The Jigsaw Man: The Remarkable Career of Britain's Foremost Criminal Psychologist

by Paul Britton

Forensic psychologist Paul Britton asks himself four questions when he is faced with a crime scene: what happened: who is the victim: how was it done, and why? Only when he has the answers to these questions can he address the fifth: who is responsible?

An intensely private and unassuming man, Britton has an almost mythic status in the field of crime deduction because of his ability to 'walk through the minds' of those who stalk, abduct, torture, rape and kill other human beings. What he searches for at the scene of a crime are not fingerprints, fibres or blood stains - he looks for the 'mind trace' left behind by those responsible; the psychological characteristics that can help police to identify and understand the nature of the perpetrator.

Over the past dozen years he has been at the centre of more than 100 headline-making investigations, from the murder of Jamie Bulger to the abduction of baby Abbie Humphries, the slaying of Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common, the pursuit of the Green Chain rapist and the Heinz baby food extortionist, the notorious Gloucester House of Horror and most recently, the murder of Naomi Smith.

Told with humanity and insight, The Jigsaw Man is Paul Britton's absorbing first-hand account of those cases, and of his groundbreaking analysis and treatment of the criminal mind. It combines the heart-stopping tension of the best detective thriller with his unique and profound understanding of the dark side of the human condition.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Crime, Psychology, Biography, Adult, Memoir

454 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1997

About the author

He is perhaps the UK's leading psychological profiler.


Paul Britton was born in 1946. Following degrees obtained in psychology from Warwick and Sheffield universities, he has spent the last twenty years working as a consultant clinical and forensic psychologist. He has advised the Association of Chief Police Officers' Crime Committee on offender profiling for many years and currently teaches postgraduates in clinical and forensic psychology. He is married with two children. Paul Britton is the author of Picking Up the Pieces and The Jigsaw Man, which won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award for Non-Fiction.

Reviews

[Elizabeth George · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating look at the history of psychological criminal profiling by one of its first practitioners in the UK. After explaining how he went from a local constable to a top psychologist, Britton details his progression to profiling. He was involved in some of the biggest criminal cases in the UK, from the serial killings perpetrated by Fred and Rosemary West, to the child kidnappers and murderers of two-year-old James Bulger to the daytime killing of Rachel Nickle out for a stroll on Wimbledon Common. It's not for the faint of heart, but for those interested in crime writing, it's an excellent resource book.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

An appalling, self-serving book full of pop-psychology and in some cases downright false claims. For instance, Britton tries to play down his role in the investigation of Colin Stagg in the Wimbledon Common Murder case, despite the fact that he was advising the police even while they were interviewing Stagg at the time of his first arrest.

Colin Stagg has since been proven innocent through DNA testing which proved that the real killer was Robert Napper. Interestingly, Britton claims IN THIS BOOK that he was specifically asked if the Wimbledon Common Murder was the work of the same killer as that of Samantha and Jazmine Bisset (who were also killed by Napper). Britton said - AND HE ADMITS THIS IN THIS VERY BOOK - that the killings were clearly different. He got that one wrong then.

[Kathryn_w_221185 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting read to a certain extent except I did not like Paul Britton. He is pompous and desperate for the reader to know the crime would never have been solved without him. Clearly this is wrong in the case of Colin Stagg, a man vilified for years for a crime he did not commit.

[N · Rating 2 out of 5]

Psychological profiler, Paul Britton details his involvement in helping the police to solve crimes, including high-profile cases of the 90s, such as Fred and Rose West and Jamie Bulger’s killers. The result is an interesting (if gruesome) perspective on criminality and police procedure.

I started off enjoying this, but it really began to wear of me as I continued reading. Much of the material in the book is deeply disturbing and even as someone usually unfazed by crime, I began to worry irrationally about serial killers breaking into my house.

Notably, Britton’s credentials remain in dispute, as his profiling led to the prolonged arrest of an innocent man. Although Britton claims he draws from verified psychological thinking, it’s impossible not to suspect that some of his profiling is based on conjecture. He also makes some statements about the intersection of fantasy and reality that I found unconvincing.

