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Vile: Peeking Under the Skin of Murderers
Experience 42 horrific stories about the world's more extreme killers in this comprehensive tome of grisly lusts and depraved pleasures of people who started out human and became something else . Read not only what they did, but why they did it—often from the killer's own words. Meet legendary murderers Jack the Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Henry Lee Lucas, and Ed Gein. Become intimate with lesser knowns, such as Edmund Kemper, Louis Wagner, and Carl Panzram. Bear witness to depraved sexual sadists Albert Fish, Gary Heidnik, and Richard Ramirez. Discover the insanity of Joseph Kallinger, “The Shoemaker,” Tsutomu Miyazaki, Japan's demented child killer, and Gordon Stewart Northcott, twisted ax murderer and pedophile. Take a sinister trip to where violence is the beginning and death is a welcome release.
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
176 pages, Hardcover
First published July 22, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 4, 2016
I'm completely biased. I wrote the damn thing.
September 29, 2016
I love this book. Well written, informative, filled with some of the worst killers the world has seen.
Benjamin S. Jeffries tells their stories, including their childhood and adolescent years leading up to when they began their horrific crimes and how they were caught and brought to justice.
From Albert Fish to Louis Wagner to Ed Gein and more in between plus small bios of other killers at the end of each persons chapter, it is an enthralling book for all who are interested in the subject.
I will say again that I love this book just because I can!
*Huge thanks to Benjamin S. Jeffries, Schiffer Publishing Ltd and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review*
Benjamin S. Jeffries tells their stories, including their childhood and adolescent years leading up to when they began their horrific crimes and how they were caught and brought to justice.
From Albert Fish to Louis Wagner to Ed Gein and more in between plus small bios of other killers at the end of each persons chapter, it is an enthralling book for all who are interested in the subject.
I will say again that I love this book just because I can!
*Huge thanks to Benjamin S. Jeffries, Schiffer Publishing Ltd and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review*
January 15, 2025
Super well-written and informative about some of the most vile serial killers in the world. I love the way it was structured which kept it so intriguing along with the darkness of all the stories. So sad to hear that this author passed away!
August 29, 2016
I received this book from Netgalley in enchange for an honest review.
Eerie yet disturbingly brilliant.
The stories are as varied and different as they can be, although there obviously are some similarities because of the psychological profile found in most serial killers. It is broader than most books similar to this one, because of the wide range of times and places included. There even is one man currently awaiting trial!
There are some chapters on famous killers, but most of them are about lesser known ones and I greatly enjoyed that aspect because the easy path would have been to stick to the killers everybody knows about and would attract a certain specific public.
I found it thoughtful that there was a decision to include an in memoriam appendix of the victims and I think all books on this kinds of subjects should "take a leaf out of this book".
Another thing I found resourceful was the inclusion of short accounts of killers at the end of each chapter on stories I image provided not as much material to work with. And one of the creepiest things were the quotes from the perpetrators at the beginning of each chapter. Goosebumps...
It is evident that the content of this book was thoroughly researched because it includes quotes from the killers themselves as well as from their families and acquaintances, information about declarations, newspaper articles, public records, some photographs of the killers and places, and anything that helped make the reader feel he was seeing, hearing and feeling what had happened.
Creepier still was the fact that the comprehensive account of back story and the events after their apprehension enables the reader to get inside the mind of the killer, or rather "under their skin" as the subtitle reads.
Eerie yet disturbingly brilliant.
The stories are as varied and different as they can be, although there obviously are some similarities because of the psychological profile found in most serial killers. It is broader than most books similar to this one, because of the wide range of times and places included. There even is one man currently awaiting trial!
There are some chapters on famous killers, but most of them are about lesser known ones and I greatly enjoyed that aspect because the easy path would have been to stick to the killers everybody knows about and would attract a certain specific public.
I found it thoughtful that there was a decision to include an in memoriam appendix of the victims and I think all books on this kinds of subjects should "take a leaf out of this book".
Another thing I found resourceful was the inclusion of short accounts of killers at the end of each chapter on stories I image provided not as much material to work with. And one of the creepiest things were the quotes from the perpetrators at the beginning of each chapter. Goosebumps...
It is evident that the content of this book was thoroughly researched because it includes quotes from the killers themselves as well as from their families and acquaintances, information about declarations, newspaper articles, public records, some photographs of the killers and places, and anything that helped make the reader feel he was seeing, hearing and feeling what had happened.
Creepier still was the fact that the comprehensive account of back story and the events after their apprehension enables the reader to get inside the mind of the killer, or rather "under their skin" as the subtitle reads.
September 1, 2016
Book Review originally published here: http://www.iheartreading.net/reviews/...
In Vile: Peeking Under the Skin of Murderers, author Benjamin S. Jeffries investigates 21 serial murderers throughout history, from Jack the Ripper to Albert Fish. There seems to be no real reason why some murderers get included and others are left out, except perhaps the gruesome nature of their crimes – only the most vile killers get their case featured in this book.
