The FBI estimate that there are between 25 and 50 serial killers at large in the USA at any given time. But the truth is few people kill. We occasionally say we could kill someone, but that is usually hyperbole. Most of us can imagine what it might be like to be driven to a senseless act of violence in an unendurable situation. To kill once is one thing; to kill over and over again is quite another. What drives these people who kill and kill again? Are they evil or are they mad? Serial killing is a worldwide phenomenon and no two killers are alike. Each one comes with a grisly though compelling tale that takes the reader to the darkest reaches of the human psyche.
What a disturbing book that I just could not put down. This author really digs into each killer and their crimes, with some parts absolutely horrifying. What these victims went through, it's devastating.
This is a fantastic book for all readers who like crime - very detailed with a range of different serial killers inside.
Interesting book, although there were a fair number of typos and mistakes which made me feel the text hadn't been proof read. I knew about a number of the cases but there were some new ones which is always satisfying to see. It would've been 4 star if it weren't for the editing problem.
This book is definitely a difficult read because there were points where I was just sat in shock at what these people did to their victims but it’s also really interesting to then theorise about their motives whether they were random or rooted in other experiences.
The writing is awful and they basically just name the crimes instead of trying to understand the mind of a serial killer. I expected a bit more research.
It was interesting to read about a variety of different serial killers and all the similarities between their backstories and how in almost every case they were abused or bullied during childhood. However, I found the book a bit dull with the way many of the chapters simply just listed the victims names, ages, and when/where they were killed. I felt there could have been more of a story told with many of these killers to captivate the reader more.
The masses of elementary mistakes and sloppy proofreading spoilt it for me. In the Stephen Port chapter one of the victims surnames is Walgate but on the last page, three lines down from writing Walgate, the name is erroneously changed to Walgrave. Stupid mistakes like this bug me to hell.
It was okay but the grammar was just straight up trash like idk. Was nobody proof reading this book?? If you are not good at english I get it but I always thought books we're being proof read like? There is not only one mistake but hundreds of mistakes.
** This book was read for informational purposes only, as I am a criminal justice major. ***
This book was extremely vivid and graphic in detail, but I don’t know if that’s because of the horrific crimes these people committed, or because of the author’s writing style. Either way, it took me a while to get through the book. Reading each entry, I understood that although there were some similarities, each of these serial killers had their own trademark, their own way of thinking and reasons for their actions. I truly enjoyed reading the provided profiles in the selected entries (as that is what I’m in school for).
This book was super interesting to me. For me true crime is most interesting to find out why criminals act the way they do which is why this book peeked my interest. My only complaint was that some of the criminals stories didn’t really get a conclusion on what their consequences were while others did. I only knew a couple of the serial killers in this book and learned a lot about ones I had never heard of.
Overall though, true crime lovers will enjoy this one.
It makes me remember the books from Christopher Dee; every chapter corresponds to a different serial killer and a short story of what happened is mentioned. It is a good book, but it does not bring anything new.
I really like how the book is written in such a matter of fact way. Then really cool to learn about serial killers from different countries. Originally thought it would just be the US. Even so, very good that the infamous ones do not show up.
I was hoping for more in depth detail about each case but it was basically gruesome summary after summary that I just didn’t want to keep picking it up. Some of the cases were of interest but a lot didn’t appeal to me so I can’t say I enjoyed the second half very much.
A good book on some well known, and some lesser known, serial killers. Each had a good summary from beginning to end. The book has a few spelling and formatting errors, but it’s good besides that.
1.5 stars The structure of the book reminds me of those by Christopher Dee. Every chapter talks about a different serial killer. It is an informative read if you are into true crime but majority of the serial killers mentioned are very mainstream and you can very easily find much more detailed podcasts/youtube videos on them. The abundance of typos and poor editing knocked it down to 1.5 stars
The information presented on the pages was indeed intriguing; however, I was taken aback by certain aspects. This, however, is not the main issue. I would like to express some negativity regarding the author.
The main issue is reflected in the choice of words, spelling, and overall expression. Nevertheless, the manner in which every date was formatted was particularly frustrating. The absence of commas, as seen in the phrase "29 July 1976," was quite bothersome. A more conventional format, such as "July 29th, 1976" would have been preferable and would have enhanced the readability of the text. Due to this, I can only award a rating of two stars. It was distracting and annoying.