Criminal Shadows : Inside the Mind of the Serial Killer

by david-v-canter

Every crime casts a unique shadow that may be interpreted to lead the police to the criminal responsible. This book looks at offender profiling that helps the police to identify and track individual criminals by the nature of their crime.

Genres: True Crime, Psychology, Nonfiction, Crime, Mental Health

412 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Ludmilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mindhunter'ın ardından uzun süredir okumak istediğim bu kitabı elime aldım. Beklediğimi bulamadım.
Öncelikle Sola Unitas'ı ayrı olması gereken tüm -de'leri bitişik yazdıkları, bitişik olması gereken neredeyse tüm -de'leri ayırdıkları için tebrik ediyorum. Eşine rastlanması güç bir başarı. Sanırım editörleri Demet Akalın.
Kitaba gelirsek yeni çevrilmesine rağmen aslında profillemenin yavaş yavaş yaygınlaşmaya başladığı zamanlarda yazılmış - kitap çıktığından Douglas'ın Mindhunter kitabı henüz basılmamış, tarihi ona göre hesap edin. Çıktığı zamanlar için çağ açıcı olabilir ancak şu haliyle çoğu bilginin eskidiğini söyleyebilirim. Psikolojik yanından ziyade araştırma/kategorileştirmeye verilen önemden dolayı da sıkıldığımı söyleyebilirim. Son olarak başlıktaki "seri katil" vurgusunun yanıltıcı olduğunu, seri katil incelemesinden ziyade -olan da Karındeşen Jack- seri tecavüzcülerin incelemesi olduğunu belirteyim. Benim için imladan dolayı sinir harbi yaşadığım, birkaç şey öğrenmekle birlikte çok da tatmin edici olmayan bir okuma oldu. 2.5/5

[Jamie Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Criminal Shadows

3.5 stars

This is interesting if the subject appeals to you. Dr Canter is an English professor of psychology and a pioneering figure in implementing the successful use of offender profiling in the United Kingdom.

Because he's a professor with some unique experiences in the field, the book is interesting and gives great insight into the subject overall, I've always found it interesting how accurate criminal profiles can be so reading about the process appealed to me.

However, because he's a professor it's a bit like reading a lecture transcript, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but I guess it depends on why you're reading it. Definitely more a course reading material feel about it than a lightweight guide to the topic.

The formatting wasn't great and there are a surprising number of weird spell check typos which annoy me but that's probably a personal gripe.

[Ruth Harwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

One complaint - his placing of Jeffrey Dahmer in Chicago... Milwaukee, I think even a cursory look at Dahmer will find. It's a part of his Serial killer Moniker. I assume the author, when saying Chicago, was thinking Gacy, or it was a typing error in editing or the transcript.
Now that's out of the way, I can say that I loved this fascinating book, how the author's display of the methodology meant I could take a look at the catching of criminals and see exactly how patterns emerge, and how today's criminals can now figure this out and alter their behaviour accordingly... ok, well, it needed to be said!!
Well-written & interesting & informative, this book makes you take a look at the reality of what our police forces have to go through, who they deal with, & the difficulty of their work in crime-solving. Definitely one for anyone interested in people and how to read them, and for those who want to gain an insight into the crime solving techniques simple human endeavour can achieve xx

[Gra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard going. Long sentences with over descriptive text meant it was hard keeping in mind what the relevant points were. These sentences were common and I noted one sentence at 8 lines adding to the confusion. The book's nearly 400 pages long though could have been a third of that without the repetitive waffling and forever going off on a tangent. What a detective looked like upon meeting him was irrelevant i.e that he had grey hair or a blue suit on. When the theories were applied to actual cases the interest spiked up but this wasn't often. I've read a few books on this subject matter and this was the most difficult one to stick with. I feel actually getting through it was an achievement. I have another by this author so I'm parking it for a while until i can get myself prepared for the writing style again.

[morbidxmagpie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Canter's theories are incredibly valuable from a historical perspective, and his goal of creating a more scientific method of profiling to counter those utilized by the FBI is incredibly important. However, as this book was written in 1994, from a utility perspective, most of his ideas are either outdated or have been notably expanded in his later textbooks. Still, it is an interesting journey for anyone interested in criminal profiling.

[Fishface · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read, focusing on the practical aspects of the analysis of a crime scene that helps police catch the criminal rather than speculating pointlessly on the offender's relationship with his mother. The text evidences a refined British scorn for nounverbs like "profiling."

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author makes a convincing case for a new discipline (at least it might have been new in 1995) of investigative psychology. This would help trained detectives to move beyond hunches and gut instincts when trying to identity rapists and murderers whose motives – or inner narratives – are beyond the comprehension of people with what we would consider more normal natures. Canter cites distressing cases he was called in to work on, such as the north London railway rapists/murderers, and reveals how the data and patterns he sifted helped to narrow the investigation. As he says, 'By carefully following the actions of criminals, we uncover the stories they tell themselves.' This can help to expose more about what type of individual they are – age, location etc – and what their twisted motivation is.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as contact with one human to another has been proven to always leave a physical trace, such as fibres, bodily fluids, fingerprints, and DNA, has been invaluable in detecting crime through forensic pathology, Professor David Canter demonstrates how criminals leave traces if the behaviour of the crime is interpreted and compared to other crimes that may be linked to the same offender. It's a fascinating and logical look at the value of criminal profiling, which also provides an insight into how and why someone may choose to commit unspeakable crimes such as rape and murder.

[Jane Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crime Story

A handbook for Profilers. This book, written by an Englishman, discusses profiling and how it works in England. While it is detailed and very results oriented, it is repetitious for the person who has read the earlier American works. It is interesting too see how the countries criminal systems differ.

[Mark Pollock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quality psychological overview of criminal profiling.

Though a little outdated, this is a great read for those interested in criminal profiling. The author does a great job of explaining the basics and the in depth psychology behind profiling.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read. I marked it down for American spellings and terminology creeping in, and also for a distinct lack of proof-reading, poor punctuation and other typographical errors.

[Rida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely insightful. Doesn't beat around the Bush.

[Esther Mud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zo interessant dat de kleinste dingen heel veel kunnen zeggen over een persoon, en in dit geval het ontraadselen van de dader en de redenatie achter zijn MO, heel leerzaam boek!

[Tess · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

[Rob Lesher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reads a bit like a text book on the development and evolution of criminal profiling. It tries to put this scientific development in practical cases. Good.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was kind of an interesting look into how law enforcement and psychologists look into minds of the most twisted of criminals, but for the most part, the book was pretty drawn out and whitewashed. More information can be read about in horror stories or learned watching crime shows than what is talked about in this book. Much more is also learned in advanced psychology classes--the book itself almost seemed as if it was cleaned up in case a younger reader decided to read about what happens in the minds of serial killers and rapists.

[Nadia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was an interesting book from the perspective of catching killers, albeit out of date now.