The Monsters We Make: Murder, Obsession, and the Rise of Criminal Profiling

by Rachel Corbett

A riveting work of true crime that tells the strange story of criminal profiling from Victorian times to our own.

Criminal profiling—the delicate art of collecting and deciphering the psychological “fingerprints” of the monsters among us—holds an almost mythological status in pop culture. But what exactly is it, does it work, and why is the American public so entranced by it? What do we gain, and endanger, from studying why people commit murder? In The Monsters We Make, author Rachel Corbett explores how criminal profiling became one of society’s most seductive and quixotic undertakings through five significant moments in its history.

Corbett follows Arthur Conan Doyle through the London alleyways where Jack the Ripper butchered his victims, depicts the tailgate outside of Ted Bundy’s execution, and visits the remote Montana cabin where Ted Kaczynski assembled his antiestablishment bombs. Along the way emerge the people who studied and unraveled these cases. We meet self-taught psychologist Henry Murray, who profiled Adolf Hitler at the request of the U.S. government and later profiled his own students—including the future Unabomber—by subjecting them to cruel humiliation experiments. We also meet the prominent Yale psychiatrist Dorothy Lewis, who ended up testifying that Bundy was too sick to stand trial. Finally, Corbett takes the story into our own time, explaining the rise of modern “predictive policing” policies through a study of one Florida family that the analytics targeted—to devastating effects.

With narrative intrigue and deft research, Corbett delves deep into the mythology and reality of criminal profilers, revealing how thin the line can be separating those who do harm and those who claim to stop it.

“Corbett [is] a gifted storyteller … A highly readable, endlessly revealing primer on the homicidal mind.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Crime, History, Psychology, Audiobook, Science

6 pages, Audible Audio

First published October 14, 2025

About the author

Rachel Corbett is the author of "The Monsters We Make" and "You Must Change Your Life," which won the 2016 Marfield Prize, the National Award for Art Writing. She is a features writer at New York Magazine and has previously written for the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, and other publications. She lives in New York.

Reviews

[Brendan (History Nerds United) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Criminal profiling: what's it good for? Rachel Corbett takes a stab at it (I'll see myself out) and comes away with a book that is an easy read, informative, but also a little light.

Corbett starts off by talking about a personal situation which led her down the path of crime investigating. What follows is mostly vignettes on various type of profiling including Jack the Ripper, Hitler, and the Unabomber. Along the way, Corbett muses about whether profiling is the powerful tool to crime solving that is often presented or just a few steps above fortune telling.

The book is highly readable. I flew through it, and if you are unsure about the genre of true crime, this is a wonderful primer. For true crime junkies, you might be left wanting more. These vignettes are very high level and I finished with a lot of questions I would have wanted answered. The last couple chapters ask some very large questions about current police tactics without in-depth analysis. Ironically, it is Corbett's skillful writing which left me wanting to hear much more. Either way, you will like what is here, and this may be a gateway to other books on the subjects she brings up.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by NetGalley and W. W. Norton and Company.)

[Jillian B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book begins with a deeply personal anecdote. The author shares how her mother’s longtime boyfriend went on to commit a heinous crime, and her own efforts to try to retroactively see the signs in this man she remembers as gentle and fun. This examination draws her to learn more about of criminal profiling, and this book is a history of that field.

This book was completely riveting. I generally have a difficult time staying interested in audiobooks (it’s just not a format that holds my attention), but this one captivated me, and I finished most of it in the span of a day. If you’re interested in psychology, quirky history, and criminal justice, you’re going to love this one too.

[Hunter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based on both the description and the introduction, I thought this book was going to be a deep-dive into what criminal profiling is, how it works, how it often does not work, and why it has so much appeal in pop culture. What this book actually is is what you could describe as five case studies of criminal profiling starting with Jack the Ripper and going through the 2010s.

There were a lot of points where way more detail was given on a topic that was only tangentially related (such as the personal life of a psychologist who worked on understanding personality) than felt justified in a book that is less than 300 pages, and there were many other points where something that felt much more relevant to the topic of the book (such as the studies debunking a lot of the science behind criminal profiling) were only mentioned in passing.

On the whole, this book took a really interesting topic and failed to do it justice and took a very interesting angle (the author's personal connection to violent crime and her resulting interest in the motivations behind it) and kept it almost entirely in a brief introduction.

[Krystelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was a fascinating look into the world of criminal profiling and how it has evolved through time. We start with a study of some of the trappings of psychology and the case of Jack The Ripper. This slowly meanders through to Sherlock Holmes and the concept of looking at someone to understand their propensity for crime or violence, until we move closer to the modern era.

All the case files in this book are well researched, although perhaps not as well expanded as they could have been. The real talent of the author lies in the way that all the cases are connected and flow into each other- it makes for really compulsive reading.

The way that we get a personal connection and an explanation of true crime and why we have such a fixation with it was also really good, and it made it clear what the intention of the book was. Most importantly I learnt some bits and pieces that I wasn’t aware of before, which I always see as the most important thing in a non-fiction book.

