Serial Killers [Paperback]

Joel Norris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1989

Through extensive research and interviews with five notorious serial killers, author Joel Norris demonstrates that serial killers have specific biological and genetic makeups that can be identified as early as five years of age.  A compelling read for both the curious layman and the concerned professional.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Norris here interviews a number of killers and, citing studies suggesting that violence is a disease requiring medical intervention, "calls for further research into the biological, psychological and social influences on serial murderers. He argues that the legal definition of insanity is inaccurate and that sociopathic multiple killers should be medically diagnosed and treated," observed PW. Photos.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

Through extensive research and interviews with five notorious serial killers, author Joel Norris demonstrates that serial killers have specific biological and genetic makeups that can be identified as early as five years of age. A compelling read for both the curious layman and the concerned professional.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (July 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385263287
• ISBN-13: 978-0385263283
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #456,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Psychobiological portrait of serial killers, January 20, 2003

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Serial Killers (Paperback)

The thing that puzzles me about this book is that no-one else seems to have picked up on its author's psychobiological theories, even though "Serial Killers" was published in 1988. I've read more recent books on true crime and haven't come across Norris's psychological or physical profiles of serial killers. I don't know whether this means his assertions are being ignored, or whether his work has been superceded or found to be incorrect.

At any rate, it is very absorbing reading. Dr. Norris takes the reader right into the bizarre, distorted mind of a serial killer. The author should know how they think, since he is a psychologist who has worked within the American prison system and has had the opportunity to interview several serial killers face-to-face, including Theodore Bundy, Henry Lee Lucas, and Bobby Joe Long. In his preface, Dr. Norris claims to performed five hundred interviews over a period of four years (my assumption is that he interviewed the same person multiple times, as I don't think there are five hundred serial killers in prison even over a four year period). What he found was that the patterns of parental abuse, violence, neglect, childhood cognitive disabilities, and alcohol and drug abuse were virtually identical for all of the convicted killers that he interviewed.

One of most important developments in the battle against serial murder was the formation of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico, Virginia. Dr. Norris discusses several of the cases they solved, and also goes into detail about patterns of behavior they detected. For instance, serial killers are compulsive trollers, who travel over ever widening areas to locate their victims. The trolling patterns appear very early, even before they commit their first rape or murder. They also experience a biological rhythm very akin to a menstrual cycle. For some, the cycles of behavior are akin to deep brain seizures that alter perception and behavior without physically incapacitating the individual.

Dr. Norris focuses about a quarter of his book on five serial killers who tell the stories of their lives and their crimes in their own words. The five are Henry Lee Lucas (sentence commuted to life in prison by then-Governor George W. Bush in June, 1999), Carlton Gary (still on Georgia's Death row), Bobby Joe Long (still on Florida's Death row), Leonard Lake (committed suicide while in custody of the San Francisco police), and Charles Manson (in San Quentin, awaiting parole).

The chapter on Charles Manson is especially interesting, because the author discusses serial killers in groups, i.e. 'killing pairs' or 'families.' Almost 28% of all serial killers bond with others and commit their crimes in company. Killing pairs such as Leonard Lake and Charles Ng, the father/son team of Joseph and Michael Kallinger, the Kenneth Bianchi/Angelo Buono team of Hillside Stranglers, and the homosexual companions Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole all emerged as subjects of study in the 1980s.

If killing pairs are so common, why were all of the criminal profilers (those on T.V., at least) so surprised when the Maryland sniper deaths turned out to have been caused by not one, but two men?

Maybe they should have read "Serial Killers" before going public with their theories.

Last of all, Dr. Norris develops his own profile of a serial killer, including a list of "Twenty-one Patterns of Episodic Aggressive Behavior" that includes items like "Ritualistic behavior," "Extraordinary cruelty to animals," "Evidence of genetic disorders," etc. I found this author to have planted himself firmly on both sides of the nature versus nurture debate.

I bought this book second-hand and one of the more disturbing things I discovered while reading Dr. Norris's list of twenty-one behaviors, was that someone who had read the book before me had initialed eight of the twenty-one items!

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Misinformative and unreliable, August 21, 2001

By 

mark twain "25354" (Monrovia, Liberia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Serial Killers (Paperback)

Joel Norris' book has been criticized as being dated; however much more important is the fact that his information is outright wrong. For example, he characterizes the Zodiac killer as a killer of children who earned his monicker because of the zodiac symbol he carved into the flesh of some of his victims. This is totally untrue. Norris' misinformation cannot be excused on the basis of historical perspective. It is my impression that the author had little interest in getting his facts straight and likely derived much of his information from flawed single sources, without any cross-referencing.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good combination of psychology and criminology, December 25, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Serial Killers (Paperback)

I have read many books on serial killers. This book is one of the only books where the author has a firm grasp of both the psychology and criminology necessary to understand these rare beings. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a balanced viewpoint on this issue.