However, Britton’s work (and, by association, this book) is by no means without merit. It’s not one to be read late at night in the dark, though.

[Mal · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5
Dobry reportaż, chociaż zawiera brutalne opisy zabójstw i zgwałceń, więc nie każdemu bym go poleciła.
Jedynym minusem były przeskoki w rozdziałach i śledzenie kilku historii na raz - trochę mnie to wytrącało z rytmu.

[Rebecca If Only I Could Read Faster · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading crime and thriller fiction books and I enjoy watching true crime programmes on tv so when friends were discussing The Jigsaw Man by Paul Britton I was immediately intrigued and wanted to read it.

The book is in many ways fascinating. Britton gives insight into many cases including many that I was already familiar with like Fred and Rose West, Rachel Nickell and James Bulger. He provided details of those cases that I had not heard or read before, at times it felt like a little bit too much information but generally it was fascinating.

Britton displayed some detachment to the cases that he talked about which is understandable, to stay sane when dealing with such horrific crime some detachment is necessary. But it did feel like an unemotional read.

The James Bulger murder is an event that I remember well and I, like many, was horrified when we found out that he had been murdered by two young boys. Britton gives quite a lot of detail on the case including what the boys did to James before and after they killed him. This is not easy reading and is definitely something that has stayed with me since I finished the book. Consider yourself warned.

What Britton had to say about the murder of Rachel Nickell was very interesting, he gives a lot of detail into her murder and his thoughts around who had murdered her. Colin Stagg is discussed at length including the police sting using a female police officer to try and get a confession from him. Given what happened since the book was written, where Britton himself was investigated by the British Psychological Association and at one point was charged with misconduct for his role in the Colin Stagg sting, the charges were later dropped but I couldn’t help but pay a little more attention to what he said about Stagg. What he does is go into great detail about how careful they were to make sure that Stagg was not coerced or led in any way, it felt quite defensive and very much like Britton was saying that he had done absolutely everything by the book and was not at fault in any way.

Whether he was at fault or not I don’t really know, but the theme throughout the book is that Britton is fantastic at his job, loved by the police that he worked with and relied upon to solve numerous cases that he was instrumental in ensuring that the perpetrators were caught and convicted. This did get a little bit wearing and made me start to question how much of each story we were really being told. In something as subjective as psychology and profiling it is surely impossible that someone involved in so many cases didn’t get it wrong once, not even a bit wrong, but that seems to be what Britton thinks, or at least wants his readers to think.

Since finishing the book I have tried to find out a bit more about Paul Britton and it is clear that views are mixed and far more complex than he tries to make his readers think. Some claim that he wasn’t as involved in the cases as he makes out and that he has taken credit for some ideas that came from others. Who knows. Whatever the truth is The Jigsaw Man is a compelling and interesting read that will give the reader insight into police investigations. It is a long book and gives details of crime after crime, all but one or two involving some very unpleasant murders or serious sexual assault, the blackmail case providing a small amount of light relief.

I was surprised about the level of information Britton gives on some very well known crimes and so if you are interested in true crime then this is a book for you, I think that it helps if you remember the main cases that he talks about but this isn’t essential as he will give you more than enough detail. I really did enjoy reading it and found it fascinating, but I would have liked Britton to make himself more human and show that he isn’t perfect and did sometimes get it wrong, and perhaps what he learnt from that. His failure to do that makes me question the book and how true to life it really is, especially when, for example, he states that he believed that The West’s had eaten some of their victims due to marks on the bones, I have not been able to find anything else to substantiate this and even though I know that it would be impossible for it to be proven given the death of Fred West and the silence of Rose, it is something that I would expect to be discussed somewhere if there had been any evidence of that.

It was a good but frustrating read. I’d still read more books by Paul Britton but I’d definitely take what he says with more of a pinch of salt than I did when I started reading this one.

