Serial Killers: Up Close and Personal: Inside the World of Torturers, Psychopaths, and Mass Murderers

by Christopher Berry-Dee, Christopher Barry-Dee

COMBINES HORRIFIC ACCOUNTS OF THE MOST VICIOUS MURDERS EVER COMMITTED WITH THE SHOCKING WORDS OF THE KILLERS THEMSELVES

“The bloodstains . . . that happened when I stored one of the guys upsidedown . . . it usually ran out of his nose or mouth or something . . .”
--John Wayne Gacy

“She kinda wanted it, ya know. Sex, an’ stuff like that. Then I get started, an’ she starts cryin’ and wants her mom, so I suffocated her.”
--Arthur John Shawcross, The Genesee River Killer

“Killing a woman’s like killing a chicken. They both squawk.”
--Kenneth Allen McDuff, Broomstick Murderer

“I ain’t so bad. I’ve been with hundreds of men. I just ain’t killed them all. Then you get a few dirty old men who go radical on me. What am I supposed to do? It was all their fault, and that’s the God’s honest truth.”
--Aileen Carol Wuornos, “Monster”

“I took her into the bedroom and killed her. She screamed for her mom and the last thing she saw was the face of her dead friend lying under the sheets next to her.”
--Kenneth Bianchi, The Hillside Strangler

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Psychology, Crime

448 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2007

About the author

Chris was a former Royal Marine intelligence officer. He is now a criminologist who has interviewed over 30 serial killers.

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

This idea of this book had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, his poor writing, pompousness, bigotry, and misuse of the phrase "to beg the question" kind of made me want to strangle the author (no irony intended). Sorry.

[Mack DQ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book, but I found there were some mistakes or confusing parts with the way it was written. It is as though there was a lack of editing which made the book less enjoyable.
The information was interesting, but with those other errors it made me unsure if I should trust the information I was reading.
I would have given it 4 stars without these errors and lack of edits. One good example is the writer writing the wrong dates, saying the person was missing and almost found on November 9th to 11th. But then after saying he went missing the 12th. These little discrepancies bothered me a lot.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to read. A lot of gruesome detail as expected. Definitely not for the the light-hearted!

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this was a very well researched book I did not like that it mostly discussed the actual murders rather than the life and personalities of the murderers. It briefly went over their childhoods with the exception of a couple of the murderers. I was really hoping that this book would have been more of history rather than an overview of the murders. Overall the research done was really good.

[Lilly Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is one of the only books on this subject where the author actually knows what he’s talking about and has developed relationships with killers and maintains no empathy for them. most times when authors and interviewers begin corresponding with killers they seem to start feeling compassion or empathy for them and this guy does not do that AT ALL, which is fucking great. i respect the hell out of this guy and this was an awesome read.

[Kenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved reading this book, it keeps you entertained throughout the entirety of the pages as it delves into both the case details as well as the psyche of some of the most infamous serial killers and criminals in modern US history.

[Adam Overwijk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book very detailed, there we’re some points while reading had to stop and think of something happy as you do get sucked into the mind of a Serial killer.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have rated this at 4 but it seems they forgot to have it edited.

[Tom Wile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frightening stories. Read it kind of as research. Not as clinical as I thought it would be. That’s a positive thing. Very readable.

[Wendi Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was very interesting, but one I knew of had a lot of info eliminated from his account of the killer. Maybe for size sake, but wonder what else was not included in others.

[Caralyn Rubli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. Learnt about a couple killers I hadn't heard of and about details I never knew about. Felt like something was missing thought. Not sure what.

[Iain Laprade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a very good job at mixing storytelling with actual facts. The author goes through the lives of each serial killer with a bit of narration of their lives from beginning to end, adding forensics and actual interviews with the killers in order to present information in a way that's easy to understand and interesting. This also informs you about what actually happened and what the killers believed as you navigate through the murderers' messed up perceptions of their crimes. The author does this extremely well, but at points he rambled on a bit about some of the more complicated political systems needed to catch the killers. All in all though, the facts were presented in a way that made even the more intricate serial killers' plots understandable. If you are interested in what really goes on in the mind of a psychopath, or in any way want to learn a bit about forensics, then this book is for you.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fairly informative and well told writing on several serial killers from the 90's. Every one that was covered had been actually interviewed by the author, something I haven't come across yet in the non-fiction world of serial killers.

Imagining the author actually sitting across from these terrors of humanity, I can barely grasp the miasma of -evil- they must have secreted in his presence.

The book doesn't just revolve around the meetings though, the author really did his research and aptly balances facts with good storytelling, all it true, or presented as what was told to him. It presents all of the cases with the facts, without becoming boring in the slightest.

Some of our North American Serial Killers, and all of them chilling.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

although the writer gets a little distracted periodically so that the information comes at you from all directions, the book is well researched and a page turner. The details in regard to the pathology are fantastic, but even more interesting is the legal and police matters around the crimes - how they are hindered and helped. Although the writing may not please your college Lit professor, if you are at all interested in the subject and can handle the gore factor, it is an interesting look into the criminology and pathology of this type of crime and how our law enforcement, legal teams and psychiatrists play a part in all of it.

[Izabela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I keep reading Christopher Berry-Dee's work in the hope that at least one will be written well; I keep being disappointed. The interviews in this book are interesting, enlightening, and one-of-a-kind. They are the only reason I kept reading. Berry-Dee simply is not a good writer. His over-use of tired cliches and random tangents make it difficult to read his writing. On the other hand, he does have information that is difficult to find anywhere else. Writing 2 stars, content 4, so I split the difference and called it a 3.

[Judi · Rating 4 out of 5]

If true crime is a favorite genre of yours, you wont be disappointed. the book profiles 10 serial killers, chronicling their crimes sprees, describing their childhoods and lives as adults and then wraps each up with their arrests, court drama and in some cases psychiatric evaluations. Some of the writing is very graphic! one of the things I didnt like is the addresses of these men were included at the end of their profile; totally unnecessary!

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the book talked about alot of serial killers I've never heard of, and the best part about this book (or worst probably) is they interview alot of these serial killers, and they tell you just how messed up they really are. I enjoyed reading this book, although it would not put me to sleep very happily some nights. Books like this are like scary movies, but a better read than to watch it.

[Amber Peschke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disturbing, but informative, I learned to not talk to strangers!!

[Desiré · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offers some insight into the minds of these killers. Christopher Berry-Dee is a great story teller and I was engaged the entire book.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

In addition to the obvious, there were several lesser-known individuals including one born in Paris, TX.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, but very graphic

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting overview of ten American serial killers from around the 80s and 90s. I enjoyed the author's blending of fact and storytelling as it made the experience more immersive and tense than a regular non-fiction novel. Following the killers throughout their sprees and watching the police try to capture them almost made you think: will they catch them, and how will do they do it?

I have two complaints about the writing style however. First, though each killer's life is told chronologically, there were moments where I wasn't completely sure where I was in time. I almost felt like we were jumping back and forth in time because of the way the author reveals information from his present into past events. Because information comes from all angles, from quotes, from the police, from family, and from the authors interviews, each story kind of felt all over the place. Second, while most of the stories were fascinating, sometimes the author rambled on or included facts that weren't necessary and interesting to the story.

Overall, the book was well researched and I liked how it included quotes from the serial killers themselves. Like a lot of non-fiction, there were a couple of slow and dry moments throughout, but I was mostly engaged. I would recommend this to those who are interested in serial killers and can handle the gruesome details.