[Erin Clemence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

Expected publication date: Oct. 14, 2025

“The Monsters We Make: Murder, Obsession, and the Rise of Criminal Profiling” is a non-fiction true crime novel by Rachel Corbett that examines how law enforcement has used criminal profiling in six prolific murder cases. From Jack the Ripper, when policing itself was in its infancy, to a profiler’s perspective on Adolf Hitler to the Teds (Bundy and Kaczynski), Corbett expands on the use of criminal profiling and how it was used in each case.

Corbett has a fascinating personal history that she discusses in the introduction, which is how she ended up focusing her work on serial murderers. Her biological father is in jail and, when she was younger, a family friend was arrested and jailed for allegedly murdering his ex-girlfriend. It is no wonder that Corbett is intrigued by the criminal mind, and she writes a captivating book about the most appealing part (to me, anyway) of police investigation- criminal profiling. Each section takes on a prolific crime in history and, although many of these grisly murders are infamous, Corbett managed to provide some relatively unknown information from each case that caught my interest.

Through each case, Corbett gives the basic details of the crime itself and then delves into the profiling aspect, whether it was done by police or by members of the community. In Jack the Rippers case, Corbett examines how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle profiled the serial killer, looking at it from the perspective of Doyle’s literary hero, Sherlock Holmes.

Corbett doesn’t ignore the negative aspects of criminal profiling, either, particularly how profiling in general led to the arrest of many young people in Florida, simply for where they lived, who they hung around with, or what race they identified with. It is obvious to see how some in the police force could use profiling to their advantage, but, for the most part, it serves a purpose in discovering the details of a particular suspect.

Criminal Minds is one of the most streamed shows on television, and if you’ve seen it, it’s easy to understand why. Criminal profiling, identifying a suspect description and personality based on a variety of factors, including the crime scene, is a fascinating aspect of policing (for me, anyway). As sorry as I am for Corbett’s emotional and heartbreaking upbringing, I am grateful for her well-researched and well-written true-crime book, “The Monsters We Make”.

[Adi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5! The length of this was perfect in totality but I do wish there were a few more examples included because most of the ones that were are well known serial killers (so I felt like I didn’t learn as much as I could’ve). An interesting read for someone interested in true crime but nothing earth shattering!

[Susy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars
Not sure how I feel about this one. It started off strong and was interesting enough but it did lose my interest a bit in the second half. And 2 days later almost nothing seems to have stuck with me...

Topic 7
Writing Style 6
Execution 5
Pace 5
Setup 5
Enjoyment/Engrossment 5
Narration 7

[Amy Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little companion piece for anyone as obsessed with the Mindhunter series as I was, but it's certainly not a deep dive into the subject. More of a greatest hits of profiling history. Enjoyable but light.

[Esha MacDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read for anyone interested in the behavioral science of criminal profiling and learning how media and authors have influence and assisted in some of the worlds most prolific serial killer cases.

Perfect for any true crime buff!

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short history and current-day assessment of criminal profiling that separates fact from myth, told through some of True Crime's most well-known (but misunderstood) case studies. A must for anyone interested in True Crime or the risks posed by predictive policing. Even if you're interested in neither, this will make you more media literate. This will stay with me for a long time.

[Sue Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Which came first.... the monster? Or the man?

A great powerful wee book that explores the idea that monsters are made and not usually born that way. Great examples of various ways that break a person and the inevitable look at why they do what they do. I loved it!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded down.

This book covers five case studies in criminal profiling, from Jack the Ripper to the Unabomber, and I found it both interesting and well-researched. I appreciated that the author shared her own experiences at the start and explained what drew her to the topic. The story about her mother’s ex-boyfriend actually reminded me of something that happened in my own family. I’ve always been more curious about why criminals commit crimes than about the details of what they did, and that’s the main focus of this book. Overall, I found it interesting, but the narrative's jumping around within each chapter sometimes confused me. One example of this was in the chapter about the Unabomber; she talks about how his brother and his wife turned in some of his papers to the authorities, which led them to catch him. Then it jumped into one of the criminal profilers on the case and his experience, and I was left wondering what happened when they caught him, which was explored several paragraphs later. The flow of thought just felt a bit jarring and confusing at times.

[Sam Sebesta · Rating 3 out of 5]

The synopsis of this one had me thinking the actual book was going to be written a little different. While I thought we'd be taking a deep dive into the psyche of criminal profiling, we instead hear about different headliner killers and one unfortunate person who seemed to be bred for trouble by the police. Definitely entertaining, but not what I anticipated.

