What do you think?
Rate this book
The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths
In 1990, a young woman was strangled on a jogging path near the home of Pat Brown and her family. Brown suspected the young man who was renting a room in her house, and quickly uncovered strong evidence that pointed to him--but the police dismissed her as merely a housewife with an overactive imagination. It would be six years before her former boarder would be brought in for questioning, but the night Brown took action to solve the murder was the beginning of her life's work.Pat Brown is now one of the nation's few female criminal profilers--a sleuth who assists police departments and victims' families by analyzing both physical and behavioral evidence to make the most scientific determination possible about who committed a crime. Brown has analyzed many dozens of seemingly hopeless cases and brought new investigative avenues to light.
In The Profiler, Brown opens her case files to take readers behind the scenes of bizarre sex crimes, domestic murders, and mysterious deaths, going face-to-face with killers, rapists, and brutalized victims. It's a rare, up-close, first-person look at the real world of police and profilers as they investigate crimes--the good and bad, the cover-ups and the successes.
In The Profiler, Brown opens her case files to take readers behind the scenes of bizarre sex crimes, domestic murders, and mysterious deaths, going face-to-face with killers, rapists, and brutalized victims. It's a rare, up-close, first-person look at the real world of police and profilers as they investigate crimes--the good and bad, the cover-ups and the successes.
285 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
124 people are currently reading
1907 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 217 reviews
May 6, 2015
I had expected a totally different kind of book. I had expected to read of a woman who using all the clues was able to pin point exactly the traits a particular criminal would have, enough to be able to identify them and that arrest, trial and justice would follow. It wasn't that kind of book and so I was very disappointed.
Pat Brown was a self-taught profiler who did not work for the police but more for families and individuals where conventional means had failed to bring the perpetrators to justice. It was somewhat intriguing reading exactly how she looked for and interpreted clues, actions, people and the logic she brought to bear on identified exactly who-dun-it. That was that. None of the people she profiles in the book were ever tried and imprisoned because of her work. It was all for the peace of mind, I can't quite say 'closure', for the victims' families.
And that's why the book is so disappointing. What is the point of solving all these clues that others in law enforcement missed if that is the end point? Why was she not believed enough that they didn't follow through?
The picture of Pat Brown - a very good-looking woman of uncertain age - is kind of indicative of the writing as well. It's all about her. It's not that she is not likeable, it's just that it's too much 'me me me'. I think in real life she is probably a sweetheart and so her editor was unable to see that she doesn't come across that way in the book and so didn't recommend a softening of position.
As a profiler with no cases brought to justice (at least in the book) it must be very frustrating and that together with the irritating self-directedness of the book means it's a 3-star read. One case brought to trial from her work would have given it 4-stars. Such a shame.
Pat Brown was a self-taught profiler who did not work for the police but more for families and individuals where conventional means had failed to bring the perpetrators to justice. It was somewhat intriguing reading exactly how she looked for and interpreted clues, actions, people and the logic she brought to bear on identified exactly who-dun-it. That was that. None of the people she profiles in the book were ever tried and imprisoned because of her work. It was all for the peace of mind, I can't quite say 'closure', for the victims' families.
And that's why the book is so disappointing. What is the point of solving all these clues that others in law enforcement missed if that is the end point? Why was she not believed enough that they didn't follow through?
The picture of Pat Brown - a very good-looking woman of uncertain age - is kind of indicative of the writing as well. It's all about her. It's not that she is not likeable, it's just that it's too much 'me me me'. I think in real life she is probably a sweetheart and so her editor was unable to see that she doesn't come across that way in the book and so didn't recommend a softening of position.
As a profiler with no cases brought to justice (at least in the book) it must be very frustrating and that together with the irritating self-directedness of the book means it's a 3-star read. One case brought to trial from her work would have given it 4-stars. Such a shame.
March 13, 2017
I can't take this book anymore. It's misleading! I thought I was going to enjoy a book about profiling psychopaths, but instead I'm slapped in the face with an autobiography about an obsessive housewife trying to convince the world how clever she is; who happens to profile as a hobby. Every time she turns around she's being told she's a lunatic and she just chalks it all up to flaws in the justice system.
If I was to profile this woman I would suggest she suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, narcissism, and uses delusions of grandeur as a defense mechanism while the world around her tells her she's nuts.
