Fans pick 75 books like Understanding Sexual Serial Killing

Award-winning author Patricia Pearson has a no-nonsense knack for finding and reporting truths, no matter how unsettling these are. Pearson doesn’t hesitate to express her own viewpoints but does so from the wealth of evidence she carefully collects. And she doesn’t care if this flies the face of “popular” opinion! I appreciate that she avoids sensationalism. She is dedicated and bright. I respect her enormously. She’s also been a kind and supportive colleague! When talking about Pearson’s work in my book, I noted it interesting that many efforts underscoring that women can do just as horrible things as men can have largely come from women, like Patricia, myself, Debra Schurman-Kauflin (mentioned below), and sociobiologist Amanda Farrell from Old Dominion University. 

Schurman-Kauflin is not an armchair quarterback. She is the real deal. Schurman-Kauflin carefully gathered the facts she presents in this book. A skilled criminal profiler, she interviewed female serial killers (FSKs) herself, and she presented some of the clearest evidence I have ever encountered on FSKs’ backgrounds, crimes, and motives. Her work, although published a while ago, has withstood the test of time, as her findings have been replicated. In my own career, I have used her work as a source many times over.

Erik Hickey is the pioneer in serial killer research. His renowned book is the gold standard for those wishing to gather the facts about serial murderers, their crimes, and their victims. He does not include “gore” (his word) in his writings. His work is methodical, evidence-based, and respectful, and his results have been consistently replicated by my team and others. With respect to my recommendation theme, in this book, Hickey describes his lengthy research on both male and female serial killers and emphasizes that the crimes of male serial killers (MSKs) are starkly different than those of FSKs. I know him to be a great supporter of other researchers in their empirical pursuits. His book is a must-have for scholars and students of psychology and criminal justice interested in this topic.

Enzo Yaksic has been my colleague and friend for years. However, I am not recommending his book because of this. Rather, my certainty of his research acumen, integrity, and dedication is why I am grateful I know him. I always jump at the chance to work with him and to read his latest findings. As co-founder and Director of the Atypical Homicide Research Group, he is known as a go-to expert for serial murder facts. This book does not feature drama or sensationalism. Yaksic wrote this book as a no-nonsense presentation of serial homicide offender patterns. This is not light or casual reading—it’s a professional, hardcore, research exploration of the frightening world of serial murderers. As always, Yaksic pays keen attention to detail and presents his work eloquently.

I was late to discover this book, but I devoured it instantly. Una’s is a hybrid work, a mixture of memoir and criminal history in stunning graphic novel form.

She tells her account of growing up in West Yorkshire, UK, in 1977 when the serial murderer Peter Sutcliffe (dubbed “the Yorkshire Ripper”—ick) was still at large. Her book connects her own traumatic history with local newspaper and media accounts as well as broader statistics of sexual violence and the failures of formal investigations.

By the conclusion, Una builds to her own recovery and survival process and creates one of the most beautiful endings—drawings only—I have ever experienced in a book delving into such heart-wrenching subject matter. 

I learned so much from reading this book by the bureau's pioneering profiler.

Books by profilers and local police who solve major murders often focus on the author's career. No one cares. Douglas's books focus on the crimes and the perpetrators.

He has interviewed Ted Bundy, David Berkowitz, Lynette Fromme, John Wayne Gacy, Edmund Kemper, Sirhan Sirhan, Richard Speck, Sara Jane Moore, and Charles Manson. He explains what makes them tick.

From the very first pages describing one of the most brutal killings I’ve ever read about, I was hooked on this story.

I love how the author effortlessly weaves together different perspectives, giving me a holistic view of the story from multiple angles. What I found most intriguing were the subtle elements of the paranormal interspersed throughout, adding layers of unreliability to the narrative that made this book simply unputdownable.

This is a great read for anyone who loves psychological thrillers with a hint of horror and the supernatural. 

This infamous child killers work remains banned in my home country (UK) but is widely available online. Brady and Hindley (his partner) were child killers, both incarcerated for life and both died in prison.

This book was read for curiosity only, whilst writing my own ‘inside the mind of a psychopathic killer’ narrative, I wanted to understand how a ‘real serial killer’ would really think. He wrote The Gates of Janus whilst incarcerated at Ashworth high-security psychiatric hospital.

Brady’s intention was that it be published anonymously, however, this could never be allowed to happen. It is in 2 parts 1) He describes his involvement in the 6 murders from the perspective of ‘understanding himself’ and part 2) His advice as offered to law enforcement in solving such future cases (in this it falls flat).

I recommend it only if you want to understand his thought process – just as Hitler’s Mein… show more.

It was hard to pick a book in Michael Slade’s Special X series, as the first few books work together like a symphony. I’ve always been fascinated with serial murder, like so many people who get into psychology.

This book sets up a twisted narrative and a shocking ending that sets the stage for more surprises in the books that follow. I’d let the series drop after one particular loop got closed, but I'm looking forward to picking it up again soon!

I was so excited to see a book that featured an innovative French pathologist, Alexandre Lacassagne, who invented the criminal autobiography during the 1890s.

Starr delves into the French records to show the insights Lacassagne derived about the criminal mind, which altered many notions in criminology. Starr also tells a compelling tale about an early serial killer, the French Ripper, who openly discussed his life history and even helped police find his victims.

During the age of Jack the Ripper, when the first behavioral profiles were used for linking crimes and understanding motives, the French Ripper demonstrated just how deranged a lust killer can be. This book expanded my awareness of early criminal psychology.