Serial Killers discussion

I have been reading serial killer books for over two decades now. Sometimes when there is a ghastly scene, I think, why am I reading this?

I always end up reading more. Perhaps one day I will have read my last serial kiler book, but I do not think that will be soon.

John Sanford's Prey Series is one of my favorites. Lucus Davenport is awesome and he drives a Porche! The list goes on, and on, and on. I hope it continues.

I've been reading serial killer books for a long time now over ten years at least. I love fiction ones but non-fictions fine as long as it stays interesting. I started with James Patterson and Patricia Cornwell. I have yet to find a better way to relax/unwind or cure my boredom.

I agree with you. The excitment of trying to find the killer before he takes on more life, and the lives of those who give all they can to catch the monsters is mesmerizing.

John Sanfords Prey series is one of my favorites, I keep checking for additions to the list. No one does it better than Lucas Davenport as he races down the highway in his Porche.

I've been meaning to get to the Prey seris, are they really good?

Jessica wrote: "I've been reading serial killer books for a long time now over ten years at least. I love fiction ones but non-fictions fine as long as it stays interesting. I started with James Patterson and Patr..."

Very similar to how it is with me. John Sanford was the author who really got me intensely into the fiction books. I have read a few non-fiction books on serial killers.

What serial killer book are you reading now?

Preston wrote: "Jessica wrote: "I've been reading serial killer books for a long time now over ten years at least. I love fiction ones but non-fictions fine as long as it stays interesting. I started with James Pa..."

I just finished Judas Child, it had a slow start but once I got into I couldn't put it down. John Sanford will definitely be on my to read list.

Jessica wrote: "I've been meaning to get to the Prey seris, are they really good?"

Jessica, I started reading Davenport Prey series when I was living in Minneapolis. I suffered withdrawal symptoms between books. Every Prey book is worth the reader's time and money. I'm sorry they've come to a close.

I'm also a fan of serial killer fiction and am another John Sandford fan. I'm currently re-reading his Kidd series.

I think the thing I love about books that focus on serial killers is the psychologial games that are played. Mix that in with forensics and I'm totally sold. I'm a bit of a sucker for gory details, otherwise it just doesn't seem real enough for me.

My all time favourites are - "Impulse" by Michael Weaver and "The Traveller" by John Katzenbach. I re-read those two every few years.

Sandybeach wrote: "...My all time favourites are - "Impulse" by Michael Weaver and "The Traveller" by John Katzenbach. I re-read those two every few years.
"

I must check them out, thanks :)

Might be the 'safe' fright thing combined with puzzle solving going on? I used to enjoy horror (Stephen King etc) when younger but just got tired of them after a while, I think the fright now is more real to me through serial killer fiction. Agatha Christie mysteries always entertained me and I was into the non-fiction books from Ann Rule, Greg Olsen etc....
I reckon all these led me straight into serial killer thrillers :)

I did not know of eitehr of those books. I will look, see if I can get a copy.

Thanks, always glad to find a new serial killer novel.

I still enjoy reading some Stephen King books. Others, I just can not make it through. I could not finish, "Dome." but loved "Talisman," "Bag of Bones," is one of my favorite King books.

aprilla wrote: "Sandybeach wrote: "...My all time favourites are - "Impulse" by Michael Weaver and "The Traveller" by John Katzenbach. I re-read those two every few years.
"

I must check them out, thanks :)

..."

Im about to add those 2 to my to-read list. Thanks for the reccomendations.

The Traveller (John Katzenbach) -
'She was born to die. I was born to kill. It was simply a matter of finding one another'.

There's a man travelling across America. Handsome, persuasive and charming. He takes vitamin pills and award winning photographs. And he takes lives....

He kills the kind of girl who's easily convinced she's posing for a Playboy centrefold ... until seconds before she dies.

He travels with a woman he calls his Boswell, a literature student that he has made his prisoner, whose task is to chronicle his death-dealing odyssey.