You can read more of my reviews on www.ifonlyicouldreadfaster.com

[Ruthy lavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing.
Paul Britton has incredible insight into the criminal mind, and has worked on some gruelling cases.
His profiling is quite incredible, and although this makes for often very harrowing reading, it is an absolute must-read for all fans of true crime, psychology, criminal profiling and police investigation.

[Soho_Black · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve recently started enjoying a number of true crime podcasts, particularly those involving miscarriages of justice. I also have a long held interest in criminal psychology, holding a degree in psychology and having watched and enjoyed the television series “Cracker”, since the beginning. Paul Britton, the criminal psychologist who supposedly acted as the inspiration for “Cracker”, thinks that shows like that weren’t helpful to those who were trying to persuade a skeptical police force that there was value in what he was doing, but this doesn’t prevent him from using a dramatic sounding title for his own story, “The Jigsaw Man”.

Paul Britton has acted as a criminal psychologist more or less since before there was such a thing. He was working as a senior clinical psychologist when a murder bought the police to his door. From this unplanned collision between the two worlds, Britton became the first person the police all over the country turned to when they felt a psychological profile might be helpful in catching those responsible for a crime. Although many were initially reluctant to turn to him, largely down to a lack of understanding and a preference for old-style police investigation work, his successes meant that more came around to his way of thinking and he ended up consulting on some of the biggest cases in recent UK criminal history.

In “The Jigsaw Man”, Paul Britton takes us through is involvement in capturing many of the better known murderers of recent times, as these seem to be the cases he was most frequently asked to assist with. He gives us a rundown of how he helped with the investigations into Fred and Rose West, the Rachel Nickell and Jamie Bulger murders and a blackmail plot which was more interesting due to the variety it offered here. Most of the cases are presented in the same way, with a description of the crimes as the evidence was presented to him and the conclusions he drew and handed to the police and, on some occasions, how he helped with interviewing suspects after their arrest.

This does give the book a slightly repetitive feel sometimes, as whilst there is variation in the methodology of both killer and investigations and the personalities involved on both sides of the law, it sometimes feels as if Britton is working from a template to tell his side of these crimes. His tone doesn’t vary an awful amount either, being largely dispassionate and it sometimes feels as if he is writing a textbook or the basis for a lecture series. Although he does occasionally let his emotions show, usually when he sees the victim, or pictures of the victim, for the first time, the tone and pace of his writing doesn’t change a huge amount and it almost reads as if he’s expressing emotions because it feels like the right thing to do, rather than because he actually feels anything.

The writing style aside, the lack of emotion particularly lets him down when he is talking about the Rachel Nickell murder and the police operation that eventually resulted in the arrest of Colin Stagg, despite his maintaining his innocence. This operation resulted in Britton being charged with misconduct by the British Psychological Society, although those charges were dropped, and a police officer directly involved having a nervous breakdown and retiring from the police force. Admittedly, this book was published prior to both of these events, but after the courts had ruled the operation legally inadmissible, but Britton does not acknowledge his part in any wrongdoing and does not change his tone or his approach and there is nothing to indicate he has admitted any responsibility at all for getting this particular case badly wrong, in both the person and the methods and this makes him seem as morally questionable as some of the people he helped convict.

Whilst this is the situation where Britton’s singular point of view proves to be a letdown. He talks about his successes, but with the exception of Rachel Nickell case, where he took no responsibility, he doesn’t mention any occasions where he has failed to catch the correct person. Even in the case of Rachel Nickell, he later claimed that her killer should have been caught before he committed her murder based on the evidence he provided in a case that is detailed here. Whilst I appreciate that an autobiography is always going to present the subject in the best possible light, Britton’s omission of any failures except one he blames squarely on someone else, combined with his dispassionate tone and references to a lack of emotion shown by some of the criminals he mentions is telling.

