Customer Reviews

Malicious Intent (Howdunit)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This book was just disappointing and irritating on many levels. I don't consider myself to be an expert on crime, but I do consider myself to be well-read. The author takes the most common ideas about criminals and lays them out as fact. He doesn't support almost any of it with any kind of statistic or study, and also doesn't offer that there could be other factors or differing opinions of why these crimes occur. Supporting evidence is sorely lacking.

His psychological explanations really grated on my nerves. Anyone who had studied psychology knows there are a wide range of divisions of psychology. He takes one position in psychology and preaches it as the only interpretation. Admittedly, most individuals in psychology take one position and exclude the others, but it doesn't give you a completely accurate view of the events you're analyzing if you refuse to allow for other view. It was grating to read, and I had a hard time making my way through the book.

Some of the examples are poorly supported and explained OR are still under debate as to real criminals who committed the crime. As someone who has read about a some of the crimes listed, I found that this author has omitted theories, has omitted facts and just ran with the most popular theory, regardless of facts.

The only thing I did appreciate was the opening of the history of these types of criminals. However, even then I was disappointed with the lack of background info and the brevity of the history of these types of crimes.

I'm hesitant to recommend this book for beginners simply because it is such a narrow view of the possibilities, of the facts and is just lacking in anything helpful. Almost everything listed in the book I already had read about or studied.

Spend your money and time elsewhere. You'll be better served if you do.

This guy claims expertise he does not have. It is clear that this he thinks combining a mish-mash of disorganized facts and questionable opinions in an endless series of lists and bullet-points makes for writing a book. An example is his useless list of potential crime victims, including laughable characterizations like "Business people -- vulnerable anytime, anywhere," and "Police officers -- easily isolated and overwhelmed." Another bizarre, casually-made and unexplained statement: "The availability of weapons has nothing to do with the incidence of domestic homicides." Or "Drive-by shooting victims are generally children." Huh? And the worst of it is these are not rare hiccups -- these disparate and doubtful claims are all from the same randomly-selected page. This book is a compendium of nonsense like this.

One could learn more about how criminals think by watching an old episode of "Knight Rider."

This book reads like the author copied his facts from an encyclopaedia. There is no real, up to date info on the topic. This is what I, as a buyer, was looking for. I returned this book very disappointed. Writer's Digest should insist on having authors who really work in the field they are writing in, so as to lend authenticity. Some books in the Howdunit series that are far superior are Modus Operandi & Murder One, which were written by real-life detectives Paglino & Corvasce.

The author reaches several conclusions without ever explaining how he got there. He also contradicts himself on a fairly regular basis as if he cannot remember what he wrote 10 pages earlier. And while we all agree that murder is a horrible, hateful crime the author constantly interjects his own poorly chosen adjectives to highlight his personal take on the crimes: "this evil deed". The perfect example of poorly written this book would be is when he offers a modern "profile" of Jack the Ripper at the end of Chapter 2. This "profile" ends up being nothing more than a rehash of facts and theories. Not only does it offer nothing new on Jack, but it isn't even a profile of the killer it is more of a description of the crimes.