On his trail are two people with their own special interest in the case the police department has abandoned. A woman cop whose niece was one of the killer's victims, and a psychiatrist with a unique insight. He's an expert on sex offenders and the killer is his brother ...

Impulse (Michael Weaver) -
The blurb on the back of the book does not do it justice, but it is a very creepy scary book. The blurb on the front of the book says it all -

He loved women.
Obsessively.
But most of all, he loved
to kill them.

Kudos from James Patterson -
"This novel will leave every reader breathless, probably with their throats raw from silent screaming."

Both "The Traveller" and "Impulse" are books published late 80's / early 90's.

I love true serial killer books. I'm fascinated by the cocktail of life experiences that mixes into a serial killer. I read a lot of books by FBI profilers. Right now I'm reading a book about a French serial killer, Vacher, and how the search for him helped lead to the birth of forensic science.

Me too Jenée! So much so that while I was reading non-fictional accounts I couldn't read anything else.
I'm actually avoiding them now because I know if I start reading them again I won't want to read anything else, and I am having some fun catching up on fiction... or so I tell myself. Look at me finding this place!
I guess if I had balanced my reading a bit I wouldn't be avoiding them now but after a few excellent non-fiction serial killer/true crime books nothing fictional was ever gripping enough.

I took a college-level course called The Literature of Serial Killers. It involved reading, analyzing, and comparing both fiction and non-fiction books about serial killers. In terms of how interesting it was, this class so far surpassed all of the others I've taken in my lifetime that the comparison is really unfair. I'm sure there are some dry non-fiction ones out there, but they were not on the reading list for this course. One of the most fascinating non-fiction books was Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker.

Patricia Cornwell's Portrait Of A Killer: Jack The Ripper -- Case Closed was dry to a degree rivaling shredded wheat. Until that one, everything I had ever read about Jack the Ripper had been interesting and exciting.

Dick wrote: "I took a college-level course called The Literature of Serial Killers. It involved reading, analyzing, and comparing both fiction and non-fiction books about serial killers. In terms of how inter..."

What college was that? That sounds like my kind of class.

I wrote a scene for my book ( http://tinyurl.com/bythelight ) at lunch one day. It involved a priest who had molested boys in his charge. Violence was used against him by an adult who was once his victim. I heard a report on the radio news on the way home that evening about a similar but reallife scenario. The true event occurred in one of the two cities from which I chose for my scene. According to the report, it was the first time ever that violence had been used by a former victim of an abusive priest. I almost swerved off the road. Fiction and reality are rivals when it comes to strangeness.

Jenée wrote: "Dick wrote: "I took a college-level course called The Literature of Serial Killers. It involved reading, analyzing, and comparing both fiction and non-fiction books about serial killers. In terms..."

Park University in Parkville, Missouri (Kansas City.

I like the hunt. I like thinking through the clues with the police and trying to figure out who, where or what's going on. Getting the big picture. But, it's more than that. I like sitting on the edge of my seat as the tension builds and things heat up. The Serial Killer stories tend to do that for me. Of course there's more to it than that. A book has to be well written, they don't edit themselves.

I've enjoyed Virgil Flowers (John Sanford) and Jack Daniels stories (J A Konrath) and I recently read an Indie book Plain Jane: Brunettes Beware that turned out to be pretty good.

I don't think I could nail down "the thing" I like about serial killer fiction. It's a lot of those kinds of things though, probably a complicated enjoyment.

Hi there - new to the group and looking forward to some interesting discussions. I am a writer who writes about psychopaths primarily but I also do a lot of reading re. research and morbid fascination I guess. Check out my list below and give it a like if you do :)

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/13...

Kyle wrote: "I read them to get an insight into their minds...why they do the things they do. I've been reading them for years, some of my favorites being: [bookcover:The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shock..."