If I was to profile this woman I would suggest she suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, narcissism, and uses delusions of grandeur as a defense mechanism while the world around her tells her she's nuts.
June 15, 2012
what a nonstop thrill ride in stupidity! here are some choice quotes: [trigger warning for rape, murder, etc.]-
"She was smiling at me when she signed it. I thought, You don't look too bent out of shape for a rape victim."
"As a female, I could tell you exactly why that girl had leggings hanging off her left leg. That’s because women who have sex in the backs of cars end up with leggings hanging off one leg."
"The police never quite proved Suspect #2 was in the area at the time of Sarah’s murder. One of the reasons that some people thought it might be him was because he worked with horses, and Sarah had two hangers wrapped around her head. But if you look at any kind of pornography or bondage, you find lots of women with bridles around their heads. That’s the way brutal men control women." BDSM NOT SAME AS BRUTAL RAPE AND MURDER, HULK SMASH (i actually don't remember if that case involved rape but she's bringing pornography into the mix so i'mma just include it)
"So this cross-dressing weirdo was a decent suspect." NO
"He didn’t technically rape her, but he did roll her onto her stomach, putting something under her belly to elevate her buttocks." is detailing a case about unwanted sexual contact really a good time to debate technically rape?
"Also, the killer looked in on the children. Why? What interest, if he wasn’t a rapist, would he have in checking out sleeping kids? And, since there were teenage girls in the house, a rapist would have been more than pleased to make such a find." rapists don't solely rape young women, you know that, right? some rapists in fact prefer older women because they are more vulnerable and "weak" JESUS FUCK
"She thought the low voice sounded like it belonged to a black man, although “it could have been somebody with a Southern twang accent.” It was not a voice Laurie recognized" so i get that pat brown didn't say that, but the fact that she included it kind of leaves me to believe that she believes in black voices as a thing
"He also said Doris knew things about him he had never told anyone. Was he suggesting she was psychic?" what? that sounds to me like he fucking told the lady shit he never told anyone else, for christ's sake
"A lot of men who are considered child predators are not pedophiles. A pedophile is somebody who has an obsession with having sex with children, with childlike children, little children. A pedophile is not necessarily a sexual predator, because some pedophiles don’t do anything about it, they just think about it a lot." who gives a shit, people who want to fuck children regardless of acting on urges are shitty people
I HAVE LITERALLY LIKE 5 PAGES ON MY KINDLE OF NOTES FROM THIS BOOK AND I AM TIRED OF IT I AM JUST GOING TO STOP I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW IT'S FUCKING HORRIBLE
"She was smiling at me when she signed it. I thought, You don't look too bent out of shape for a rape victim."
"As a female, I could tell you exactly why that girl had leggings hanging off her left leg. That’s because women who have sex in the backs of cars end up with leggings hanging off one leg."
"The police never quite proved Suspect #2 was in the area at the time of Sarah’s murder. One of the reasons that some people thought it might be him was because he worked with horses, and Sarah had two hangers wrapped around her head. But if you look at any kind of pornography or bondage, you find lots of women with bridles around their heads. That’s the way brutal men control women." BDSM NOT SAME AS BRUTAL RAPE AND MURDER, HULK SMASH (i actually don't remember if that case involved rape but she's bringing pornography into the mix so i'mma just include it)
"So this cross-dressing weirdo was a decent suspect." NO
"He didn’t technically rape her, but he did roll her onto her stomach, putting something under her belly to elevate her buttocks." is detailing a case about unwanted sexual contact really a good time to debate technically rape?
"Also, the killer looked in on the children. Why? What interest, if he wasn’t a rapist, would he have in checking out sleeping kids? And, since there were teenage girls in the house, a rapist would have been more than pleased to make such a find." rapists don't solely rape young women, you know that, right? some rapists in fact prefer older women because they are more vulnerable and "weak" JESUS FUCK
"She thought the low voice sounded like it belonged to a black man, although “it could have been somebody with a Southern twang accent.” It was not a voice Laurie recognized" so i get that pat brown didn't say that, but the fact that she included it kind of leaves me to believe that she believes in black voices as a thing
"He also said Doris knew things about him he had never told anyone. Was he suggesting she was psychic?" what? that sounds to me like he fucking told the lady shit he never told anyone else, for christ's sake
"A lot of men who are considered child predators are not pedophiles. A pedophile is somebody who has an obsession with having sex with children, with childlike children, little children. A pedophile is not necessarily a sexual predator, because some pedophiles don’t do anything about it, they just think about it a lot." who gives a shit, people who want to fuck children regardless of acting on urges are shitty people
I HAVE LITERALLY LIKE 5 PAGES ON MY KINDLE OF NOTES FROM THIS BOOK AND I AM TIRED OF IT I AM JUST GOING TO STOP I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW IT'S FUCKING HORRIBLE
March 3, 2014
Wow.
