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Mary Ellen O'Toole

Dangerous Instincts: Use an FBI Profiler's Tactics to Avoid Unsafe Situations Paperback – September 25, 2012

by Mary Ellen O'Toole Ph.D (Author), Alisa Bowman (Author)

237 ratings

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Fear can't help you in a dangerous situation. A former FBI profiler shows you what can.

As one of the world's top experts on psychopathy and criminal behavior, Mary Ellen O'Toole has seen repeatedly how relying on the sense of fear alone often fails to protect us from danger. Whether you are opening the door to a stranger or meeting a date you connected with online, you need to know how to protect yourself from harm-physical, financial, legal, and professional.

Using the SMART method, which O'Toole developed and used at the FBI, we can confidently know how to:

Respond to a threat in any situation
Hire someone who will work inside your home like a contractor or housekeeper
Figure out whether a prospective employee is a safe bet
Know whom you can trust with your children
An especially useful book for women living alone, parents who are concerned about their children's safety, and employers worried about employees who might go postal, Dangerous Instincts gives us the tools used by professionals to navigate potentially hazardous waters. Like The Gift of Fear and The Sociopath Next Door, it will appeal to anyone looking to make the right call in an ever threatening world.

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Plume
Publication date

September 25, 2012
Dimensions

5.4 x 0.6 x 7.9 inches
ISBN-10

9780452298521
ISBN-13

978-0452298521
See all details

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Mary Ellen O’Toole is my hero! In Dangerous Instincts she offers sound advice and fascinating examples gleaned from her long career in the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. This book will save many lives—including, quite possibly, your own. Whether the knowledge you find herein saves you from a con man, a rapist, a thief, a killer, or just a miserable marriage, this is a classic, valuable book. I recommend it highly to all my family, friends, and readers.”—Ann Rule, author of THE STRANGER BESIDE ME

“A masterful and compelling primer on survival in a world in which people are not always what we think them to be. Dr. O’Toole’s deep understanding of the nature and implications of psychopathy. . . is particularly impressive, and shared by only a few other criminal investigators. This is an important and well-written book on topics of concern to everyone. A great read, highly recommended.”—Robert Hare, Ph.D., author of WITHOUT CONSCIENCE

“In this absorbing read, [O’Toole] discusses why people trusted Bernie Madoff and Ted Bundy and dissects online dating responses and typical blind spots. The author helps readers analyze their decision-making patterns and provides a guide for helping them to assess and mitigate risk. O’Toole’s book will provide insight to everyone, but it’s particularly helpful for women living alone, parents concerned about their children’s safety, or employers worried about perplexing employee behavior.”—Library Journal

About the Author

Mary Ellen O’Toole, Ph.D., retired from the FBI in 2009. During her career, she worked on many high-profile cases including the Elizabeth Smart abduction, the Unabomber and the Green River Killer. She continues to teach at the FBI National Academy, lectures at the Smithsonian and frequently speaks to law enforcement, government officials, mental health practitioners, school officials, private corporations and the public all over the world.

Alisa Bowman is a professional writer and collaborator. The co-author of seven New York Times bestsellers, her work has appeared in Prevention, Better Homes & Gardens, Women’s Health and numerous other publications.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0452298520
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Plume; Reprint edition (September 25, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780452298521
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0452298521
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.7 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.4 x 0.6 x 7.9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #482,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #257 in Popular Forensic Psychology
- #378 in Safety & First Aid (Books)
- #1,815 in Emotional Mental Health

Customer Reviews:
237 ratings

About the author

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Alisa Bowman

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Alisa Bowman is a professional writer, editor and book collaborator. Seven of her authored and co-authored books have made the NY Times bestseller list and sold millions of copies. Voted one of the "most inspirational women bloggers" by Reader's Digest, she has written for a variety of national publications and has appeared on the TODAY Show, Discovery Health, FOX's Ask Dr. Manny, Better TV, and many others.