I've enjoyed many of the Howdunit Series books. Although Mr. Mactire seemed to have little expertise in criminal psychology except related to domestic crime, I thought Mr. Mactire might be a self-made expert on criminal thinking. Unfortunately, although he has done the research, Mr. Mactire uses the book primarily as a launching pad for his personal opinions on social ills and historical events. In virtually every chapter, there is a categorical conclusion with no attempt at justification. Examples include: [One reason the U.S. is "the only Western industrialized nation with such a dominant organized crime problem":] "Others had Hitler, Stalin, and other tyrants in power, but we were stuck with J. Edgar Hoover." (p. 163) [Another reason:] "No one other industrialized nation has such disgusting, destructive and oppressive slums as America." (p. 163) [Historical crimes]: "During the sixteenth century...thousands of political and nonpolitical crimes were committed in the name of the Christian faith. The worst of these was the 'witchcraft craze.' [What about the Crusades!]...[T]he whole concept of Satan and Devil worship was a lie the Church invented to help consolidate its power." (pages 14-15) [On Battered Wife Syndrome]: "Unfortunately, Battered Wife Syndrome is only admissable unconditionally in seven states and conditionally in five states. The rest don't care or have poor excuses to disallow the evidence." (p. 211) Mr. Mactire denounces many "myths" regarding criminal thinking which are really just other perspectives on some controversial topics. For example, Mr. Mactire is of the opinion that drug addicts and other criminals suffering from "impulse disorders" can never be rehabilitated, even when they plea for help: "The offender does want help - help to continue his or her criminal behavior." (p. 219) Never does Mr. Mactire admit to any legitimate disagreement or controversy within the field. Mr. Mactire never qualifies his opinions as such. To his credit, the chapters on domestic and child violence, though sprinkled with his frustrating biases, are well organized and thoroughly discussed. Historical and literary anecdotes are used effectively. To conclude, "Malicious Intent," is a disappointing installment in the Howdunit Series that failed in its purpose as a writer's guide to the complexities of criminal psychology. But if you want Mr. Mactire's overly-simplistic opinions on difficult social issues and historical events, this is the book for you.

I was a bit irritated at spending good money for this book. I wanted very much to understand the psychology of why criminals act the way they do, but I finished this book knowing no more than what I did going in. The author makes too many pronouncements, many of which I doubted. His reasoning seemed vague, and I was left wondering if he made his statements based on sound research or just his own opinion. If anyone knows of a better reference on the psychology of criminal and psychotic behavior--one geared to writers--I'd like to hear what it is.

"Malicious Intent" is one of the best writers guides to how murderers and other violent criminals think. The author approaches his material with a mind/personality/psychology/human behavior perspective. The book's coverage is broad, including history, profiling, serial murder, cult murder, and sexual predators; it looks at the role played by victims and drug abuse. Sean Mactire's background in the prevention of child abuse shows up in his detailed treatment of child molesters and murders.

Mactire's chapters on serial murder and on terrorists are especially usable.

While all books I have read in the "Howdunit Series" have been helpful, "Malicious Intent" has been the most useful. My copy has so many Post-It Flags marking material and references it looks like a porcupine.

While easy to read and occasionally entertaining, the author's apparent arrogance intrudes constantly. Several times in the book we are told he is about to "set the record straight" on a given subject and then he proceeds to present what are obviously strongly held personal beliefs as "facts". This is most notable in Chapter 6: Cult-Related Murders, which is basically used as a soapbox and I found patently offensive due to the authors lack of respect for anyone who thinks differently than himself.Much space in the book is taken up to define and explain such simple ideas and concepts that it's hard not to feel as though your intelligence is being insulted in many places, much of which is written in a grandiose, bombastic style.Most of the historical interludes are interesting and they keep the book moving, however the History that forms the first chapter is plauged with most of the complaints I mentioned before.It is my opinion that whatever you feel about the political slant of parts of the book, it utterly fails at its intended and marketed purpose: to inform you how criminals think. Instead we got a book mostly on how the author thinks.

I highly recommend just about all the entries in the Howdunit series, and Malicious Intent is right up there at the top. Each book has a different author, some better than others. The information in this book is clear, concise, well-organized and planned out - like the perfect murder !

I started buying these books in the hopes of creating a series of short mystery films for a web series, and they have all been a big help so far. They have been a big help in creating true to life characters and situations. I am looking forward to delving deeper into this volume to really learn how to make the villain right.

Bottom line - if you are an aspiring murder mystery writer, these books are a great starting point for your journey !

The book was excellent and gave me an insight into the criminal mind. The statistics within showed how many people have preconceived ideas. It covered a large variety of topics and would be beneficial for writers trying to get the characterization of the villains in their stories correct.