeling I've been transported back to the 80s.
I'm sure there are MUCH better books out there for people interested in true crime.
February 17, 2021
Most subjects in this book are well known and their crimes have been reported on many times over. This book seemed to focus on the deep depravity and intricate detail of the crimes, and it was truly disgusting to listen to at times. Just a rapid fire succession of most horrific acts committed on human beings, delivered in a matter-of-fact, nigh emotionless way. It quickly introduced the victims, without giving much of a backstory, yet put great effort in listing the horrors that befell these victims. Some might find this approach cold, others will enjoy the compressed nature of information that's presented. It's about the crimes, not the people. How to rate a book that does what it says but wasn't exactly fun to read...?
January 30, 2021
All topics in the book are copied from Wikipedia or Murderpedia.com, nothing new, nothing documented by the author. What can we say? Let's search for topics on Wikipedia, write a book and publish it. Easy money. Mr. Trevor Marriott, don't worry, you're not the only one doing this.
December 29, 2022
I liked the structure of each chapter focusing on a different country, and we are presented with a wide variety of cases. Personally, I'd have liked more depth to each though.
April 30, 2017
I bought this book as an audio through audible. I've decided just to copy that review for you here:
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
I'd like to explain my odd rating here. The Narrator was good in most things, but her mispronunciation of several proper nouns drove me insane. If you're getting paid to read a book, you might bother to learn that Carnegie is pronounced Car-na-gee, not Car-Neg-gee. Or Maryland is pronounced Mer-i-land not Merry-land. Just those little things that get under my skin.
The layout of a these high profile cases is well done and interesting. On the other hand I found myself increasingly annoyed at the repetition of certain words. When I was was down to 5:10 minutes left I actually wrote down the time stamps for the next half our of every time the narrator said the word however. The answer 10. 10 times the word however was used in a 30 minute period. It almost made me want to start the book over so I could count them all, but decided it wasn't worth the effort.
To sum it up, overall this book was enough of an annoyance I doubt I will ever purchase another book by this author or read by this narrator. On the other hand the overall research was well done and the book is informative and interesting.
What other book might you compare The Evil Within to and why?
I would compare the work of this book with Jack Rosewood, only Rosewood is a better author.
Did the narration match the pace of the story?
Yes.
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Evil Within?
None. But I would buy the author a thesaurus and tell him to find ways to reword all of the repetition of however, moreover, and a few other words that are repeated so often it starts to be nails on a chalk board.
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
I'd like to explain my odd rating here. The Narrator was good in most things, but her mispronunciation of several proper nouns drove me insane. If you're getting paid to read a book, you might bother to learn that Carnegie is pronounced Car-na-gee, not Car-Neg-gee. Or Maryland is pronounced Mer-i-land not Merry-land. Just those little things that get under my skin.
The layout of a these high profile cases is well done and interesting. On the other hand I found myself increasingly annoyed at the repetition of certain words. When I was was down to 5:10 minutes left I actually wrote down the time stamps for the next half our of every time the narrator said the word however. The answer 10. 10 times the word however was used in a 30 minute period. It almost made me want to start the book over so I could count them all, but decided it wasn't worth the effort.
To sum it up, overall this book was enough of an annoyance I doubt I will ever purchase another book by this author or read by this narrator. On the other hand the overall research was well done and the book is informative and interesting.
What other book might you compare The Evil Within to and why?
I would compare the work of this book with Jack Rosewood, only Rosewood is a better author.
Did the narration match the pace of the story?
Yes.
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Evil Within?
None. But I would buy the author a thesaurus and tell him to find ways to reword all of the repetition of however, moreover, and a few other words that are repeated so often it starts to be nails on a chalk board.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews