Editorial Review

What makes people kill? Specifically, what are the motivations behind serial, mass, and spree killings? Drawing from cases such as the mass murder in Dunblane, Scotland, in which a lone gunman mowed down 16 children and their teacher, the still-unsolved Tylenol poisonings, and the Unabomber, former FBI profiler John Douglas and coauthor Mark Olshaker try to explain the unthinkable. What sets Read more

Reviews (61)

Inside Smoldering Minds
This is an engrossing book that was ahead of its time in presenting the often seamy, often searching field of forensic science. Douglas brings us onto the crime scene, and gives us a view through the eyes of profilers, pathologists, analyzers, and detectives.
A trip to a very dark place
When it comes to bringing serial crime psychology and profiling to a level that a layperson can understand, Douglas is peerless.He identifies several different types of serial killers and includes true-life stories of a few he's dealt with in his decades with the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit.It's an engrossing, easily understandable and fascinating read.

Not as riveting as I expected
When I saw this book in a used book store, I thought the title was "Anatomy of Murder". Only later did I see that it was "Motive". Based on Douglas' other books about serial killers, I expected this book to deal strictly with serial killers. And it did not.
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Subjects:  1. Criminal investigation    2. Criminal psychology    3. Criminology    4. General    5. Homicide investigation    6. Murder - General    7. Psychopathology - General    8. True Crime    9. True Crime / Espionage    10. United States    11. True Crime / Murder   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Forensic Medicine    3. General    4. Medical    5. Medical / Nursing    6. Medicolegal investigators    7. New York    8. New York (State)    9. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York    10. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    11. Ribowsky, Shiya    12. Medical / Forensic Medicine   

Reviews (3)

Excellent book
Stashower has done a number of things extremely well here. He's uncovered an interesting, historical true crime murder; he describes the scene so well you can hear the snap of the buggy whip and smell the horse manure in the streets; he's brought in one of the most fascinating characters of the period, Edgar Allen Poe, and he's tied it all together with prose that's as good as is being written anywhere in fiction or non-fiction today. Read it.

Reads like a novel but it's a true story!
It's a true story, but The Beautiful Cigar Girl reads like a top-flight mystery novel.I'm a big fan of biographies, and Stashower makes this period come to life. This is a great follow-up to his "Teller of Tales" a biography of Arthur Conan Doyle for which he won the prestigous Edgar Award.
Beautiful Cigar Girl is!
Daniel Stashower's newst book is a compendium of exacting scholarship; tight writing and razor sharp historical sleuthing that we have come to know from this modern master of the historical biography. The Beautiful Cigar Girl traces the murder of a popular commoner of the 19th century whose death captivated the press, ushering in a new era of sensationalism. Stashower does not duck the responsibility of going toe to toe with the hard facts and the murky details of the time and places. He edges into this story with the undeniably fascinating character of no less than Edgar Allan Poe and his interest in this most unusual story. While there have been at least 4 or 5 texts to deal with this murder, these figures and E. A. Poe's involvement, none holds a candle to this opus by the Edgar Award winning Stashower. His award is safe and worthy of the man it is named after, and how appropriate that EAP should sit on his shelf overlooking this story that never ends...for this volume makes us reconsider our modern press and every "murder of the century" from the story at hand right up to the Amish massacre recently. One word describes this massive amount of work, scholarship and raw talent: Bravo! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1809-1849.    2. 19th century    3. American - General    4. Detective and mystery stories, American    5. History    6. History and criticism    7. Literary Criticism    8. Murder    9. Murder - General    10. Mystery of Marie Roget    11. New York    12. New York (State)    13. Poe, Edgar Allan,    14. Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849    15. Sources    16. Special Subjects In Literature    17. True Crime / Espionage    18. True Crime / Murder   

Reviews (43)

Horrific Story - Terribly Written - Very Disappointing
This book was a HUGE disappointment for me because I have used the Amazon Recommendations wizard for a long time and this book was the #1 recommendation based on my preferences. How could this book be likened to ANYTHING on my list? The similarities come to a dead stop other than being on the topic of 'child abuse'.
A Real Pageturner
Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. I am still stunned that this woman is alive today and that someone hasn't shot her dead.Her poor children will never be right.All I can say is that I would like to be in a room with Terry for about 1 hour.How was she even allowed to have children.She should have been spayed long ago.