I can't honestly remember the last time I read a book that had me shaking my head, roll my eyes and groan in deep frustration on every second page.
To be perfectly honest, it was a bit my fault. I should have looked up the author's credentials before reading the book, but when a book has as its title "My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths", it leads you to believe that the author a) actually does this as a job and b) is kind of successful at it - not the obsession of an autodidact who works outside of any institutional framework.
In a similar vein, I could title my hypothetical book "My Life Baking the Best Cakes That Everybody Loves" - I have about as much credentials in baking as Pat Brown seems to have in profiling (the results of my labour are usually more delicious, though).
So yes, no real background in profiling other than she has read a lot of books on the subject.
Hey look, there are my 80+ cookbooks.
The profiles themselves are so fantastically ordinary I get why Brown must be thinking that anyone, including her, could do this.
Whenever she runs against institutional boundaries, gets denounced as a meddling outsider and politely shown the door, it's the fault of the blind investigators who just cannot accept her "brilliant insights."
All in all: horrible book and the only reason I finished it, is because I developed a love-hate relationship to the author's persona and wanted to delve further into her weirdly delusional, ego-centric mind.
I can't honestly remember the last time I read a book that had me shaking my head, roll my eyes and groan in deep frustration on every second page.
To be perfectly honest, it was a bit my fault. I should have looked up the author's credentials before reading the book, but when a book has as its title "My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths", it leads you to believe that the author a) actually does this as a job and b) is kind of successful at it - not the obsession of an autodidact who works outside of any institutional framework.
In a similar vein, I could title my hypothetical book "My Life Baking the Best Cakes That Everybody Loves" - I have about as much credentials in baking as Pat Brown seems to have in profiling (the results of my labour are usually more delicious, though).
So yes, no real background in profiling other than she has read a lot of books on the subject.
Hey look, there are my 80+ cookbooks.
The profiles themselves are so fantastically ordinary I get why Brown must be thinking that anyone, including her, could do this.
Whenever she runs against institutional boundaries, gets denounced as a meddling outsider and politely shown the door, it's the fault of the blind investigators who just cannot accept her "brilliant insights."
All in all: horrible book and the only reason I finished it, is because I developed a love-hate relationship to the author's persona and wanted to delve further into her weirdly delusional, ego-centric mind.
May 26, 2010
While reading this book, I found myself eyeing my co workers and checking the psychopath trait checklist. It's unbelievable how many of them are running around! In this book, Pat Brown, self trained profiler talks about psychopaths, their traits, and what makes some of them cross the line to become serial killers.
Full review: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2010/...
Full review: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2010/...
April 28, 2010
I really wanted to like this book. I have read memoirs by John Douglas, William Bass and numerous other professionals in the fields of forensic and behavioral sciences (I am a forensic anthropology major).
Pat Brown's memoir just bothered me. First of all, she admits that she is "self-trained," and decided to become a profiler because a boarder in her home seemed like he might be a suspect in a murder. However, like every single case she discusses in her book, that man was never charged with anything. The police took her information and sent her on her way -- which seems to be a theme throughout the book. Although Brown never says that she uses pseudonyms throughout the book, I presumed that she must; otherwise, she would be in for numerous libel suits. None of the people at whom points her finger and shouts "J'accuse" are ever charged.
I will say in her favor that she does her work pro bono. This is good in that she is not receiving funds from the grieving families who hire her. However, it just serves to reinforce the impression against which she rails: that of a dilettante housewife playing at behavioral and forensic science work.
People in the forensic and behavioral sciences business have a term they use for people like Pat Brown: "the CSI effect." In a nutshell, it means that people watch TV shows like CSI and figure that they, too, are qualified for the job.
