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How to Spot a Serial Killer: In the Library

Serial Killers Print Books

See the list below for crime and serial killers books that are held in the library. These books are available NOW for checkout via curbside/front door pickup! 

In the Library

American Predator

Israel Keyes was one of the most ambitious and terrifying serial killers in modern history. The FBI considered his behavior unprecedented. Over the course of fourteen years, Keyes would fly to a city, rent a car, and drive thousands of miles in order to kill. He would break into a stranger's house, abduct his victims in broad daylight, and kill and dispose of them in hours. And then he would return home to Alaska, resuming life as a quiet construction worker devoted to his daughter. 

Confession of a Serial Killer

In 1974, Dennis Lynn Rader stalked and murdered a family of four in Wichita, Kansas. Since adolescence, he had read about serial killers and imagined becoming one. Soon after killing the family, he murdered a young woman and then another, until he had ten victims. He named himself "B.T.K." (bind, torture, kill) and wrote notes that terrorized the city. He remained on the loose for thirty years. He nearly got away with his crimes, but in 2004, he began to play risky games with the police. When he was arrested, Rader's family, friends, and coworkers were shocked to discover that B.T.K. had been among them, going to work, raising his children, and acting normal. 

The Devil in the White City

This New York Times bestseller intertwines the true tale of the 1893 World's Fair and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction.

The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers

The Encyclopaedia of Serial Killers, Second Edition provides accurate information on hundreds of serial murder cases - from early history to the present. Written in a non-sensational manner, this authoritative encyclopaedia debunks many of the myths surrounding this most notorious of criminal activities. New major serial killers have come to light since the first edition was published, and many older cases have been solved (such as the Green River Killer) or further investigated (like Jack the Ripper and the ""Zodiac"" Killer). 

Female Serial Killers

In this fascinating book, Peter Vronsky exposes and investigates the phenomenon of women who kill--and the political, economic, social and sexual implications buried with each victim. How many of us are even remotely prepared to imagine our mothers, daughters, sisters or grandmothers as fiendish killers? For centuries we have been conditioned to think of serial murderers and psychopathic predators as men--with women registering low on our paranoia radar. Perhaps that's why so many trusting husbands, lovers, family friends, and children have fallen prey to "the female monster."    

Historical Serial Killers

Containing profiles of several of the most famous serial killers throughout history such as Jack the Ripper and H. H. Holmes, this in-depth analysis of the killers' minds, behavior, and actions will surely intrigue any psychology student. Comprehensive text explains the life and crimes of these prolific killers from history, and a personality disorder self-assessment quiz will give readers insight into psychopathy--the most common psychological condition for serial killers.

Inside the Minds of Serial Killers

There are many cultural myths about serial killers, often propagated even by mental health professionals. Many assume there is a profile of a serial killer, that serial killers always go for the same victim type or always use the same MO, that they are more clever than ordinary people, and that they are inevitably charming and attractive. The truth is not as simple as that. There are different types of serial killers, and while there are many books that discuss the serial killer phenomenon especially in relationship to victim types or context, researchers have not yet been able to come up with a definition, or type, that covers the broad spectrum of serial killers and their complex psychological dynamics. 

The Killer Across the Table

The legendary FBI criminal profiler, number-one New York Times bestselling author, and inspiration for the hit Netflix show Mindhunter delves deep into the lives and crimes of four of the most disturbing and complex predatory killers, offering never-before-revealed details about his profiling process, and divulging the strategies used to crack some of America's most challenging cases.  Twenty years after his famous memoir, the man who literally wrote the book on FBI criminal profiling opens his case files once again. 

Lady Killers

Inspired by author Tori Telfer's Jezebel column "Lady Killers," this thrilling and entertaining compendium investigates female serial killers and their crimes through the ages. When you think of serial killers throughout history, the names that come to mind are ones like Jack the Ripper, John Wayne Gacy, and Ted Bundy. But what about Tillie Klimek, Moulay Hassan, Kate Bender? The narrative we're comfortable with is the one where women are the victims of violent crime, not the perpetrators.    