Not a good read
The reason I gave this book such a low review is because it was so poorly written. I felt like I was reading something intended for a second grader. I was very diappointed by the author and the way the book was written. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. California    2. Case studies    3. Child abuse    4. Filicide    5. Knorr, Theresa Jimmie    6. Murder - General    7. Sibling abuse    8. Sociology    9. True Crime / Espionage    10. True Stories   

Reviews (4)

A well-written objective view of the case
Unlike a few other reviewers I found this to be a very well written and balanced account of an interesting case.I, too, live in the area and I had no problems following the action at all, nor did I find, as a previous reviewer stated, that the author confused events and places.
Poorly Written
This book was so poorly written that it was almost impossible to keep track of what was going on. Often times the editing was so bad that the wrong person was being named in the wrong subject matter. The author's thoughts were not well thought out and certain facts were repeated multiple times in exactly the same sentence used in chapters before. For a book that is being presented as true crime, and factual, Mr. Glatt failed to keep his information straight, often contradicting points he made in one chapter in the very next. Since I reside in the immediate area where this crime occurred, I have first hand knowledge of the surrounding region, and can say that often in his accounts were not just slightly off base, but wholly inaccurate. I was excited to purchase this book and disappointed when I wasted the time to read it. This man, Mr. Nyce got away with murder, and the book failed to give the victim a voice, for someone who is capitalizing on such an atrocity I found it distasteful that more time wasn't spent elucidating his wife's life other than her infidelity with regard to their marriage.

Not A Very "Nyce" Husband
This book offers a very indepth view of the case of Johnathan Nyce who was convicted of passion provocation murder in the death of his wife, Michelle, a Filipino native.
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Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. Criminal investigation    3. Murder    4. Murder - General    5. Murder victims    6. New Jersey    7. True Crime    8. True Crime / Espionage   

Reviews (8)

Deadwood Lite
If you're looking for a fast, easy read about Deadwood with little detail, insight, or depth, this is the book for you.The book offers nothing new or interesting for those of us already familiar with Deadwood's history.
Please, do not wast your time.
This was a very quick read, and not a very detailed book.I would wish the book to go into more detail, and not have so many references to "Deadwood" the HBO show.If I wanted to know all that, I would watch the show.
The Real Deadwood
Dissappointing.Not enough about the characters.Too much reference about the television series. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. Black Hills (S.D. and Wyo.)    3. Deadwood    4. Frontier and pioneer life    5. Gold mines and mining    6. History    7. History - U.S.    8. Performing Arts    9. Performing Arts/Dance    10. South Dakota    11. Television - General    12. United States - 19th Century/Old West    13. American history: c 1800 to c 1900    14. History / United States / General    15. True Stories   

Editorial Review

Author Frank W. Abagnale knows something about fraud--he once committed it for a living. "Through my various hustles, I passed something like $2.5 million worth of checks, a blizzard of paper that I scattered in earnest throughout all fifty states and twenty-six countries, all before I was legally allowed to drink," he writes. "I was proficient enough at cashing fraudulent checks that I earned the distinction of becoming one of the most hunted criminals by the FBI." Abagnale was ultimately caught, and he served prison sentences in France, Sweden, and the United States. In the 25 years since his release, Abagnale (who also wrote Read more

Reviews (25)

Enlightening
It's amazing the number of ways you can get ripped off.If you learn one thing from this book, it's that you've got to watch your a**!

Candid. Unnerving. Insightful. Compelling.
Frank Abagnale is the subject of the movie "Catch Me If You Can" and a proven master of deception and the "con". Since his reform many years ago, he has spent decades working with the FBI and the private sector to improve their defenses against the modern criminal.
The facts about "Catch Me If You Can"
For those of you comparing the literary qualities of this book with "Catch Me If You Can", note that Abagnale did not write that book. He only told his story to the real writer. You can read Abagnale's comments about this at his website at http://www.abagnale.com/comments.htm.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Consumer protection    5. Fraud    6. General    7. Other Miscellaneous Crimes    8. Strategic Planning    9. Swindlers and swindling    10. United States    11. Business & Economics / General    12. Business information systems   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (33)

What was this supposed to be?
I've read everything Michael Connelly has written.I'm a huge fan.What was this?Apparently all the news articles he wrote as a reporter organized by criminal into chapters.The result is unending repetition of the facts, as newspaper articles are wont to do.When you're reading one article a day, that's fine.But when you're reading the articles in succession, it definitely is not fine.