Whilst what is missing may be unforgivable, what is here is interesting. The period during which Britton was an active criminal psychologist covers a period of time I was old enough to be aware of many of the cases, which made the stories more interesting to me, as I was already familiar with the outcomes, as far as was reported in the news at the time and this provided an additional look inside a case from a perspective that few of us get to see. As someone with an interest in both true crime and psychology, much of what was mentioned here was fascinating to me.

This is a book that left me with complex feelings. It takes us on a tour of some very interesting places, but it is a tour led by a deeply flawed guide. There is much to be fascinated by here, but there is so much that you don’t get to see and even more that the tone taken makes you wonder what is missing. The information that is here makes it worth reading for anyone who has similar interests to mine, but the flawed natures of the writer, both emotionally and morally, means I am unable to recommend the book.

[Trzcionka · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wyjątkowo oznaczam tę pozycje jako przeczytaną, czego zazwyczaj nie robię z książkami, których nie doczytuje. W tym przypadku sytuacja jest inna, bo przebrnęłam przez ponad połowę i dałam sobie spokój. Już sam fakt, że czytałam tę książkę z przerwami przez 2 miesiące mówi wszystko.. WIELKIE ROZCZAROWANIE.
Zapowiedź była mocno obiecująca, tak samo jak grubość tej pozycji. Spodziewałam się dużo ciekawych informacji przekazanych na tle interesujących i unikatowych przypadków zbrodni czy sprawców. Pod względem merytorycznym niestety TRAGEDIA - nie ma w tej książce nic wyjątkowego. Podczas lektury można dojść do wniosku, że co trzecia osoba mogłaby z powodzeniem zostać profilerem tuż po przeczytaniu kilku podręczników. Procesy myślowe autora i głównego bohatera były, lekko pisząc, mało skomplikowane i odkrywcze. Same omawiane sprawy czy sprawcy - mocno przeciętne.
Największą wadą tej książki jest jednak sam autor, który nie ma pojęcia jak opisać to co robi w sposób ciekawy, wciągający i uporządkowany. Książka jest mocno chaotyczna, na tyle, że ciężko się połapać o której sprawie mowa. Historie poszczególnych sprawców są ucinane, tłumaczone niewiedzą autora o dalszych jej losach bądź suchą informacją zawarta w jednym zdaniu. W książce jest mnóstwo zbędnych zdań, które nużą i żadnych smaczków, których można by się spodziewać po takiej lekturze.
Z pewnością dużo dałoby tej pozycji, gdyby napisał ją nie jej bohater, a ktoś kto posiada JAKIKOLWIEK warsztat pisarski oraz pomysł na opowiedzenie tej historii i zaciekawienie czytelnika. Obawiam się, że autorowi zabrakło obiektywizmu i rzucił się na zbyt głęboką wodę. Nie każdy potrafi pisać, a o samym sobie, i to jeszcze ciekawie, to już całkiem nie lada sztuka.

[Ron · Rating 1 out of 5]

Like much of what Britton has published, this is shameless self promotion of dubious accuracy, at best. It's disappointing that Goodreads's author profile still claims that "He is perhaps the UK's leading psychological profiler," when he has come close to being prosecuted and struck off for his terrible example of the misapplication of forensic psychology in the Rachel Nickell homicide, in which he victimized and ruined the life of a suspect, gave police flawed advice, and insisted on methodology that was not backed by recognized scientific practice, while making exaggerated and unfounded claims on his infallibility. He barely retained his license on a technicality.
There are numerous forensic psychologists, in the UK and elsewhere, with considerably greater stature, recognition, and, more importantly, reliability than Britton.

[Alison S ☯️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected to enjoy this more than I actually did. I find criminal profiling fascinating, and Britton has worked on some very well known cases such as Rachel Nickell, Michael Sams and Fred and Rosemary West. Having said that, the endless and detailed accounts of human cruelty and depravity made for grim reading; and the author grated on me at times, as he often sounded a little smug or defensive.

[Kathryn O'Donoghue · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unbelievablely pompous and egotistical.

