Kevin G. (sackett) reviewed on 7/6/2009 + 14 more book reviews

Excellent read. Great and unexpected mix of psychology, philosophy and spirituality as they relate to both the social phenomenon of serial killers and to Roger Depue's life as a whole. Well written and informative. For my money, best of the profilers' "these are my stories" books (and I've read most, if not all, of them) because it isn't just a series of case studies and doesn't foundation itself on a sense of ... self aggrandizement, I suppose would be the word. The narrative voice is humble without being falsely so, and it offers even-handed insight into the outsized personalties of the early years with the BSU that have spent almost as much time flinging mud at each other's reputations as they have solving crimes. While that kind of politicized "He said"/"He said" thing can be entertaining, it is also distracting from the psychological and sociological impact of the crimes under discussion; and I found Depue's willingness to speak candidly about both the strengths and the weaknesses of the profilers under his command a welcome change of pace. Beyond that, this book, unlike any of the other profiler memoirs I've read, struggles with the humanity and inhumanity of what Depue has seen/experienced in his professional and personal life while seeking to explore those things in more meaningful ways than simply imparting stats or sharing details in the name of shock value.

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