Book Review: Serial Killers and Sadistic Murderers

By Sandy Amazeen Jan 14, 2008, 21:54 GMT

With twenty-five years worth of experience investigating and interviewing serial killers, their friends, family and surviving victims, Levin is an acknowledged expert on what motivates these most dangerous criminals. Drawing upon his wealth of experience, Levin has developed a series of lessons equally applicable by the layperson and law enforcement professional such as “power and control are much more important motivations for the worst kinds of criminal violence than many people realize.” He explains how the majority of serial killers get off on being in complete control of their victim’s fate, playing God to make themselves feel superior. These lessons were formulated after years of face-to-face interviews with the country’s worst offenders including the Hillside Strangler, BTK, Joseph Franklin and Jeffrey Dahmer to list a few. Common to these psychopaths is their complete lack of remorse which allows them to kill with impunity. Levin has drawn some interesting if controversial conclusions from these interviews that prompt readers to reexamine the effectiveness of such well-intended legislation as Megan’s Law and the death penalty.

True crime fans, mystery buffs and law enforcement personnel will enjoy this well written if uncomfortable glimpse into the warped minds serial killers, their childhood experiences, criminal defense strategies and response to being caught.