Each chapter focuses on a different murder. Despite only being a few pages long, the chapters do pack the most interesting info about the case, and quickly dives into the murderer’s past, their psychology, the people they targeted, and how they eventually got caught and were tried. Most of the cases were familiar to me, but I did learn some new facts, and for the ones I already knew, the book refreshened my memory.
Some chapters were stronger than others. I wasn’t particularly fond of the Jack the Ripper chapter – the author did a far better job describing the crimes in which the murderer was actually caught than he did with this unsolved case.
The quick one-paragraph profiles of murders of the past at the end of the chapter were a nice addition, but I didn’t always see the link between that murderer and the case presented, and some paragraphs didn’t really say much while others summed up events nicely. Overall, a good read if you want to know more about these horrible serial murderers, and it inspired me to look up more about some of the cases I wasn’t familiar with.
In Vile: Peeking Under the Skin of Murderers, author Benjamin S. Jeffries investigates 21 serial murderers throughout history, from Jack the Ripper to Albert Fish. There seems to be no real reason why some murderers get included and others are left out, except perhaps the gruesome nature of their crimes – only the most vile killers get their case featured in this book.
Each chapter focuses on a different murder. Despite only being a few pages long, the chapters do pack the most interesting info about the case, and quickly dives into the murderer’s past, their psychology, the people they targeted, and how they eventually got caught and were tried. Most of the cases were familiar to me, but I did learn some new facts, and for the ones I already knew, the book refreshened my memory.
Some chapters were stronger than others. I wasn’t particularly fond of the Jack the Ripper chapter – the author did a far better job describing the crimes in which the murderer was actually caught than he did with this unsolved case.
The quick one-paragraph profiles of murders of the past at the end of the chapter were a nice addition, but I didn’t always see the link between that murderer and the case presented, and some paragraphs didn’t really say much while others summed up events nicely. Overall, a good read if you want to know more about these horrible serial murderers, and it inspired me to look up more about some of the cases I wasn’t familiar with.
August 17, 2016
Hmmm nothing much to see here....
I've always liked true crime stories but this book missed a beat. Some of the stories are incredibly short; just one and a half pages long. The sections about the most infamous serial killers contain nothing new, nothing that you can't find on wikipedia or across the internet, no new insights whatsoever. Thankfully, its not a sensationalist book, so there are no gory details, nothing graphic or sickening. Just a run of the mill book with articles about all the serial killers you probably know about already. Meh.
I've always liked true crime stories but this book missed a beat. Some of the stories are incredibly short; just one and a half pages long. The sections about the most infamous serial killers contain nothing new, nothing that you can't find on wikipedia or across the internet, no new insights whatsoever. Thankfully, its not a sensationalist book, so there are no gory details, nothing graphic or sickening. Just a run of the mill book with articles about all the serial killers you probably know about already. Meh.
August 27, 2016
The author has definitely done his research, digging into the backgrounds of these gruesome monsters. The Boogeyman is real, and Jeffries proves it with each detailed chapter, a few that even contain a photo of the victim or the murderer. Well written, it was hard to put the book down, and hard to get back to sleep after a nightmare woke me up. This book is definitely not a bedtime story.
October 6, 2022
*WARNING* the contents of this book should be read by !nature readers only!
"Vile" is a perfect title for this book because the people and crimes that were written are just that....VILE.
I think this book is disgusting, but informative. I don't want to say I enjoyed it, because.... ICK! I did find it interesting to get background on some famous and not famous REAL monsters.
I would caution readers because some of these chapters are very detailed a vivid as to what these monsters did to men, women, and children.
"Vile" is a perfect title for this book because the people and crimes that were written are just that....VILE.
I think this book is disgusting, but informative. I don't want to say I enjoyed it, because.... ICK! I did find it interesting to get background on some famous and not famous REAL monsters.
I would caution readers because some of these chapters are very detailed a vivid as to what these monsters did to men, women, and children.
January 13, 2019
I love how this book is structured and written. Each chapter draws one in and refuses to let go.
February 27, 2024
Yikes! There sure are some sicko people in this world!!
September 27, 2016
A chilling set of stories about the most vile set of characters ever written about.
Don't read into the night as I did!
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Schiffer Publishing via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
Don't read into the night as I did!
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Schiffer Publishing via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.
August 22, 2016
Well researched and very informative. Most of the murders in this book are well known to the reader but there are also some I haven't heard/read about. I really liked the book, it was well written and I was so creeped out sometimes that I could only read one chapter a day, if I not wanted to have nightmares about the cruelness and brutality of these murders.
****ARC received in exchange for my honest review***
****ARC received in exchange for my honest review***
February 9, 2021
Wished some of the stories were a little longer, but I enjoy reading about serial killers. Very interesting.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews