The 10 Worst Serial Killers

by Victor McQueen

A gripping analysis of the world's ten worst serial killers. They have been selected not simply because of their high 'body counts': these killers are the ones who have most terrified the communities on which they preyed, and in some cases changed the history of the nations in which they operated. This collection focuses solely on the true stories behind the very worst real-life serial killers from across the globe.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime

192 pages, Paperback

Published March 15, 2017

Reviews

[Scarlet Cameo · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Some killer seem to get lost in the passage of time, or the rise and fall of empires; or perhaps we forget them because we need to, so terrible are their crimes”

El trabajo que Victor McQueen realizó con este libro es diferente a los ya típicos listados de asesinos seriales, poniendo algo de distancia de los Estados Unidos damos la vuelta al mundo de la mano de la muerte:

• Colombia, “La Bestia”, el asesino más prolífico que ha existido
• Australia, “The Night Caller”
• Alemania, “El vampiro de Dusseldorf”
• Japón, “El Otaku asesino”
• Canada, “El criador de cerdos asesino”
• URSS, “El carnicero de Rostov”
• Reino Unido, “El estrangulador de Rillington”
• África, “El asesino del alfabeto”
• Estados Unidos, “El asesino del Zodiaco”
• Tailandia/India, “La serpierte”

Todos ellos cambiaron a sus comunidades, rompieron la concepción tradicional de lo que es un asesino y modificaron las leyes. Igualmente mostraron la ineficiencia, aun presente, en la búsqueda y castigo de un asesino (La Bestia, con al menos 200 asesinatos confirmados, y la sospecha de que cometió más de 400, aún vive y puede salir de prisión en cualquier momento debido a legislación de su país), pero principalmente muestra una breve reseña de lo que hicieron y, de saberse, de quienes fueron.

No se profundiza en toda la búsqueda y, en su caso, captura, sino que presenta lo que fue más relevante para cada caso, lo que les permitieron esconderse y los errores que los llevaron a ser encontrados.

La narrativa es sencilla y directa, presenta los detalles justos para entender el alcance de los vicios de cada uno de estos hombres, hasta donde llego su perversidad y, en algunos casos, lo que representaba.

“Be careful or you might run into someone crazy, and dangerous, a person more depraved tan you could even dream of”

A digital copy of this book was provided by NetGalley

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great twist a the normal "Let's List Killers" sub-genre of crime non-fiction. There are many, many "List" books out there but they all seem to talk about the same people and thus can feel like carbon copies of each other. This book is different in that the author didn't pick the killers with the highest body count or who had the longest career in killing. Instead McQueen assembled a list of killers who, in his opinion, created the most terror in their communities and effected the world the most.
This book is feels very unified and concise. Each chapter is devoted to a single killer and each killer feels original unto himself, so there's no confusion or blending of narratives. The chapters aren't unduly detailed or analytical, but still give the reader a very good sense of the story and why each killer was picked as a Top 10 Worst.
Any fan of crime non-fiction will enjoy this one.

**I received this copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

[Lee McKerracher · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, written by an ex-police officer, features short accounts of 10 infamous serial killers. Due to the brevity of the book you will not get a lot of detail nor background into the various criminals or the circumstances behind these crimes.

You will get a brief overview of each profiled criminal, what they did and some insights into the various investigations that led to most of them being eventually caught.

It is a quick read but I would like more detail and analysis into the psychological make up of these people, more information on their victims and also more in-depth research into the investigations, including some of the mistakes that were made.

[Paula Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book

[Danny Deshong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book nailed the subject category on the head. I found the choice of serial killers to be picked well and some of the descriptions of the murders made me cringe. I also have never heard of most of the serial killers mentioned. Pick up this book and read by candlelight in the dark if you dare.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the idea of having multiple stories in one place. I have studied criminals and serial killers and already have a lot of knowledge about some cases. I found some of these cases to be lesser known to me, and therefore made me want to read it. The chapters are consise and have a lot.of information without any extra padding around the story. They are to the point and have all the information you need to understand the case and connect with what it is explaining. If you have an interest in criminals and serial killers this is definitely a good book to choose. However, if you have a lot of prior knowledge you kay want to check the names of the killers covered to check it wont overlap your current knowledge!

[Jared Gullage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I thought it was intriguing, like the Cannibal Book, but not quite as good as that one to me. A few typos bothered me, and I never got quite an idea of what their rubric was for why a serial killer was worse than another. They started the book with the one having the highest body count and seemed to end with one who was hardest to catch? So I wasn't sure exactly in what order they discussed them. But it was fascinating to learn about these people. Horror movies about dangerous psychopaths seem, to the uninitiated, outlandish and far-fetched, but reading a book like this awakened me to the fact that reality is so much worse than movies. There truly are people in this world who are monsters in human skin.

[Kara Mauerhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love me a good serial killer story, but 10 Worst Serial Killers is not good. After trudging through the book in an evening, desperate to just get it finished, I was inspired to leave my first review and am honestly surprised at the positive comments on here. I’m giving it a two because the content could have produced a good book, but the writing is so bad. Go ahead and pass on this one. There’s got to be something out there with similar content that doesn’t give the impression that it was written by a middle-schooler. Sorry Victor. Maybe someday I’ll give your book about psychopaths a try and be pleasantly surprised, but today will not be that day.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh, what a collection here. If you want the absolute contrary to pre-Christmas kitsch please pick up this awesome page turning thriller. Famous murder and their nicknames: Cubilles, the beast (with reference to the Monster of the Andes), the Night Caller, the Vampire of Dusseldorf (featured in Fritz Lang's movie M), the Otaku Murderer, the pig farm killer (the grizzliest details you don't want to read, believe me), the Rostov Ripper, the Rillington Strangler, the ABC Killer, the Zodiac Killer (there is a new Netflix docu out there), the Serpent. Many great photos of the murderers and a book you won't put down. Real horrors. Highly recommended!

[Bianca Nagac · Rating 4 out of 5]

More gruesome to be read than watched. Along the pages, what became more interesting was how the political environment and the society shaped the minds of these hideous-minded individuals to commit unbelievable crimes. Their stories tell us that the most dangerous men usually appear normal and kind. Their stories teach us to be more cautious with our actions.

[Cassie Hollenbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was insane. Some of them I had never heard of prior to reading this book. I love true crime and this one was very well done. A lot of the lesser known criminals were picked, which is a good thing because I don’t like reading about the same ones over and over again.

[Nina Test · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creeped out and grossed out and I love it

[Hillery Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

[Billie-jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book

[Laura avery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read. A few I hadn't heard of. Physiological intrigue and History in one book.

[Mohd Nordin Che Omar · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a chilling and horrendous story of the psychopaths who murdered the innocents, young and restless as well as the elderly.

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a true crime fanatic i thought i knew all the serial killers, i only knew of one in this book so 9 new stories i learned about.

[Laura avery]

Quick read. A few I hadn't heard of. Physiological intrigue and History in one book.

[CL · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC received from: Netgalley

Rating: 5*

One-Sentence Summary: The title kind of gives it away

Review: Maybe it's the Criminal Minds fan in me but there's just something so eerily gripping about serial killers.

This book focuses in on what the author considers to be the 10 Worst serial killers and tells their stories in an simple yet engaging narrative style. The killers chosen come from all walks of life, from across the globe, from many different eras and it's never not scary about how they held down seemingly normal lives whilst on their killing sprees.

Probably not one to read just before bed.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading about serial killers, what makes them tick, what motivates them and why they did what they did and this book immediately attracted me. It does say that it is not the highest number of murders, but the 10 worst in the authors view in terms of attacked and murders that were viewed to be some of the worst going and I do have to agree. The chapters are concise and full of detail and I really enjoyed reading the book. Look forward to more from this author having read two books from him now and thoroughly enjoyed them both.

[Jori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing and story telling. I feel that some writings on serial killers have an extreme bias and he wrote this with very little bias. He used evidence and even gave theories from different perspectives. I was misled by the title which is totally on me. The "10 worst" could be so many different people that I thought that "10 worst" meant the "10 most kills" or something to that effect. I was wrong and he chose wisely. They were the 10 that had negative effects on communities and caught international attention for their horrendous crimes.