In other words, it was a disappointing book. I give her ghostwriter (Bob Andelman) credit for turning it into a well-written story.
(Review based on uncorrected advance proof.)
Pat Brown's memoir just bothered me. First of all, she admits that she is "self-trained," and decided to become a profiler because a boarder in her home seemed like he might be a suspect in a murder. However, like every single case she discusses in her book, that man was never charged with anything. The police took her information and sent her on her way -- which seems to be a theme throughout the book. Although Brown never says that she uses pseudonyms throughout the book, I presumed that she must; otherwise, she would be in for numerous libel suits. None of the people at whom points her finger and shouts "J'accuse" are ever charged.
I will say in her favor that she does her work pro bono. This is good in that she is not receiving funds from the grieving families who hire her. However, it just serves to reinforce the impression against which she rails: that of a dilettante housewife playing at behavioral and forensic science work.
People in the forensic and behavioral sciences business have a term they use for people like Pat Brown: "the CSI effect." In a nutshell, it means that people watch TV shows like CSI and figure that they, too, are qualified for the job.
In other words, it was a disappointing book. I give her ghostwriter (Bob Andelman) credit for turning it into a well-written story.
(Review based on uncorrected advance proof.)
April 5, 2013
Rarely have I ever read such a self serving ego centric book, I am astonished this book got published.
Pat Brown, has a vision of herself of a caped crusader, I can see why her husband left her, good heaven this woman is obsessed, imagine walking into police stations, were thank goodness in most cases they would give her no access to active or even cold case files, I kept on reading hoping something would happen for her to change her mind, all the cases she mentions and has given her personal "profile" are simply guesses which any sane person would be able to come to the same conclusion, the first case where the so called "perpetrator" lives in her house after supposedly killing a local girl, she cleans out his garbage pail in which she finds all sorts of goodies, used condom, blood, etc etc.
I read this in the large print section, but I am still amazed that any publisher would publish this type story. It is more a story about Pat Brown who is totally driven by her selfworth, and the sense she ought to be running all the major agencies dealing with murders in the US
Pat Brown, has a vision of herself of a caped crusader, I can see why her husband left her, good heaven this woman is obsessed, imagine walking into police stations, were thank goodness in most cases they would give her no access to active or even cold case files, I kept on reading hoping something would happen for her to change her mind, all the cases she mentions and has given her personal "profile" are simply guesses which any sane person would be able to come to the same conclusion, the first case where the so called "perpetrator" lives in her house after supposedly killing a local girl, she cleans out his garbage pail in which she finds all sorts of goodies, used condom, blood, etc etc.
I read this in the large print section, but I am still amazed that any publisher would publish this type story. It is more a story about Pat Brown who is totally driven by her selfworth, and the sense she ought to be running all the major agencies dealing with murders in the US
December 3, 2016
Found this one interesting. I always wanted to know more about profiling.
July 5, 2010
3 1/2 stars. Because of a murder that occurred in her community and a suspect who was a boarder in her home, Pat Brown became a profiler. Her book explains how she developed her career and chronicles some of the cases she worked.
I find the subject fascinating and am glad I read the book. For my tastes, it fell short in a couple of areas. The first 80 or so pages was devoted to the first case and how Brown became involved. While the case was interesting, there was just too much irrelevant detail. I didn't want so much detail about her homeschooling and I didn't want to know how long she breastfed her children.
I very much enjoyed her description of her earlier career as a sign language interpreter in a hospital, especially her telling how some of the people she was helping would show one persona for the medical staff and an entirely different one when she was the only person with them.
It frustrated me, although I'm sure not nearly as much as it frustrates the author, that there was so little to prove her theories correct, at least officially. There were often political roadblocks and a lack of police cooperation. There were also instances where she drew conclusions that I didn't think logical. I think that perhaps that is because there were details in her thinking that were left out. Still, she usually did explain why she drew the conclusions that she did, and I liked that look into her mind. The work that she does for families and individuals is pro bono, a remarkable generosity on her part.
She more than once used the phrase “have his way with her,” and that annoyed me more than it should have. If it is rape, call it rape. She also wrote about why tracking dogs couldn't find a girl's scent. Her theories about that were that a person picked her up and carried her or that “the dogs just weren't any good.” I know that there could be many reasons why the dogs weren't able to track her other than not being good tracking dogs, and it is unfair to think that her two reasons were the only possible ones. I know I'm nitpicking here.