Customer reviews

5 star		68%
4 star		10%
3 star		13%
2 star		5%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from the United States

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S. Wallace

Useful and Easy Read to Up Your Personal Safety

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2016

Verified Purchase

I purchased this book while on the hunt for an instructional manual on reading behavioral cues. The majority of books in this genre handle serial killers, and it's pretty unlikely I'll run into many of them in my life. I will, however, meet my fair share of narcissists, sociopaths, socially maladjusted individuals and those with personality disorders.
While this book is *not* a manual of behavioral cues, it is a very useful and thorough examination of risk assessment and avoidance. Dr. O'Toole examines a number of situations I had not thought to risk assess: car pooling, selecting a financial advisor, and monitoring my own behavior, among them. She also addresses the situations one would expect to risk assess: entering relationships, choosing a childcare provider, selecting individuals to work in one's home, etc. She provides case studies of real-life situations and then explains how she would approach them, red flags she would have identified, and how to move forward in a less-than-perfect world. Each chapter begins with an explanation of objectives and ends with a summary sheet to review important details, so it's easy to remember the lessons within.
The reason I chose 4 stars instead of 5 is because I purchased the Kindle edition. This is not a book whose text was optimized for Kindle use. Dr. O'Toole references page numbers which aren't really applicable, and sidebars sometimes are dropped into the body of text in a disjointed way. This is not a reflection of the work itself, but rather on its presentation in Kindle format.

21 people found this helpful

Helpful

TERRY

Sound Advice for Recognizing and Avoiding Dangerous People

Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2019

Verified Purchase

I was impressed when I saw an online video of how O’Toole dealt with the notorious Green River Killer so I sought out several other video clips of her commenting on an assortment of criminal cases in the new at media request. All expert and solid.

A few years ago, I had my own encounter with a “dangerous” person, a woman I ended up marrying. I’d wish I’d had O’Toole’s book to consult back then. I was so vulnerable I’m not sure I would have made a different decision, but it might have given me a fighting chance.

Even now as I lingeringly suffer the emotional consequences of my misguided choices, the book has given me a deeper insight into why I made those choices and how I could do a better job of protecting myself from danger.

Recommended.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kris48

Dangerous Instincts

Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2016

Verified Purchase

The first half of the book isn't really that helpful. It tells you about a lot of situations, then refers you to chapter 6 or 8 or whatever. I finally started skimming because it would talk about something very interesting, then move on to something else without finishing that story or telling you how to recognize the danger signs.

I'm now in the middle and it's very useful. This is the meat of what you need to know. This is where you need to pay attention and it could save your life. But it was very frustrating to read all those previous chapters and stories would just end and all you would be told was how normal the killer was, how charming, how they hide in plain sight. You wouldn't be told how the hunt ended, how they figured it out. Once in awhile she would tell you how they figured it out, but it was rather bare bones. Very little was there that could help YOU.

The book is worth it, but jump to the second half. The first half is why I only gave it 3 stars. It dropped tantalizing tidbits that dangled just out of reach of understanding. Too frustrating. Don't give up though. The good stuff is later.

17 people found this helpful

Helpful

Larry J. Ince

Reduce vulnerability & danger, creating better personal safety

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2017

Verified Purchase

Whether a college student, elder, or business manager, this profound but simple read will give you tools to create personal safety. I saw where I was vulnerable and how to shore it up. Share it with those you care about. A dear friend who is a retired cop, now a private detective specializing in personal security for tech executives, recommended it when I had a problem with a handyman. Opened my eyes. Will never had that issue again.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

B.H.