[Sabrina Winters · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final chapter of this is phenomenal, but the rest of the book boils down to a run through of infamous serial killers (Unabomber, Bundy, etc) with only a little insight on the profiling. I think the author could have turned the last chapter on the harm of predictive policing and turned it into a more effective long form article.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review of several well-known cases and a couple of new-to-me cases. The links to criminal profiling were different in most of the stories, often just brief discussion of what I think of as "criminal profiling" - which is an FBI expert giving the age, race, marital status, living conditions, and habits of the perpetrator. Most people who read and watch true crime know that this has been largely discredited, but there are other aspects of criminal profiling (now called behavior analysis), such as analysis of word use in writing samples, that have actually helped solve crimes. I didn't get a lot of new information here, but it was a quick and interesting read.

[tilda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okeiiii öööö. Mulle jäi ihan täysin auki, että mikä tän kirjan pointti oli. Tää oli sekava ja kaikkiin aiheisiin paneuduttiin tosi pintapuolisesti. Kirjan aiheeseen vähääkään perehtyneelle tuskin tarjoaa mitään uutta tai mullistavaa

[Caro Vazquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is such an interesting take on profiling and explains how sometimes the line between profiler and criminal can be blurred. It runs you through the history of profiling and how in our attempts to understand some of the most monstruos people in the world, we can sometimes end up creating new monsters ourselves. Super interesting read!

[Ines Locker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is much more than a typical true crime book. It is more literary than a paperback thriller and more thrilling than a historical or academic text. It is both intellectually complex and a great read. The chapters are loosely linked stories that move chronologically through time. The last one is an absolute heartbreaker. Some of them are about figures you've heard of before (i.e. Ted Bundy) but there are many new insights and by putting them in the context of profiling it made me rethink what I thought I knew about these pop cultural tales. The author considers profiling from a broad lens and lets readers come to their own conclusions about the stories she presents, which I appreciated.

[Angela Messaglia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost let the hold lapse on this one, but quickly became engrossed in the recounting of so many prolific criminals and the Justice system that either shaped them, or was shaped by them.

[Kendra Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75- An interesting audio book and great for people that want to move away from true crime podcasts to true crime books.

[Aileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not the book I was expecting (in a good way)— but that last chapter on Pasco County and their “intelligence-led policing” sure did make my blood boil.

[Mary Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is just a series of anecdotes with no coherent thread and no substantive discussion of the science or practice of criminal profiling.

[Michelle Starks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off strong but then quickly fizzled. It seemed as if the author lost direction ans she ended up telling a bunch of anecedocotal stories for the rest of the book. Disappointing.

[Saf Salvador · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you w.w. Norton and company for the ARC.

This book started off really strong and couldn't put it down and was very intrigued by her personal experience with someone accused of murder.

The chapter of Jack the ripper was well written and informative from perspective I hadn't heard previously.

Then it starts to get into the waffling stages unfortunately.

Some parts about Murray and his experiments are an interesting read but just after halfway through the book i feel as though it became less informative, less interesting and I felt myself getting bored from the waffling.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't not recommend.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was almost an anti-cop banger and I was here for it; she left the most interesting topic for last and ran out of steam.

[Tomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this to be a strangely frustrating book that overall seemed to have no thesis or animating idea. It reads a bit like a scrapbook of notes on several famous cases (primarily Jack the Ripper, Ted Bundy, and the Unabomber) that are all sort of interesting on their own, but don't really seem to be connected. The book spends a lot of time on Henry Murray, his personal life, and his work on different pyschological tests and studies, without really linking them to criminal profiling in any meaningful way. I can't say I actually learned very much about criminal profiling at all, and until the last chapter, I'm not sure if I could have even told you if the book was pro-or-anti behavioral science/criminal profiling as a field. I felt confused throughout as to what the point of it all was, and it's mostly the inherent interest of the subjects that keeps this engaging.

[Helen Frost · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read. There are a mixture of case types examined, from historic and very infamous like Jack the Ripper to the more contemporary and lesser known. At face value this seems like good coverage but it didn’t sit entirely easily with me and felt a little disjointed. Maybe that’s just me. I’m tempted to say I enjoyed and learned more from the lesser knowns as Hitler and Jack the Ripped feel a little over visited and repetitive.
The level of detail is good and there are some interesting insights into the human psyche and what personal background factors can influence and instigate offending but I’m fairly well versed in the area so nothing of great surprise.
Definitely worth a read but not 100% one for me.

[Cheyanne Davison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I looked forward to delving in to the history or criminal profiling and how it has affected the catching of murderers and criminals today. The history of how mystery authors affected police forces and finding criminals for good and for bad i found very interesting and was a very good introduction to this book. However, majority of this book focussed on Henry Murray and his life (which a lot of did not seem very applicable to the subject) and how he affected criminal profiling or basically created certain criminals. In addition, when mentioning other research or individuals the author would share random facts like that the person has hairless cats…. That seemed very random and unimportant to me. Maybe someone else can find the importance in it. You don’t get to the real grit of the rise of criminal profiling until halfway in and only in relation to very well known cases related to Murray. The last chapter discussed the negative affects of profiling in one specific county.