Serial Killers by Brian Innes

Serial Killers by Brian Innes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - Over 8 days (but I left it in work and dipped in and out)

Pages - 272

Publisher - Quercus Editions Ltd

Source - Can't remember, bought from The Works or Amazon I think

Blurb from Goodreads

The terrifying story of the most monstrous serial killers through history.

Serial Killers are the most notorious and disturbing of all criminals, representing the very darkest side of humanity. Yet they endlessy fascinate and continue to capture the public's attention with their strange charisma and deadly deeds. From Jack the Ripper to Ted Bundy and the Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, these killers transfix us with their ability to commit utterly savage acts of cruelty and depravity.

Only with modern police detection methods and psychological profiling, have these figures that have existed throughout human history finally been identified in the deadliest category: serial killers. These methods, the killers' characters and their crimes are described here in fascinating and terrifyingly gripping detail.

The whole history of serial killers is brought to life in 50 chapters, including:

Herman Webster Mudget, Devil in the White City
John Christie, 10 Rillington Place murders
Zodiac Killer
Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, The Moors Murderers
Ted Bundy
Fred and Rosemary West
Jeffrey Dahmer
Aileen Wuornos
Harold Shipman, Dr Death




My Review

A collection of true crime on some of the worst atrocities to have happened to life. I knew some of the more famous case and some I hadn't heard of. Each case/killer gets a few pages with a very brief overview of their crimes and some of their upbringing and what happened to them in the end. There is minimal information on profiling, there is some detail of the crimes which is absolutely not for the faint hearted.


I think if you want to learn more about crime history then it is a good starting point, there is no in depth analysis of behavioural patterns, it is this is who they were and what they did. I don't think I could read this one one sitting, yes it is a relatively small read and the chapters are only a few pages long however it is so dark and depressing the things humans have done to one another.

A morbid history of some of the worst acts committed, short chapters so you can dip in and out as required. Well written, engaging and gives disturbing details without going into the very nitty gritty as some of the books of this type. This is my first time reading this author, I would look out for anything else he has written, 4/5 for me this time.

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