Customer Reviews

Serial Killers

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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 I don't know whether this means his assertions are being ignored, or whether his work has been superceded or found to be incorrect.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!

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.

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.

Having read that the author recently passed away (in another review of this book), I actually feel guilty giving it a negative review! But, in any case.... I hadn't noticed the publication date (and I'm not sure why I hadn't) when I began reading this book. While I certainly am not an expert and can't speak to whether or not Dr. Norris's research was well done, I noticed as I was reading that so much that was new when this book was written is really standard and even old-hat now. It was apparent that the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit was not yet well known, that extensive study into serial killing had not yet reached the peak that it has now. I found it disconcerting to read views of the science of forensics that were actually developed eleven years ago, since I would imagine that the science of forensics has grown by leaps and bounds in that time...and that insight into serial killers' minds has come a long way since 1989. While reading this book, I found myself constantly wondering what the author might say if he'd written this, say, in 1999. For these reasons, I would not recommend this book.

I thought this book was a lesson in how to write "off the cuff" and not back it up with scietific data. There are no references to any research articles and his only expertise seems to be in his claim that he has interviewed a few serial killers. For example, where does he come up with his phases of serial killing? What validity is there to an aura phase, at which point the serial killers senses become heightened? This book is rubbish if you are interested in a scientific, rather than an imaginative, view of serial murder.

although this is a gruesome subject, mr. norris does an excellent job with investigating the crimes and the psychological backgrounds of these individuals. unfortunately, these men have never been studied enough to determine what drives them to behave in such deviant ways. mr. norris hypothesizes about how and why these people have committed such heinous acts. his analysis is so intriguing that it is difficult to close this book. i have searched for other books written with the same focus on psychological views of these predators but nothing else comes close. most other books focus on criminology not psychology. if you find human behavior even remotely fascinating, get this book. you will not be disappointed. just don't read it right before you go to bed....ha ha ha.

This book is so powerful and intriguing that it encouraged me to look at the phenomenon of serial murder as a disease with predictable symptomology, common epidemiology and therefore a possible "cure". Norris' contemplative and balanced mix of nature and nurture explanations for compulsive murder is groungbreaking! I hold a Masters in Forensic Psychology and in the study of criminal behavior I have read no more empathetic and insiteful an account of homicidal motivation than Norris's book.

For anyone interested in serial killers and the reasons behind their actions, this book is highly recommended. I especially enjoyed how the author includes possible biological reasons as to why the men profiled in the book murder repeatedly. This is a good book for people who have not read anything about serial killers.

Basically, Norris describes various killers and their crimes, and then goes on to make broad "scientific" statements about the psychology and biology of serial killers, without much real evidence at all. If you buy into the theory that webbed fingers and large earlobes are good predictors of psychopathic behavior, maybe this book is for you. Otherwise look elsewhere.

If you wanting answers into why serial killers kill, and or reapetedly, you need not to look any further. This book gives an insightful and explanitory look into the mind and body of the infamuos serial killer. I recomend this book to any that wants an answer to the question "Why".