Take a photo of a barcode or cover
112 reviews for:
Talking with Psychopaths and Savages: Letters from Serial Killers
Christopher Berry-Dee
2.89 AVERAGE
112 reviews for:
Talking with Psychopaths and Savages: Letters from Serial Killers
Christopher Berry-Dee
2.89 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
slow-paced
dark
sad
slow-paced
slow-paced
challenging
dark
informative
tense
slow-paced
dark
informative
medium-paced
This book is laced with an arrogant tone throughout which honestly makes me more uncomfortable than the actual descriptions of the crimes committed. The author brags about his interactions with serial killers and other criminal psychologists, putting himself on a pedestal while expressing a condescending to the readers and those who may wish to get into his line of work. You would think that with his arrogant tone and bragging he at least knows what he is talking about and writes it in a clear and concise manner. That is not the case. He goes off on tangents which lead to nothing and actually take away from the case. He inserts his own opinions which would be fine if they weren't so pretentious. The writing is inconsistent and has a number of errors in spelling and grammar which makes you wonder if anyone actually read over this before publishing.
In the introduction it is implied that this book is about serial killers he has interviewed but most serial killers included he hasn't met (the only one he has actually interviewed is the last one and he barely references his material for that). In each of cases he inserts other serial killers and various quotes from different interviews that have no relevance to the current case. it comes across as just name dropping different criminals - like oh look at me I interviewed this criminal ha ha I'm so good at everything.
Overall the writing isn't at all clear and combined with his tangents actually makes it harder to understand each of the cases. This book is not a deep dive into the minds of serial killers like I thought but instead it was a retelling of cases and constant bragging from the author
In the introduction it is implied that this book is about serial killers he has interviewed but most serial killers included he hasn't met (the only one he has actually interviewed is the last one and he barely references his material for that). In each of cases he inserts other serial killers and various quotes from different interviews that have no relevance to the current case. it comes across as just name dropping different criminals - like oh look at me I interviewed this criminal ha ha I'm so good at everything.
Overall the writing isn't at all clear and combined with his tangents actually makes it harder to understand each of the cases. This book is not a deep dive into the minds of serial killers like I thought but instead it was a retelling of cases and constant bragging from the author
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Written in a very unique rambling, storytelling style, the author still manages to convey his message loud and clear.
This book felt like a complete waste of my time. I'd go so far as to say I would have stopped reading after the first couple of chapters if it weren't for the fact I don't want to cheat on my reading challenge. I had a sour taste in my mouth from the Introduction, when Berry-Dee opens the book with flowery imagery that could rival a poorly written fanfiction. I'm not sure about anyone else but I don't need to hear about the sand beneath your toes and the glistening water you're staring at when you're about to talk about serial killers, it comes across as a complete brag. Moreover, the entire work is laced with a tone of arrogance which belies the quality of his writing. Berry-Dee spends the entire book referencing his other books out of the blue, randomly name-dropping other killers he's interviewed that have little relevance to the chapter and going off on ridiculous tangents that read as an irrelevant stream of consciousness. He also inserts himself in ways which are unpalatable. He makes opinionated comments at multiple points about divisive political issues. One such example is a reference to prisoners generally having too much freedom because of human rights activists. The lack of nuance shown in comparing those who are in rehabilitation for petty sentences to dangerous killers with regards to prison treatment suggests that Berry-Dee does not possess the ability to understand others that is needed to be commenting on someone's 'psychopathology'.
The writing itself is extremely poor. There are numerous errors littered throughout the book that make it incredibly difficult to read. There are missing words, repeated words, missing punctuation etc. which occur so frequently one has to wonder if it was even proofread a single time by anyone. The idea of the work itself is that it is a part of his series 'Talking with Psychopaths' which implies that the material of his books is gleaned from the many interviews he brags about having conducted over the years. If you thought this, you would be wrong. The only killer featured in this book which Berry-Dee has actually interviewed is in the very last chapter and he barely even references his interview material in this. The best you can hope for is a suggestion to go and look up his numerous videos on the internet or YouTube. In the preface Berry-Dee states 'let me say that this book is not about 'rehashing' stuff, it is all about getting inside these killers' heads.' I would say that if this is the thesis statement of Berry-Dee's work he has failed at achieving the aim he sets out with. The chapters are all basic and confused play-by-plays of the events of the murders which barely even attempt to scratch the surface of the killers' motivations for these crimes. Repeating the word 'psychopathologies' constantly throughout the book doesn't really mean anything if you don't actually explore them. I have not read any of Berry-Dee's other work but quite frankly if this is representative of it I am surprised at the 'NO.1 Bestselling true-crime author' sticker that is pasted on the cover. It is certainly a poor advertisement of his work and I doubt I will be picking any of his other books up any time soon.
The writing itself is extremely poor. There are numerous errors littered throughout the book that make it incredibly difficult to read. There are missing words, repeated words, missing punctuation etc. which occur so frequently one has to wonder if it was even proofread a single time by anyone. The idea of the work itself is that it is a part of his series 'Talking with Psychopaths' which implies that the material of his books is gleaned from the many interviews he brags about having conducted over the years. If you thought this, you would be wrong. The only killer featured in this book which Berry-Dee has actually interviewed is in the very last chapter and he barely even references his interview material in this. The best you can hope for is a suggestion to go and look up his numerous videos on the internet or YouTube. In the preface Berry-Dee states 'let me say that this book is not about 'rehashing' stuff, it is all about getting inside these killers' heads.' I would say that if this is the thesis statement of Berry-Dee's work he has failed at achieving the aim he sets out with. The chapters are all basic and confused play-by-plays of the events of the murders which barely even attempt to scratch the surface of the killers' motivations for these crimes. Repeating the word 'psychopathologies' constantly throughout the book doesn't really mean anything if you don't actually explore them. I have not read any of Berry-Dee's other work but quite frankly if this is representative of it I am surprised at the 'NO.1 Bestselling true-crime author' sticker that is pasted on the cover. It is certainly a poor advertisement of his work and I doubt I will be picking any of his other books up any time soon.
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
I enjoyed this book and found the topic interesting to read. However the constant name dropping and sometimes bias from the author became at times an irritation.
For those that like to get in the mind of some of the most extreme killers then I recommend this book to you.
For those that like to get in the mind of some of the most extreme killers then I recommend this book to you.