The Myth of the Chosen One

by K. Sohail

The case of Javed Iqbal, an alleged serial killer, attracted great attention around the world. Killing of even one person is a heinous act, but here is a man attributed with about a hundred cold-blooded murders of persons of young and tender ages. In the examination of this world renown case, Dr. Sohail has taken pains to examine this shocking episode from the point of view of a psychiatrist. As William J. McCormack, Chief of Police (Ret.), Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, Canada says, "During my career on the Homicide Squad of the Metropolitan Toronto Police, I solved over 100 murders but never have I seen a crime so riddled with unanswered questions as this one. The entire question of the rise of serial killers across the world should be everyone's concern including their upbringing, psychology and environment, but most importantly, the increasing danger they present to society and to those who dedicate themselves "To Serve and Protect." Sohail has travelled a long journey in distance and depth to explore and uncover the motivation and working of the troubled mind of a killer. In his book, drawing from world literature, he skillfully presents the analysis of experts in the field of human abnormal behavior. His own interpretation of the killer’s state of mind, which is based on his years of experience in the helping profession, creates an insightful and absorbing story.

Genres: Crime

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Anshika Goyal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a long time ago so don't remember much details. I discovered this when I was researching on infamous serial killers in the east. Found a man who killed 100 children. It goes into the details of the crime and criminal quite nicely but got a bit too scientific for my taste. Overall, a decent pick.
3.5/5🌟

[Zunain Faisal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book, my subjective critique is that I'd have preferred the entire book's content to be on Dr. Sohail's encounter with Javed Iqbal rather than half of it. The psychiatric analysis was definitely interesting to read, but not nearly as much as his interview with the person in question.

[Ather Sheheryar · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the few efforts in my country aiming at finding why people descend into serial killer Javed, in Lahore, Pakistan. Dr. Khalid Sohail, spared his time and undergo torment to get the serial killers. At least, i got convinced that until situations and milieux are not fixed, such evil things would keep taking place. I have read the Urdu translation. It was so kind of him to leave his routine in Canada and come to country like Pakistan to try to blaze the trail of finding reasons why people become criminals.

[Nisha Rawat]

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