[Anna Wiktoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mam w swojej historii trochę takich książek, podcastów i programów. Dlatego daje tu surową ocenę - bo to najgorsza pozycja.

Historii jest tu za dużo. W pewnym momencie ma się wrażenie, że to już było. Też dlatego, że mimo różnych historii podchodzono dokładnie tak samo. Można by ulec wrażeniu, że nie trzeba psychologa do tej pracy tylko bardzo irytującej osoby, która zadaje milion pytań i w czasie wolnym czyta statystyki z badań. I tak każdy rozdział - zadajmy tysiąc pytań możliwie największej liczbie osób a na pewno coś odkryjemy. Gdzie tu psychologia?

Poza tym autora nie da się lubić. Wali miłością do swojego wyjątkowego umysłu z fałszywą skromnością. Chwalipięta podkreślająca jaka jest zwyczajna, niewyjątkowa, nikt po prostu, ale no tak jakoś wyszło że TYLKO ON o tym pomyślał i od początku wszystko wiedział i gdyby tylko mógł cofnąć czas i postawić na swoim to… chciałabym zobaczyć reakcje na te dyrdymały ludzi których sprawy dotyczyły, bądź z nim współpracowały xdxdxd

[Klaudia_p · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Britton dokonał w "Profilu mordercy" czegoś arcytrudnego. Udało mu się zachować odpowiednie proporcje pomiędzy perspektywą osobistą a zawodową oraz rzetelnie i drobiazgowo przeprowadzić czytelnika przez profesję profilera. Mam za sobą sporo tytułów z gatunku "True Crime", ale książka Brittona jest jedną z lepszych, jaką zdarzyło mi się czytać, jeśli chodzi o ten zakres tematyczny. Jest też cholernie wstrząsająca. Do tego stopnia, że musiałam czasem przerwać czytanie na chwilę. Potworność do jakiej zdolny jest człowiek nigdy nie przestanie mnie zaskakiwać.

[Sarah McGurk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this about 20 years ago….. fascinating insight into what are now very old cases. Very interesting. I got really annoyed at the time the way the police tried to make a bit of a scapegoat of Paul Britton in the Rachel Nickel case.

[Shelbycat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an uncomfortable but also fascinating read.

[Frankie Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the insight this book offers into the ways psychology and the legal system worked together in the 90s, but oh my God, this f***king guy! Paul Britton is pompous, egotistical, absolutely desperate to remind his readers how important and valuable his contributions were and how the police would never have solved anything without him. If any of that were true, I'm sure we wouldn't need it spelling out for us. The description of the honey trap sting on Colin Stagg makes for some very uncomfortable reading; I have no idea how such a morally bankrupt and deeply flawed operation was ever developed, never mind implemented, even after reading Paul's account. Last of all, the sexism is blatant and distracting. Reader beware; there's some great information in this book but it's a bumpy, although admittedly compelling, ride.

[Meg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this when it was published, and quite enjoyed it ( I was studying psychology). However, it has since become evident from the Colin Stagg miscarriage of justice that Mr Britton is an arrogant arseh*le who made up most of his so called science, and as far as I am aware, he has never apologised for his failures.
What would a forensic psychologist say about people who refuse to accept responsibility for their actions or that they might have been wrong?
Read with more than one pinch of salt.

[Rose Melton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and informative look into the parts we don't hear in the news, I do feel offender profiling does help in cases where there is little or no evidence, not one to keep on the shelf for another day though, you do need a strong stomach for parts as its abit gruesome

[Bethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is best for extra details and an inside look for some big cases.

Britton is a psychological profiler who helps police. Such profiling I'm sceptical about. Some of it is undoubtedly useful especially stuff that can help focus resources to resolve a case quicker. But a lot of it is vague with a lot of conjecture. People like Britton and John E. Douglas (Mindhunter) have a lot of ego and tell you all about the times they were right but not so much when they were wrong so bear in mind that their books are heavily biased and that they run a lot on confidence ('confidence men').

