Modern-Day Serial Killers

Raul, Don. Modern-Day Serial Killers. Part of the Psychology of Serial Killers series. 2016. 144p. ISBN 978-0-7660-7298-5. Available at 364.15 RAU on the library shelves.

The FBI define serial killers as individuals who kill three or more victims at three or more locations with a span of time in between. Serial killers have always haunted the cultural consciousness of the nation since the days of Jack the Ripper, but in the last fifty years there have been many serial killers who have been arrested and prosecuted by law enforcement. These modern-day serial killers commit their crimes for many reasons. Some enjoy the power they have over their victims. Other kill to gain sexual gratification. There are those who kill for the thrill of taking away a human life. Others hope to gain money, fame, or recognition, while some kill with a distorted sense of ending suffering or cleaning the streets. All are people who have killed multiple times in multiple locations.

This volume explore the lives of several types of killers in the last half of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st. These are divided into eight categories, from psychotic killers to sexual predators, charmers, and angels of death. The biograpies of several infamous individuals like the Green River killer, Ted Bundy, the Son of Sam, the Killer Clown, and former nurse Kristen Gilbert are all discussed, and their common traits examined. Fans of the morbid will appreciate the probing of the serial killer’s mind in this book.

Other books in the series include Medical Serial Killers, Cannibal Serial Killers, Female Serial Killers, and Historical Serial Killers.