It seems to me that there was more criminal investigation than there was actual profiling. Both added to the story, but I was surprised by how much plain old detective work was involved. While the cases themselves were tragic, I enjoyed reading about Brown's insight and conclusions, honing in on things that may have been overlooked. The book is well worth reading for anyone interested in criminal investigation.
I find the subject fascinating and am glad I read the book. For my tastes, it fell short in a couple of areas. The first 80 or so pages was devoted to the first case and how Brown became involved. While the case was interesting, there was just too much irrelevant detail. I didn't want so much detail about her homeschooling and I didn't want to know how long she breastfed her children.
I very much enjoyed her description of her earlier career as a sign language interpreter in a hospital, especially her telling how some of the people she was helping would show one persona for the medical staff and an entirely different one when she was the only person with them.
It frustrated me, although I'm sure not nearly as much as it frustrates the author, that there was so little to prove her theories correct, at least officially. There were often political roadblocks and a lack of police cooperation. There were also instances where she drew conclusions that I didn't think logical. I think that perhaps that is because there were details in her thinking that were left out. Still, she usually did explain why she drew the conclusions that she did, and I liked that look into her mind. The work that she does for families and individuals is pro bono, a remarkable generosity on her part.
She more than once used the phrase “have his way with her,” and that annoyed me more than it should have. If it is rape, call it rape. She also wrote about why tracking dogs couldn't find a girl's scent. Her theories about that were that a person picked her up and carried her or that “the dogs just weren't any good.” I know that there could be many reasons why the dogs weren't able to track her other than not being good tracking dogs, and it is unfair to think that her two reasons were the only possible ones. I know I'm nitpicking here.
It seems to me that there was more criminal investigation than there was actual profiling. Both added to the story, but I was surprised by how much plain old detective work was involved. While the cases themselves were tragic, I enjoyed reading about Brown's insight and conclusions, honing in on things that may have been overlooked. The book is well worth reading for anyone interested in criminal investigation.
April 24, 2012
So badly written and generally terrible that I needed to comment. Like many people, I checked out this book because of an interest in profilers brought about by watching Criminal Minds and the like.I assumed the author would be someone with the requisite training and who actually worked with law enforcement. This is not so. At least within the parts of the book I read, it became clear that she has absolutely no relevant education or training.
The writing style is awful. The author tends to include far too many unnecessary details. I could barely make it through 1/4 of it. Overall this book is just about the worst thing I've ever had the misfortune of picking up and I do regularly read some of the less good representatives of the YA and pulp fiction genres.
The writing style is awful. The author tends to include far too many unnecessary details. I could barely make it through 1/4 of it. Overall this book is just about the worst thing I've ever had the misfortune of picking up and I do regularly read some of the less good representatives of the YA and pulp fiction genres.
October 25, 2012
I didn't finish it; which is something I have done with a book I've begun, maybe three times in my life. I threw it down in frustration about half way through, although I wanted to, much earlier. My main bones of contention are the authors gross generalizations and statements of personal opinion that are presented as fact, especially in a field that is held to the standard of the scientific method. I couldn't take it anymore.
I will concede that the author, if she is to be believed(her credibility is shot, for me, based on my above observations), did make a few clever observations and drew interesting and plausible conclusions from those.
I will refrain from going into my personal opinion about the mental health and writing ability of the author.
I will concede that the author, if she is to be believed(her credibility is shot, for me, based on my above observations), did make a few clever observations and drew interesting and plausible conclusions from those.
I will refrain from going into my personal opinion about the mental health and writing ability of the author.
July 29, 2011
I love serial killer/profiling/true crime/etc. This book sucks. The author comes across as arrogant and stupid--never a good combination. It was really hard to finish; I did so only because I thought there would have to be SOMETHING to warrant her self-proclaimed expertise. Wrong. She draws conclusions based on opinion & then complains about the police not doing their job. She uses a premise as fact and then bases the rest of her "proof" on that shaky foundation. She seems to have no idea of what is required to bring a case to trial--if it seems obvious to Pat Brown, it must be enough to prove guilt. Simplistic & boring. How did it get published?
April 4, 2017
I'm really struggling right now. I WANT to write a review of this book. I have a lot to say about it.
