Good initially, interesting history of profiling as an art and science. The author has a bit of an ego which is to be expected I suppose but is annoying nonetheless. ( )

Robert Ressler was one of the first profilers in the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit. He was the one to coin the term 'serial killer', and his work interviewing mass murderers and serial killers has been seminal in learning more about how their minds work, and how to catch them.

Unlike Mind Hunter, the strength of this book really lies in the organization. Ressler deals with different aspects of killers' psyche, including childhood warning signs and even staging crimes. It's very interesting to see Ressler explain how he arrives at certain characteristics in his profiles. However, Ressler's account suffers from a distinct lack of the dramatic. While he describes several of the same cases as John Douglas, they are described less graphically and we never get a sense of Ressler's personal involvement or the stakes in an ongoing investigation. Including more of the cases he was actively profiling would have made the book more interesting.

Where Douglas came across as hogging the limelight, Ressler made it very clear that his was part of a team effort. He takes pains to give credit to local law enforcement, professional mental health professionals, and on occasion even a psychic. Personally, I found this approach more palatable. Like Douglas, Ressler has some very decided opinions on the death penalty, bureaucracy, and therapists. But in Ressler's case, it didn't bother me. This may have been because his views aligned more closely with my own, but I think it had more to do with his tone.

Ressler never lets us forget that these men are not likeable despite the rapport he has built with them. Even their friendliness is a form of manipulation and control. Nowhere is this more evident than in his discussions with Ed Kemper, the very serial killer Douglas professed to admire. In his account, Ressler describes the graphic (and smiling) threats of violence Kemper made, essentially to watch Ressler squirm. Even behind bars these killers are still dangerous both to those who study them, and on account of those who emulate them and focus on them as celebrities.

This was definitely interesting, but what I've really been looking for is a mix between this book and Mind Hunter - Ressler's less cocky tone with Douglas flair for dramatic narration. Anybody know of one?

Also posted at my blog ( )

7/10. Did not finish reading it. Got too dense and boring. Needed better writing and editing. But, it is by Robert K. Ressler, the original FBI profiler. And also written with Tom Schachtman. ( )