Save Your Money and Your Time.
The flap description had me intrigued, as I have loved to read all things Connelly.I expected more of an analysis of his experiences and how they formed his work.The "Telling high school yearbook caption" was simply a reprint of the caption.Not anything more, not more about who the person was, etc.This is literally a reprint of newspaper articles, and each one repeats much of what the previous handful on each subject had said.A disappointment.Move on.

if you like to read old newspapers cuttings, then go ahead,
but if you think you'd get a thrill out of this deadbeat cash-in newspapers cuttings, dream on.
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Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. Crime    3. Crime in mass media    4. Criminology    5. Homicide investigation    6. Media Studies    7. Murder    8. Murder - General    9. Sociology    10. True Crime    11. United States    12. Current Events / General   

Reviews (41)

A good true ghost story
If you have read many books about true ghost stories, you will find that few of them are very exciting, and this one will definitely not keep you on the edge of your seat. To really be interested in a book like this, you need to be interested in the actual experience of living in a haunted house and not in being scared by supernatural events as you would be with a novel. Books like these are written by novice writers, so the style is not all that good either.
Is It This True?!!!!!
Dorah Williams tells the story of her and her family who moved into this haunted Victorian style house. For no reason at all on this snow packed winter day the Williams family went for a drive. They saw an open house sign and thought it would be fun to look, knowing that they were happy where they were. But this house seemed to call out to Dorah and her and her family and they decided to take it. Months later, when things start to happen in the William's new Victorian style home, Dorah's daughter Kammie tries to tell her that there's a girl in her room and she's waving to her in the window. Dorah doesn't think much of it. That's not the only thing, their dog Piper, who was a cocker spaniel that loved to fallow them around the house, absolutely refused to go on the second floor. They start to hear footsteps in the hallway and on the stairs. They have a light in the hallway that keeps flickering on and off. They try everything from changing the bulb to having the electricity checked. The ghosts give them a present of a beautiful rose bush in their yard that even gives them one blooming rose on Christmas morning.
Haunted: The Incredible True Story of a Canadian Family's Experience Living in a Haunted House
I really enjoyed this book. It was not scary, but informative. It really hit the family perspective of hauntings. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Body, Mind & Spirit    3. Mysticism    4. New Age    5. Personal Memoirs    6. Supernatural    7. Body, Mind & Spirit / Unexplained Phenomena    8. Canada    9. Ghosts & poltergeists    10. True Stories   

Reviews (10)

Witch
I am a book critic. It is not often that I "cannot put a book down" nor "finish a book" for that matter. I bore easily unless a book is well written. I teach English at a public school. Other than two notable grammatical errors, the book is excellently written. I was hooked start to finish!

Hideous crime, but not worth all the superlatives it advertised.
Actually, a pretty boring book --- not well organized or well written.
she is one disturbed person
THIS BOOK WAS ALMOST HARD TO BELIEVE. IT DEFINATELY HELD MY INTEREST. HER WHOLE FAMILY WAS A MESS. SEEMS LIKE THE CHILDREN DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE SINCE THE DAY THEY WERE BORN. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. General    3. Las Vegas    4. Murder    5. Murder - Serial Killers    6. Nevada    7. True Crime    8. True Crime / Espionage    9. Women murderers    10. True Crime / General   

Subjects:  1. Civil rights    2. Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations    3. General    4. Government relations    5. Indians of North America    6. Native American    7. Organized Crime    8. South Dakota    9. True Crime    10. True Crime / Espionage    11. True Crime / Organized Crime   

Reviews (15)

Those poor kids
I really felt sorry for the two sons in this book.It's horrible the life they led, and shameful that nobody in the mother's family ever took the trouble to find out about what was going on and step in.
Fascinating story
I agree with other positive reviews. Dirmann has a winner with her first true crime book. The story left me bewildered as to how this family could be so dsyfunctional for so long. But it happens. Very sad tale.