BUT. I am finding that it is impossible to review this book without making it sound like a personal attack against the author. Which, since it's a memoir makes sense, but I'm trying to find a balance here.
But- In short, just to take away today, do not waste your time. PLEASE. Seriously. Anyone who uses an appearance on the Montel Williams show to establish credibility and expertise is not worth your time or money. I mean, seriously.
BUT. I am finding that it is impossible to review this book without making it sound like a personal attack against the author. Which, since it's a memoir makes sense, but I'm trying to find a balance here.
But- In short, just to take away today, do not waste your time. PLEASE. Seriously. Anyone who uses an appearance on the Montel Williams show to establish credibility and expertise is not worth your time or money. I mean, seriously.
June 16, 2010
Don't waste your time with this book! This writer has an ego the size of New York City. She was all-knowing, while those around her, including the police and some victims families, were misdirected and ignorant. If you love profiling books, stick to those of John Douglas and Roy Hazelwood (or really any Quantico trained profiler), they tend to be much better written and focused on the facts of the case and less on emotions and ego.
September 22, 2014
The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths by Pat Brown (Hyperion 2010)(354.152309) is a farce. It's an extremely weak and unconvincing set of braggadochio by a wanna-be crime-stopper. The book covers eight to ten cases and lists no results or info as to whether the author's conclusions/ predictions differed from those of the cops. My rating: 1/10, finished 6/18/11.
March 19, 2011
According to this book, anyone can be a profiler; all you have to do is read a bunch of books, create a web site, and get lucky. That's what happened to the author, and her website happened to be found in a search during the D.C. Sniper case, she was asked to be on T.V., and became famous as a profiler even though she had no qualifications and no experience. Additionally, most of the cases she discusses in the book do not involve potential serial killers; there are suicides, x-spouses, and children. A few involve potential serials killers, but the title of the book is misleading. I would expect the author of this book to work with official law enforcement professionals and to work profiling serial killers, but neither is really true.
The author discusses several cases that she was asked to profile (by the families of the victims not the law enforcement) after she became famous. Most were cold cases that the families were interested in getting confirmation that the person they suspected was the criminal. For most of the cases, the local law enforcement doesn't want to work with her and they usually ignore her profiles. None of the profiles she discusses in this book have ever been proven to be correct or for the most part even encouraged further investigation of her suggested suspect.
The author discusses several cases that she was asked to profile (by the families of the victims not the law enforcement) after she became famous. Most were cold cases that the families were interested in getting confirmation that the person they suspected was the criminal. For most of the cases, the local law enforcement doesn't want to work with her and they usually ignore her profiles. None of the profiles she discusses in this book have ever been proven to be correct or for the most part even encouraged further investigation of her suggested suspect.
June 16, 2013
Anyone who has ever watched the animated sitcom "King of the Hill" will see a great many similarities between Pat Brown and Peggy Hill. Both are women with a tremendously inflated ego and sense of self worth, who rather than present facts and let those speak for themselves, instead gush on and on about how clever they are and that us gibbering neanderthals can never understand their genius.
Peggy Hill could very well be an expy of Pat Brown in this regard. Brown presents profiles of the typical psychopath that any first-year student....hell, any schlub that ever watched an episode of CSI could put together. I had hoped that the book would focus more on actually hunting and making attempts to understand the mind of a psychopath, yet Brown gives her audience a ham-fisted psychological report while patting herself on the back for being clever enough to outwit and outsmart these men and women.
I could barely make it all the way through the book without the bile rising to the back of my throat at the narcissism this woman exhibits. Two stars merely because some of the information presented is mildly interesting, and may be new news to newcomers of True Crime. Hardened true crime buffs should do very well to look elsewhere for more fulfilling fare.
Peggy Hill could very well be an expy of Pat Brown in this regard. Brown presents profiles of the typical psychopath that any first-year student....hell, any schlub that ever watched an episode of CSI could put together. I had hoped that the book would focus more on actually hunting and making attempts to understand the mind of a psychopath, yet Brown gives her audience a ham-fisted psychological report while patting herself on the back for being clever enough to outwit and outsmart these men and women.
I could barely make it all the way through the book without the bile rising to the back of my throat at the narcissism this woman exhibits. Two stars merely because some of the information presented is mildly interesting, and may be new news to newcomers of True Crime. Hardened true crime buffs should do very well to look elsewhere for more fulfilling fare.