For example, I've read in two of his books now Douglas confidently saying that the guy who pretended to be the Yorkshire ripper ('Wearside Jack') was an ex-policeman when it's since been proven that the hoaxer was never employed by the police. However, predictions like these are rare in their books - most of their books are retrospective and brag about how they were right 99% of the time.

Famously, one thing Britton did get wrong and is forced to write about is the Colin Stagg case. Stagg was charged with the murder of Rachel Nickell based on things he told an undercover policewoman as a result of a honeytrap sting that Britton designed and agreed with.

It makes my jaw drop that in the book a) Britton still doesn't think he did anything wrong (he tries to pass the blame to the police and lawyers, ignoring his role) b) does not express a single bit of remorse for what he did to Stagg. The only remorse he expresses is for the family of Rachel Nickell.

As the book notes, two separate judges for different cases have ruled that admissions extracted as a result of honeytraps are inadmissible as evidence. One involved a policewoman who told a man called Keith Hall that she wouldn't marry him because his missing wife might come back. This got Hall to 'confess' to her that he'd killed his wife and burned her body in an incinerator. Now, of course, maybe Hall *did* kill his wife but such a confession is obviously because he wanted to marry her and how is it reliable evidence on its own when people confess all the time to doing things they didn't do and many people will tell a romantic partner what they think the partner wants to hear, especially if put under pressure to and if the partner is withholding intimacy without it.

In Stagg's case he was a lonely 29-year-old virgin desperate for sex. Britton very obviously directed the undercover policewoman to try to get sexual fantasies involving violence out of Stagg. At no point does Stagg even confess to killing Rachel yet police considered the fantasies enough to charge him for her murder. Police also said that Stagg telling the policewoman that Rachel had her hands together palm to palm like praying was evidence that Stagg knew details about the killing when Rachel's hands weren't even found that way (police conjectured that her two-year-old son must have shaken her hands down.. you see how weak this is and what a witch hunt it was?) Obviously honeytrap evidence should only be used if it gets verifiable information or new evidence that only the killer would know.

Why doesn't Britton see this if he's such a great psychologist when most people think it's common sense that this can't possibly be considered reliable evidence? Britton simply seems to dislike Stagg, assumed a lot of things about him and cannot accept that he was wrong. Britton also spent a lot of time away from his family - something his wife was unhappy about - advising the police for free so you have to wonder about his real motivations for doing this. There's a lot more going on with Britton than simply wanting to 'help victims'.

In 2008 forensics proved that Nickell was killed by Robert Napper - who was already in prison for other murders and rapes - and Stagg got a £706k compensation payment.

[Ami Cormack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant insight to criminal psychology.

In this book, Britton shares his insights to many crimes he’s assisted as a criminal profiler. Many of the crimes I knew about (The Wests and Jamie Bulger) but many I didn’t and it was interesting to see another side to the crime.

This book is perfect if you like true crime!

Please be aware that they are true stories of horrific crimes so read with caution.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much as I'm a great lover of crime fiction sometimes I cross the line and take a look at what happens in the real world. Why do people choose to commit crimes, What drives someone to kill another? This is always a hard read, while it's good to play about in the world of fiction in the real world this is brutality at its most base level. When you put down the book that's it for you, you can choose to remember it or not. But here in the world of Britton that is not the case. For everyone affected it is with them forever. It is with a curious mind that I picked up a copy of this book. I once met a woman who was in the same line of work she dealt with some of the worst offenders England has to offer. But in her case, it is only once they have been sent to prison that she got involved. While this is not my first time delving into the subject it is the first to look at my home country. Having before read Mind Hunters by John Douglas which I found fascinating if not a little terrifying.