Great Read!!!
VERY sad, i cannot believe the jury gave Jason what they did. I do think Jason could have left though. He WAS over 18, i mean killing her was stupid in my opinion. I think the DA could have been a little more understanding, all of his abuse history was barely even brought up in the trial and his lawyer well sucked, i kept thinking of things i would have said if i was his lawyer!
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Subjects:  1. Crime And Criminals    2. General    3. Murder - General    4. True Crime    5. True Crime / Espionage   

Reviews (7)

Confessions of a CIA wordpusher?
Woodward's story of Casey's years at the helm of U.S. state terrorism centers around Casey and his British-bred, WWII-honed perspective used to justify government covert actions that include torture, disappearance, and death.We learn that America did not begin her slide down the slope to Nazi Germany with the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in the Twenty-First Century.It began when Hitler's faults began to take revenge on the Allies through the creation of the OSS in London, predecessor to CIA.Under Reagan's two terms as President with Casey at the helm of CIA, U.S. state terrorism ran rampant in its aim to establish a system of Anglo/U.S.-sponsored authoritarian states.
What Casey was thinking
This book presents the history of the CIA during William Casey's tenure, from 1981 to 1987.Woodward focused the book primarily on William Casey himself.The book details not only the various operations that the CIA was involved in during the 1980s, but also Casey's motivations for his leadership decisions.The CIA operations described in the book include everything from the mundane details of placing bugs in the offices of foreign leaders to the Iran-Contra affair.
A contemporary account of still important issues
While this book may be a little old now, having been written prior to the first George Bush's Presidency, there are still insights into government operations as well as tidbits that are relevant today.Veil follows the tenure of the Director of the CIA Bob Casey.It begins with Reagan's election and ends with Casey's death.The book is written mostly from firsthand interviews (Casey wanted some of what he was saying to be put directly in the book).Read more

Subjects:  1. Bargain Books    2. Espionage    3. General    4. Government - U.S. Government    5. Military - Intelligence/Espionage    6. Political Science    7. Politics/International Relations    8. U.S. Government - Intelligence Agencies    9. U.S. History - 1980s    10. Political Science / General   

Reviews (46)

Amazing!!! Please buy the book!
This is the story of damien echols a misunderstood teen..who because of his love of heavy metal music & black clothing was labled a "devil worshipper". He was arrested along with 2 of his friends Jason Baldwin & Jessie Misskelley and charged with a triple homicide of (3) 8yr old boys. Homicides they did not commit!! Damien is currently on death row and they are still waiting for dna evidence to prove their innocents.Please read this book it will change your life ( and at the same time value it!!) FREE THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Free The West Memphis 3!!
The best book I have ever read...I feel different in a way I can't describe. I know people have said it a million times...but it could have been me! I will forever follow this case and do all I can to support and make people aware of it! This cannot be happening in America! Go to www.WM3.org and do everything you can to make sure it doesn't happen again and to help FREE THE WEST MEMPHIS 3!!!!!!!

I walk in Damien�s Shoes (Almost Home)
As I read Almost Home, I saw myself in Damien Echol?s shoes, I saw myself in his shoes even when I had just read a little bit of info about the case. But reading his Autobiography is like reading a book about my own life, I don?t have to write a book about my life he has already done it for me. I am so engrossed in this book & Damien Echol's life that I stayed up until 4 AM reading it & that is kind of the time sleep started to settle in.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Murder - General    5. Personal Memoirs    6. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs    7. True crime   

Reviews (25)

Outstanding resource
I have been doing a lot of research into changing my career to that of a PI.This book is the best primer I have read.It is very straight forward, easy to read and understand, and gives examples from the author's experiences.The author does a great job of de-mystifying what a PI does, and does not, do.I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the field, especially at this price.

Complete Idiots guide not for Idiots!
This was one great book! everything you need to know about Private Investigation is in there. Tips, Tricks, Info sites, It has it all from P.I. Licensing to License Plates! Great case Stories too! It ROCKS!!!

Good Information
This book is informative and is in ordinary enough language that your automatically comfortable reading it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal Law - General    2. Detectives    3. General    4. Handbooks, manuals, etc    5. Investigations    6. Law    7. Political Freedom & Security - Law Enforcement    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Private investigators    10. United States    11. Criminal investigation & detection    12. Police & security services    13. True Crime / General   

Reviews (10)

Wonderful animal story
This is the book to buy.What a wonderful book to write about a dog that has been through several struggles and survived.I would read all of her books that she writes.Great reviews....