September 8, 2010
I found the first half self-righteous and irrelevant, full of little details about what a great person she is and how wrong everyone else was (her husband, cops, other profilers). So I quit and flipped to the second half, which was...boring. How it can be boring when real life people suffered and died, I don't know, but I did not care about the people or the cases at all, especially when her profiling never led to an actual arrest. And how many families of victims aren't speaking to her? Fishy.
August 17, 2011
Pat Brown is a loon and this book is terrible. The only thing that keeps me reading it is to see what kind of crap she's going to come up with next.
January 10, 2016
I really enjoyed this one. Highly recommend to anyone with a true crime interest.
April 22, 2012
This was interesting and insightful, but I was also rather confused and disappointed in this book, until I'd virtually finished it and saw some comments (see spoiler) that helped me understand Brown's purpose in writing it. So please carry on until the end of the book. Alternatively look at her website Pat Brown Profiling and read about her first, so you don't make the same assumptions that I did.
The book gives a fascinating description of how you can figure out so much information a crime scene - and also from what is NOT at the crime scene. As Brown says, a lot of the info gleaned SEEMS straightforward with hindsight and AFTER the profiler has done their work, but it needs a special type of training and understanding to pick up on the details in the correct way and put 2 and 2 together to make 4. I can look at every point she makes and agree she has made an excellent interpretation, but given the same raw data I reckon I could only guess a tiny fraction of the logical points she deduces, and it's clear that even professionals like the police can't come anywhere near her skills and should be asking for inut from proper profilers.
It was also interesting, for a non American, to see how much politics is allowed to corrupt the US justice system.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in crime/psychology.
The book gives a fascinating description of how you can figure out so much information a crime scene - and also from what is NOT at the crime scene. As Brown says, a lot of the info gleaned SEEMS straightforward with hindsight and AFTER the profiler has done their work, but it needs a special type of training and understanding to pick up on the details in the correct way and put 2 and 2 together to make 4. I can look at every point she makes and agree she has made an excellent interpretation, but given the same raw data I reckon I could only guess a tiny fraction of the logical points she deduces, and it's clear that even professionals like the police can't come anywhere near her skills and should be asking for inut from proper profilers.
It was also interesting, for a non American, to see how much politics is allowed to corrupt the US justice system.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in crime/psychology.
June 30, 2019
Shelving on my Did Not Finish. I can't really say anything that hasn't been said by the 1 and 2 star reviews credited to this book. Didn't know someone could make serial killers so boring!
October 15, 2010
The second half of this book is better than the first. The author spends way too much time talking about her personal background (being a housewife, her kids, etc.) than necessary. It's really not all that interesting. Brown also repeats herself a lot. Some of the cases she discusses are interesting but I'm wondering how she she pays for her expenses since she says she doesn't charge for her profiling work when contacted by families. I also think it's fascinating that she has little training in abnormal psychology/psychopathology, yet she yammers on and on about serials killers and psychopaths. Just because you read about them a lot doesn't make you an expert. I read a lot on the subject too, but I don't think I'm qualified to be a serial killer profiler. I also find it odd that all the cases included in her book have been officially closed by the police. No arrests made, no one serving time in prison. How odd she would choose those. The only reason I can see is that she picked the ones that showed how superior she is at deductive reasoning and how dumb the local cops are. If Brown's facts are accurate, then the police in these cases are extremely incompetent and don't have the training necessary to solve murder cases. All in all, this is a somewhat interesting book, plus it's not too long.
June 23, 2012
1.5. Not a common score--if you hate it that much, are you actually going to parse how much you dislike it? But really, the extra 0.5 is because I got what I asked for--stories of a profiler solving crimes by thinking them through.
Why wasn't it good? All sorts of reasons. Not very well-written--clearly the coauthor had plenty of work to do in just organizing the author's points coherently and keeping it from looking like a report. Aside from a few canned phrases of support, she paints the police pretty much uniformly as lazy, untrained, political hacks who don't really care if murderers are at large preying on our precious children. In fact, she's pretty dismissive of almost everyone.
There was also the more mundane, reader-centric frustration of the fact that she works only on cold cases, and no one really seems to listen to her. Although she comes up with a fairly well-reasoned theory in each of the cases she outlines, no case is ever closed or killer ever caught. And even when her conclusions agree with those of the police, she's still really disparaging of them.
