A review by danigerous
The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths by Pat Brown

3.0

Nice little book about how a Martha Stewart can easily turn into a Miss Marple. To be honest it was an engaging read, but there were some parts that were really annoying. The author makes it look as if just about anybody can become a profiler, but the worst part is where she usually comes across as a know-it-all and not for one minute thinks she could be wrong. True that even though somebody might be a professional in a certain area, their words, sometimes, need to be taken with a grain of salt, but that goes doubly for non-pros, which she is. What really pissed me off was the bashing of John Douglas. The only times she mentioned him was in relation to something she thought he did wrong. Oh John Douglas made this mistake, oh, John Douglas misprofiled this or that. Seriously! The guy is a Quantico material and has been working for the FBI for so long, not to mention that he was one of the first profilers. He might have had a few cases that didn't go well, and he might have been a bit overly glamorized by Hollywood, but first, one cannot expect a 100% success rate in this sphere and second, at least he has solved cases, whereas pretty much all that this author can offer is profiles that she submitted to the investigators, but the majority of the cases mentioned in the book were never resolved, how could the reader be sure that what she was telling was right? Anyone can say anything they want and even sound convincing doing it, but it needs to be backed up by facts.
Anyway, props to Pat Brown for making such a huge transition, still, attacking the people who have established themselves as professionals, won't help her prove her point.