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Malicious Intent (Howdunit)
 
 
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Malicious Intent (Howdunit) (Paperback)

~ Sean P. Mactire (Author)
2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

Price: $16.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Frequently Bought Together

Malicious Intent (Howdunit) + Modus Operandi: A Writer's Guide to How Criminals Work (Howdunit) + Missing Persons: A Writer's Guide to Finding the Lost, the Abducted and the Escaped (Howdunit Series)
Price For All Three: $47.74

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In the same vein as Keith D. Wilson's Cause of Death (1992) and Anne Wingate's Scene of the Crime (1992), this matter-of-fact book about the criminal mind will be of interest to true-crime aficionados as well as writers. Mactire's "roadmap to the shadow world of the criminal mind" starts off with ancient history (from 1500 B.C.) and moves on to present-day serial and "nonserial" killers and wise guys. The author offers a fascinating discussion on how the creation of a police force changed criminal activity from open assault to cunning and secret operations. He examines the psychology of criminals and the development of profiling (psychological mug shots). In discussing the various types of and motives for crime, Mactire draws examples from the careers of actual criminals. All this fact and history will provide great fodder for writers of fiction and nonfiction. Denise Perry Donavin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

This books takes readers into the mind of the criminal, exploring fact and fiction of who these people are, why they commit their atrocities, how they choose their victims, and how the police catch them. Includes sections on infamous criminals, psychological differences between killers, terrorism, psychological profiling and more.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 228 pages
  • Publisher: Writer's Digest Books (December 1, 1995)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1582971579
  • ISBN-13: 978-1582971575
  • Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #305,699 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #75 in  Books > Reference > Writing > Genre Fiction

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Sean P. MacTire
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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (5)
1 star:
 (6)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.2 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, August 30, 2003
By Rebecca Vining (Oviedo, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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.

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars A useless collection of questionable statements, May 18, 2005
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."
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Too historical in nature, no real life and up to date info, November 5, 1998
By A Customer
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Unbalanced Hyperbole
Modus Operandi: A Writer's Guide to How Criminals Work (Howdunit) was written by 2 detectives & therefore suffered from a lack of research, psychology of criminals, etc. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Neal J. Pollock

1.0 out of 5 stars Bleah.
This was terrible. I don't know a lot about crime and psychology, but I do know about Wicca, and the author (even though he praises it) doesn't know what he's talking about; it's... Read more
Published on June 15, 2004

1.0 out of 5 stars Nearly useless for writers
Other than a list of abnormal personality types and one or two other items that were probably cribbed from elsewhere, this book is of no help whatever to a writer that wants to... Read more
Published on December 7, 2003

1.0 out of 5 stars No real meat in this.
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... Read more
Published on September 20, 2003 by Conor Leahy

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly Written with Childish Execution
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... Read more
Published on August 21, 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars It's not ment to be a bible
I found this book useful as an entry level resource into understanding criminal behavior much in the same way law enforcement does. Read more
Published on May 29, 2001

2.0 out of 5 stars Otherwise known as, "Sean Mactire: A Man of Many Opinions"
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. Read more
Published on March 5, 2001 by Bruce Glassner

2.0 out of 5 stars Presumptive & Biased
While easy to read and occasionally entertaining, the author's apparent arrogance intrudes constantly. Read more
Published on March 27, 2000 by Aaron M.

2.0 out of 5 stars Biased Opinions?
Prior to this book, I felt "The Howdunit Series" was 5-star. Malicious Intent was a disappointment! Read more
Published on February 18, 2000 by Tamara C. Michel

4.0 out of 5 stars A useful introduction and reference for writers.
"Malicious Intent" is one of the best writers guides to how murderers and other violent criminals think. Read more
Published on September 24, 1999 by Douglas H. Haden

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