What this author sets out to do is exercise some of our own misconceptions as to what it is they really do. It is no wonder really that the view most of us have of them is just a little skewed. In our lives, we have all to some degree been exposed to what Hollywood and the latest hit t.v shows think it is to be a criminal psychologist. With flashing lights and pumping music the bravely ride once more into the breach to save the damsel in distress and bring us a little peace and justices. Which is great for entertainment purposes but as I discovered bare so little resemblance to what really takes place. These women and men spend their days pouring over the worst humankind has to offer. Things we would not wish upon our worst enemies. Having spent some time with Britton I believe this is not a job I could do my self and have the greatest respect for those who make it there living to do so. Within these pages, the author stops short of giving us every grisly detail. Something I think I will forever be grateful for. It has become far to easy to dismiss the latest brutal headline, we have all become numb to what gets pushed on us by the nightly news. But here we get to see with heartbreaking detail what has befallen these people.



It would be far to easy I feel to assume that the police handle every aspect of a crime on there own. But no one group of people could deal with the workload nor the mental strain involved in such things. Which is why when a case comes up that is something above and beyond the usual people like Britton get called in. There work is to pull apart the destruction caused by such events and try and point there police in the right director. You a better off think of them like hunting dogs, trained to find the tiny clues that make up a trail to the truth. We are all fallible, in the best of crime fiction we want to know why? It is part of what I think makes us human, this needs to try and understand why a serial killer or rapist does what they do. And this is what Britton does, but he also works to help the police get these people to confess to what they have done. For these people, it is there own personal playground and they do not wish for any intruders. They think they are smarter than the police and as such, they can outsmart them. With the help of criminal psychologists, the police can find those small gaps in their defenses and with just the right amount of thought can split them wide open.



While the subject matter, for the most part, is both carry and horrific, Britton goes out of his way to make it as digestible as he can. He split the book up to show the type of cases he works on and how each requires a different skill set to break apart. For many people living in England a lot of them will be very recognizable. For those outside perhaps not after all each of your countries has cases that spent week s in the news and will be remembered forever. For me, at least the serial killers Fred and Rosemary west is still rattling about in my subconscious. While I was too young to really take any notice of it at the time it is one of those stories that has left a stain that will never go away. The other is that of the Jamie Bulger, it wasn't until reading this book that I realized these two boys who had been turned in the spawn of the devil by the news were in fact around my own ages. A fact that seems to have a very chilling effect on me. In reading their interviews you get a very disturbing insight into these two boys worlds and just how little they cared.



I fully appreciate this is not a book for everyone, for many it is easier and safe to stay in the world of fiction and for this, I can not blame them. My mind has always been curious so it was this the made me want to pick it up. I have learned a great deal from the time I spent with Britton and you realize that as you walk down the street you may just pass a few people whose minds have gone far from what we might consider normal. To say this book was enjoyable would be a lie it is however interesting. It is also a reminder that far too often it is women that are the victims of these crimes and men that are the perpetrators. For me at least I was left feeling horrified by what some people do, It is a slow cold feeling that moves up your spin and I'm sure will stay with me for a very long time.

[Julka✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pomimo tego, że ta książka przedstawia momenatmi skrajne okrucieństwo ludzi, to jestem zachwycona. Paul Britton okazał się fascynująca osobą, a to jak ukazuje wszystkie aspekty pracy, jako psychologa, profiliera jest godne uwagi.

[Dominic John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creepy... but so much detail and it reads like a CSI Miami episode. Definitely worth a read but not for the faint hearted.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely interesting and at times, genuinely harrowing.

My only complaint is that Britton tried too hard to be humble. To down play his role. It actually emphasised how highly he thinks of himself and that ok. I’m ok with someone like Britton thinking highly of himself as he can manage it without belittling those around him.

Highly recommend to those who love police procedures and crime fiction.

[Kat Joannou · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 interesting personal insight

[Monica Purkiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read.

[Danuta Prusak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genialna historia

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a good book the reason for my 2 stars is that I felt like the main character was full of himself and thought nothing could be done without him. It's not all bad though I liked how it explained the ways they would do a phycological profiling. (if there are spelling mistakes don't even I love reading but can't spell to save my life 😂)

[A Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t usually enjoy non fiction but thoroughly enjoyed this!