Blargh.
Why wasn't it good? All sorts of reasons. Not very well-written--clearly the coauthor had plenty of work to do in just organizing the author's points coherently and keeping it from looking like a report. Aside from a few canned phrases of support, she paints the police pretty much uniformly as lazy, untrained, political hacks who don't really care if murderers are at large preying on our precious children. In fact, she's pretty dismissive of almost everyone.
There was also the more mundane, reader-centric frustration of the fact that she works only on cold cases, and no one really seems to listen to her. Although she comes up with a fairly well-reasoned theory in each of the cases she outlines, no case is ever closed or killer ever caught. And even when her conclusions agree with those of the police, she's still really disparaging of them.
Blargh.
May 9, 2012
While the cases and Pat Brown's profiles were very interesting, I found the book a bit disappointing. In almost every case, even though Brown presents realistic and likely profiles (supported by existing evidence - she has a great eye for detail), the detectives and/or prosecuting attorneys aren't interested in pursuing any new leads. It seems as if they all say, "That's nice, dear." and tuck her files into a drawer somewhere, never to be seen again.
If I found that frustrating, I can only imagine how she felt.
If I found that frustrating, I can only imagine how she felt.
July 8, 2011
Not very well written, and the author seems to suffer from the same narcissism and god complex she accuses her (better educated and trained) colleagues of being hindered by. For some reason, despite the fact that she's always the one person to arrive at the right conclusion, almost all of the cases she outlines in the book are still unsolved. What she seems to think is a big "shame on you, justice system" narrative comes off as arrogant and oblivious.
March 7, 2016
Pat Brown become a profiler after a woman is murdered in her small town. She just knows who did it and becomes frustrated with the detectives when they would not listen to her. All the stories she talks about in the book are unsolved. This leads me to ask, why would you write a book and brag about all the cases you profiled and they are still unsolved? I found her to be a bit of a pushy know it all with no tact when working with people. Highly disappointed with this book.
May 21, 2017
At first I thought this was going to be an awesome book. I was really interested in how she became a profiler. After that she talks about individual cases that she has worked on. It was really frustrating because she talks about her opinion of who the suspect is but there are no arrests or facts to back up her theories. Most of the cases remain unsolved. If you are interested in criminal profiling there are a lot better books out there.
September 2, 2010
Interesting for anyone who likes True Crime. The book needed a better editor. Quite a bit of redundancy.
At first I found it disconcerting that none of the presented cases had clean, redemptive endings. But a good contrast to fictional TV shows and True Crime shows that depict neat conclusions.
At first I found it disconcerting that none of the presented cases had clean, redemptive endings. But a good contrast to fictional TV shows and True Crime shows that depict neat conclusions.
November 3, 2021
I think it’s true that the author might come as being egocentric and overall a narcissist because she wrote the book in a very personal way, describing all her thoughts processes. As readers we are used to big stories and the bad person being brought to justice, we are used to unrealistic expectations of the justice system.
However I’ve worked and seen first hand how our justice system is often biased and useless. This was certainly one of the most realistic book I’ve read on profiling. It describes how victims are let down by both the police department and the prosecutors and I have to say she’s right, the author is right, it’s the reality of our justice system. This idea we have that every criminals is behind bars and being arrested is false and based on movies and tv shows and the medias. However in truth many of them are never convicted and many of them are wrongly convicted because of systemic racism. We have to take a sociological view of these stories because Pat Brown memoir is also a critic of our society and how we handle our justice system.
However TW to anyone who wants to read that book, she can write many disturbing details about the murders and the way she describes them can be triggering.
However I’ve worked and seen first hand how our justice system is often biased and useless. This was certainly one of the most realistic book I’ve read on profiling. It describes how victims are let down by both the police department and the prosecutors and I have to say she’s right, the author is right, it’s the reality of our justice system. This idea we have that every criminals is behind bars and being arrested is false and based on movies and tv shows and the medias. However in truth many of them are never convicted and many of them are wrongly convicted because of systemic racism. We have to take a sociological view of these stories because Pat Brown memoir is also a critic of our society and how we handle our justice system.
However TW to anyone who wants to read that book, she can write many disturbing details about the murders and the way she describes them can be triggering.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 217 reviews