Dark Dreams: A Legendary FBI Profiler Examines Homicide and the Criminal Mind

I've read many true-crime books, several from former FBI agents such as John Douglas. And while I actually hate to say it, this is one that just put me to sleep.I could very well be wrong, but it's as if Roy Hazelwood created a list of psychopathies, stack ranked those disorders, and then created an outline from this list. After that, he looked back at some of his case files to determine which of those cases matched those psychopathies and fit those cases into each of the chapters. Whether or not this theory is correct, here is what I would have done:Pick out a few cases -- some of the nastiest cases ever -- and build the book around those cases. The author could have started out with, say, Paul Bernardo, The Toolbox Killers, and The Toybox Killer, just as a few examples, and built his book from them. After all, one could easily write a whole book just about Mr. Bernardo, and quite a few already have. This approach would have made this book come alive. You have to figure that, if you chose from a fairly small list of the worst serial killers, you could have easily covered quite a few common psychological issues of killers.I've seen this pattern before. I once helped a guy edit a book about software engineering, and he built his book using unrelated and very small code samples, which is similar to this book in a way. But that book really became unreadable. If he had chosen one small-to-medium sized software program that used most of the important APIs, the book would have been much better as the author could have discussed small pieces of the program in each chapter and discussed how it helped build the whole. "Ah, c'est la vie," as they say, at least in France.I would guess that "Dark Dreams" would make a good textbook though, and perhaps that was the original motivation for writing it? I would say that, if you're an FBI profiler -- or perhaps an FBI trainee -- this would be a very good starting point for reading, although it is a bit dry. If you're reading for "pleasure" (which is always a tricky proposition with true crime, unless you're into Schadenfreude) then this book would not be for you. I'll admit I stopped reading about two-thirds of the way in, as I dropped my Kindle and dozed off too many times. Well, at least the Autosync saved my bookmarks along the way. . . .

I started reading about serial killers after the sniper deaths in Washington D.C. and Maryland. "Dark Dreams" is an interesting and horrifying look into the minds of serial killers, mostly American, although there is the obligatory chapter on Jack the Ripper.In a previously read book, "Serial Killers" by Joel Norris, the author attempted both a psychological and biological profile of these murderers with emphasis on both nature and upbringing. Hazelwood and Michaud do not attempt to decipher the 'why' of serial killers in "Dark Dreams." They concentrate on the different types of 'how,' and what the 'how' reveals about the serial killer.For instance, one of the authors' major themes is the narcissism of serial killers. Many of them come to believe that they are too smart for the police to catch, and start taking unnecessary chances. Some even write taunting letters to the police, e.g. the Zodiac Killer, or commit a crime under the very noses of their pursuers. An example of the latter type of behavior was demonstrated by the stalker, Andrew Johnstone, who stole his victim's underwear out of a Salvation Army box that the police had under twenty-four hour surveillance. The authors point out that a safer method to obtain the same result would have been to steal his victim's bras off of her clothesline.A few other common characteristics of serial killers that the authors spend some time with are their ritualistic behavior, their employment of paid or compliant partners to 'practice' on, and their use of detective magazines as 'how to' manuals. A range of deviant behaviors including fetishism, necrophilia, sadism, masochism, and autoeroticism are touched upon although the authors concentrate on ritualistic sexual sadists as "the most resourceful, destructive, and elusive of all deviant offenders."One of the authors, Roy Hazelwood" also co-authored a book on "Autoerotic Fatalities" and "Dark Dreams" follows up on this theme and explains how profilers determine whether a particular death is suicide, homicide, or an unfortunate accident.How would you interpret the case where a teen-age boy's nude body was discovered hanging inside a vertical sewer pipe, his face covered in duct tape, and his grandfather's watch taped inside his mouth? Read the chapter on "Equivocal Deaths" and learn how FBI profiler and co-author, Roy Hazelwood determined exactly what had occurred.This book is a dark journey into the human mind, quite graphic at times, and should probably be stamped "For mature readers only."

Brilliant look at the criminal mind and I find Hazelwood to be more illuminating than the other criminal profilers. It does include some strong, honest and therefore graphic sections but it is never sensationalist. I found myself highlighting whole tracts of the book with marginalia and it gave me the realisation why Hazelwood is rated so highly in the field. For those interested in true crime I would say this is a must read and is superior to the impressive Mindhunter by john Douglas.

If your'e into phsycology & understanding why people commit serious crime then you will find this book not only educational & fascinating, but well written & extremely informative, Roy Hazelwood is a legend in profiling, highl.y recommended for all true crime fans.

Really interesting case files and deep driving into all roles a profiler is requested to do. Very insightful and interesting

John Douglas writes better books sorry.

Excellent book again from one off the FBI profilers. Very informative, and for me educational. How these guys worked all this out through sheer hard work is brilliant