Not useful just a vehicle for the authors self-promotion

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2020

Verified Purchase

I gave it 1 star because it does have a few good points but you have to read through a whole lot of repetitive wording and basic knowledge to get them. The fact that the author makes a point to self promote and pat herself on the back every 3 pages is a detractor from the book and the information that it is trying to get across, much of which is basic self experience by the average person. She may be a retired FBI profiler but she does not teach anything that the common person hasn't already learned from social everyday interaction. She does encourage the reader to slow down and focus more on these interactions; when shes not telling you, yet again, how shes a "trained professional ". She also throws out some big names like Bundy, BTK Killer and Ann Rule but there is nothing to be learned from them other than the fact that shes using an infamous name to build herself up.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

TL

Okay

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2018

Verified Purchase

There are a few tidbits of useful info that you may not have considered but mostly, it just reaffirms what common sense you (hopefully) have. It doesn’t hurt to read. I’d recommend gifting this book to some of the folks you know who could use a manual on common sense...because you know, common sense isn’t common.

Helpful

Oceanside

Not as helpful as I expected

Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2014

Verified Purchase

Heard O'Toole interviewed on a couple of radio shows when this came out. Purchased it on that basis but am disappointed in it overall.

The text is fairly repetitive and does not offer much in the way of substantive suggestions on how to avoid dangerous situations. What is offered could easily be covered in half the number of pages the author(s) used.

Also surprised at how many of the suggestions are basically common sense. The book may be more helpful for young people and/or those who are naturally very trusting (which does not describe me!) and wouldn't consider or plan for unpleasant possibilities.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kindle Customer

A bit disappointing

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2014

Verified Purchase

Did not flow well. Author kept telling readers she would tell them the secrets of how to read personality and behavior shortly or in the next chapter. Seemed to dismiss out of hand and with disdain the idea people can get any information of value from intuition or body language - concepts found in other books related to this subject. Repeated her amazing exploits with the FBI but not in enough detail to make it really useful. Skimmed last third of the book due to frustration with slow circling pace of the first part.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer

Disappointing Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 26, 2013

Verified Purchase

I read widely as a hobby and always try my best to give a fair book review. I bought this book after having watched the author on TV. She was interesting to listen to and I felt her book would reflect this. The author promises to teach the reader her SMART technique for making sound assessments of risk etc. I am currently 60% through the book and, although this is frequently promised 'later in the book', it has yet to materialise.It would have been better to present the main principles early on in the book and then develop them chapter by chapter. Instead, the book meanders on in a sort of monotone. I kept hoping that it would pick up in the next chapter, but I now feel that this is not likely to be the case. The chapter on identifying risk is ok, but very basic.

The author's insight into psychopathy is interesting, but with hindsight, I do not feel the book is worth the money I paid for it. I was finding the book rather boring and have therefore put it aside for a while. I don't know if I will finish it at a later date.

3 people found this helpful

Angela K.

It has useful information about personal safety and the red flags of ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2017

Verified Purchase

Everyone should read this eye opening book! Very interesting information from an FBI profiler on making us more alert to people who seem trustful according to our gut feelings! It has useful information about personal safety and the red flags of pyschopaths. Highly recommended!

J. Theilade

Boring

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 14, 2015

Verified Purchase

The book os VERY slowpaced
Would not recommend

One person found this helpful

sue b

A great book!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2013

Verified Purchase

If you enjoy watching criminal minds series that this the book to read. It gives a few exercises to implement yourself based on a few rules and tools to help you be aware of your surrounding and the people you need to be aware of.
A good enjoyable read.

C. J. Mc Collough

Good Basis for Making Better Decisions

Reviewed in Germany on January 3, 2016

Verified Purchase

I read this book and found it very helpful. I hope that by using the tips that I can avoid making a stupid mistake again. I like the summaries at the end of the chapters. Also the list of links to check is very helpful. There are, in fact a number of very good tips on communication and handling (potentially) dangerous situations.

The autors give interesting examples of where they were "surprized" by behaviors and situations. This should give it a 5 star rating. But I gave this 4 from 5 bcause I feel that the part about personalities and the possiblity to was not founded well enough. There is a Major premise in the book that should have been handled in more detail. I wish I could have given 4.5 stars.

Fazit: Buy it to learn more about steps you should take to protect yourself and your families and debuke the TV myths. I would definately buy a sequel or another book from these autors.

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