The Miracle that Keeps on Giving
This was a great story about a dog who survived an animal shelter gas chamber and lived to tell about it with the help of Randy Grim. No dog has ever survived the gas chamber in St. Louis, but Quentin did - named after the infamous Sam Quentin.Quentin was one of the millions given up by his guardians, more like sentenced to death by his guardians.If it weren't for Randy Grim's incredible work with the St. Louis Stray Rescue, Quentin would've survived the chamber only to put back in.But that wasn't the case.Randy was called and claimed Quentin, who became a nationwide spokes-dog championing no-kill shelters.Thanks to Randy and Quentin, St. Louis replaced the gas chamber (where animals truly suffered at the end of their lives) in their animal shelters with HUMANE euthanasia.Hopefully some day it will be a no-kill shelter, along with every animal shelter in this country.
Great story - book needs work
A great story about the Miracle Dog - heartfelt and emotional.The book itself could use some reorganization and definitely needs someone to spell and grammar check it.Was disappointed with the quality of the copy, but the story was too good to not give 4 stars to. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Animal Rights    3. Animals    4. Dogs    5. General    6. Human-animal relationships    7. Missouri    8. Nature / Animal Rights    9. Pets / Dogs / General    10. Quentin (Dog)    11. Saint Louis    12. Social Science    13. Sociology    14. Dogs - General    15. Euthanasia of animals    16. Nature    17. Pets    18. True Stories   

Reviews (7)

Get it right !!!
Your readers must have read a different book and may have confused the facts. Det. Van Houten was not "off duty" at the time of this incident and he was not a witness to a crime in progress, but was the victim of a attempted robbery by the Perry brothers. Det. Van Houten did not kill Edmund Perry. Edmund Perry killed himself when he went out looking for a victim,and unfortunately for him, chose the wrong one. You can take the kid out of the "hood" but you cant take the "hood" out of the kid. Perry chose the wrong path and he paid for it with his life.

Seperate Lifes
Edmund Perry, a seventeen year old student at Exeter Academy, was shot unfairly by a police officer.This officer thought that Eddie was mugging a woman so he immediatly shot him.Eddie lived in Harlem, but attended school in New Hampshire at Exeter Academy.He was living two completely differnt lives, black ghetto with his family friends and a prestigious bording school with his teachers and friends.It was very unlikely for a black boy to go to a prep school at this time, but Edmund was a very smart boy.He attended Harlem primary school then had four years of private school and soon would be going to Stanford University in the fall.This couldn't happen for him.How could someone who worked so hard in life and got far, have their life cut off so short?How is this fair?Robert Sam Anson, the author of "Best Intentions" did a fabulous job getting the facts from Edmund's family and friends, because this is a true story.

Best Intentions : The Education and Killing of Edmund Perry
This was just a really really good book ... Read more

Subjects:  1. African American students    2. African American teenagers    3. Biography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Criminals    6. Discrimination & Racism    7. Murder - General    8. New York    9. New York (State)    10. Perry, Edmund,    11. True Crime    12. True Crime / Espionage    13. d. 1985    14. Perry, Edmund    15. Sociology, Social Studies    16. True Crime / Murder   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (59)

A Hero's Book
Agent Pistone is a hero.His willingness to go deep undercover for years to clean house on organized crime is amazing.I wouldn't have done it and salute his willingness to put this mission ahead of his own life.
Great read
This was an amazing book. It provided a great look into the life of one of the greatest FBI agents to ever live. I would highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in the field of federal law enforcement or if they just want to enjoy a suspense-filled book.

How the Mafia operates
This book tells a great story of how the Mafia really lives. How they are a bunch of guys that don't deserve the respect the rest of the world gives them. How they live prosperously for only a couple weeks after they steal from the working class; how they are willing to kill at no cost even though they don't understand why. What got me the most about this book was the relationship between Sonny Black and Pistone. Pistone became close friends with Black (he thought Lefty as an ignorant man) and almost felt bad for him once he was killed. Sonny Black was a guy that wanted very little to do with the mob but knew he couldn't get out. The stories are great and it's very different from the movie. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography/Autobiography    2. General    3. Mafia    4. Organized crime    5. Pistone, Joseph D    6. True Crime    7. True Crime / Espionage    8. United States    9. True Crime / Organized Crime