Do you have any of these eBooks? :)

Ohh,no of course :) Nothing beats the feel of turning pages. Unfortunately though, it's hard to get some of these books here in Bangladesh. So I was just wondering. Thanks anyways! :)

Well Im new here, and I wanted to talk to others about serial killer books. This prolly is a good place because Im new to reading serial killer novels, the first one I read which was prolly a 1.5 years ago, was Hot Blooded by Lisa Jackson. She probably isnt as good as the others you all have read, but I know that the next series I'll be working on is Prey. Thanks for the feedback on it. Also for the true crime novels, do any of yall know if there is one for the Long Island Serial killer?

I think it's very interesting reading books about serial killers

Kat wrote: "I think the reason people are fascinated with serial killers is because they are this generation's worst monsters. We tend to separate them from ourselves. They can't be from among us. But they are..."

Kat - have you ever, (or do you know of anyone who has) researched the corelation between war and serial homicide. That is, I believe that the majority and rise of serial homicide in the '50s,'60s and '70s (Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia)and then post middle eastern warfare and central America military ops (Ecuador, Bolivia etc), thru to the Iraq/Iran/Afghanistan wars, has had both direct and indirect effects on the people who commit serial murder (both in the US,Uk and Europe). The stigma of being ousted from the draft (due to psychopathology tests etc), discharged, or even serving as military personnel, propelled killers like Shawcross,Kemper,Bundy,Yates, Ramirez (re. cousin), Ridgeway, Rader etc. This is an interesting article that touches on this aspect: http://www.shsu.edu/~stdrem26/picture... - an interesting discussion on this subject here also: http://www.friendsofliberty.com/modul... and here: http://community.aetv.com/service/dis... - would this be a good discussion thread in its own right? William Cook

Dick wrote: "I took a college-level course called The Literature of Serial Killers. It involved reading, analyzing, and comparing both fiction and non-fiction books about serial killers. In terms of how inter..."

Is this the Mind Hunter book you mean:
The Cases That Haunt Us
by John Douglas ,Mark Olshaker

I just read a few pages in my book about serial killers, (non-fiction)
Evil serial killers - by Greig, Charlotte
and its so far really tempting to keep reading but my home have needs to ;)

Well have anyone read this book?

Miss007 wrote: "Dick wrote: "I took a college-level course called The Literature of Serial Killers. It involved reading, analyzing, and comparing both fiction and non-fiction books about serial killers. In terms..."

Here's the Douglas book I read:
http://www.amazon.com/Mindhunter-eboo...

I see you are in Sweden. I have Swedish heritage. Swedish crime fiction seems to be in vogue these days.

Dick wrote: "Miss007 wrote: "Dick wrote: "I took a college-level course called The Literature of Serial Killers. It involved reading, analyzing, and comparing both fiction and non-fiction books about serial ki..."
Cool you have Swedish heritage :)
They sure is but im more in to non-fiction ones but when i finds a good crime book i will stick to it.

What else do you read?

Miss007 wrote: "Dick wrote: "Miss007 wrote: "Dick wrote: "What else do you read?"

From a fiction perspective, take a look at The Poet by Michael Connelly.

Helter Skelter and And The Sea Will Tell by Vincent Bugliosi are both good true crime books. He prosecuted the case of the Manson murders. The first of the two books is about that case. The second book covers a case in which Bugliosi served as a defense attorney.

Dick wrote: "Miss007 wrote: "Dick wrote: "Miss007 wrote: "Dick wrote: "What else do you read?"

From a fiction perspective, take a look at The Poet by Michael Connelly.

Helter Skelter and And The Sea Will ..."

Thanks I will look in to them

It doesn't matter how fictional they are, every character that I read helps me understand something new. I love knowing and my curiosity to understand how such a warped mind works bring me back to such books. Apart from case studies and real life interviews, this is all I have within my reach.

Besides, who doesnt love a good story?

If Not a Serial Killer, Then What Is Charles Manson? My new "Psychology Today" article explains! Share it. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/w...