My Life among the Serial Killers

Over the course of twenty-five years, Dr. Helen Morrison has profiled more than eighty serial killers around the world. What she learned about them will shatter every assumption you've ever had about the most notorious criminals known to man. She is one of the country's leading experts on serial killers, and has spent as many as four hundred hours alone in a room with depraved murderers, digging deep into killers' psyches in ways no profiler before ever has. In My Life Among the Serial Killers, Dr. Morrison relates how she profiled the Mad Biter, Richard Otto Macek, who chewed on his victims' body parts, stalked Dr. Morrison, then believed she was his wife. 

Natural Born Celebrities

Jeffrey Dahmer. Ted Bundy. John Wayne Gacy. Over the past thirty years, serial killers have become iconic figures in America, the subject of made-for-TV movies and mass-market paperbacks alike. But why do we find such luridly transgressive and horrific individuals so fascinating? What compels us to look more closely at these figures when we really want to look away? Natural Born Celebrities considers how serial killers have become lionized in American culture and explores the consequences of their fame. 

A Serial Killer's Daughter

What is it like to learn that your ordinary, loving father is a serial killer?  In 2005, Kerri Rawson opened the door of her apartment to greet an FBI agent who shared the shocking news that her father had been arrested for murdering ten people, including two children.   A Serial Killer's Daughter is an unflinching exploration of life with one of America's most infamous killers and an astonishing tale of personal and spiritual transformation. For all who suffer from: unhealed wounds, the crippling effects of violence, betrayal, or  anger, Kerri Rawson's story offers the hope of reclaiming sanity in the midst of madness, rebuilding a life in the shadow of death, and learning to forgive the unforgivable.

Serial Killers True Crime Anthology 2014

WARNING: This book contains forensic crime scene evidence photographs and statements that some may find disturbing. Serial killers; they cross the bounds of evil. We will see that serial killers are roaming among us all, from small towns to big cities. They are not limited to a particular place, gene pool, culture, social class or religion. They are not restricted to any particular demographic, political propensity and they can be of any gender. Some of the serial killers chosen for this first annual Serial Killers True Crime Anthology you might have heard of and we present their tales in new ways. 

Serial Killers

Serial Killers takes a detailed look, in both words and pictures, at some of the most infamous serial killers, from Jack the Ripper and the Vampire of Dusseldorf to Dennis Nilsen, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy and David Kerkovitz.

Sons of Cain

In Sons of Cain investigative historian Peter Vronsky examines our understanding of serial killing from its prehistoric anthropological evolutionary dimensions in the pre-civilization era (c. 15,000 BC) to today. Delving back into human history and deep into the human psyche, he focuses strictly on sexual serial killers: thrill killers who engage in murder, rape, torture, cannibalism and necrophilia, as opposed to for-profit serial killers, including hit men, or 'political' serial killers, like terrorists or genocidal murderers.

Zodiac

Robert Graysmith's New York Times bestselling account of the desperate hunt for a serial killer and his own investigation of California's unsolved Zodiac murders. A sexual sadist, the Zodiac killer took pleasure in torture and murder. His first victims were a teenage couple, stalked and shot dead in a lovers' lane. After another slaying, he sent his first mocking note to authorities, promising he would kill more. The official tally of his victims was six. He claimed thirty-seven dead. . In this gripping account of Zodiac's eleven-month reign of terror, Graysmith reveals hundreds of facts previously unreleased, including the complete text of the killer's letters.

Zodiac Unmasked

Robert Graysmith reveals the true identity of Zodiac-America's most elusive serial killer. Between December 1968 and October 1969 a hooded serial killer called Zodiac terrorized San Francisco. Claiming responsibility for thirty-seven murders, he manipulated the media with warnings, dares, and bizarre cryptograms that baffled FBI code-breakers. After painstaking investigation and more than thirty years of research, Robert Graysmith finally exposes Zodiac's true identity. With overwhelming evidence he reveals the twisted private life that led to the crimes, and provides startling theories as to why they stopped. America's greatest unsolved mystery has finally been solved.