The most recommended books on psychopathy

Who picked these books? Meet our 117 experts.

117 authors created a book list connected to psychopathy, and here are their favorite psychopathy books.
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Book cover of Brighton Rock

Why am I passionate about this?

You’ve got to root for the underdog, right? And there’s no bigger underdog than fictional villains. While real-life criminals are doing very nicely, thank you very much, in fiction, the bad guy is screwed from the start. What could be more relatable than knowing on a bone-deep, existential level that you’ve already lost? And what could be more heroic than stepping out onto the field of play knowing that no matter how hard you play, you’re still going down? Keep your flawed anti-heroes; they’re just too chicken to go over to the losing side. I’ll cheer for the doomed bad guy every single time.

Sam's book list on characters who do unforgivably terrible things but still somehow end up the hero

Sam Tobin Why did Sam love this book?

Everyone loves a bastard, and Pinkie, the hero of Brighton Rock, is such an awful bastard. He doesn’t like his friends, hates his girlfriend, and is driven by a pathetically brittle ego that can never be satisfied. But it’s the fact he’s so hopelessly trapped in the prison of his own angry, petty horizons that makes me love him. I love a doomed character.

When an author can make you know, it’s all going to end badly and still make you hope it won’t? That’s magic. I love it when I’m reading books that I can feel playing with my emotions but I’m enjoying it so much I don’t care. Pinkie is a bastard, and he sort of knows it, when it comes to the crunch, and he goes out like a coward, I can’t help but wish he’d managed to pull it off.

By Graham Greene,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Brighton Rock as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Pinkie Brown, a neurotic teenage gangster wielding a razor blade and a bottle of sulfuric acid, commits a brutal murder - but it does not go unnoticed. Rose, a naive young waitress at a rundown cafe, has the unwitting power to destroy his crucial alibi, and Ida Arnold, a woman bursting with easy certainties about what is right and wrong, has made it her mission to bring about justice and redemption.

Set among the seaside amusements and dilapidated boarding houses of Brighton's pre-war underworld, Brighton Rock by Graham Greene is both a gritty thriller and a study of a soul…


Book cover of Love in an Undead Age

Taylor Ellwood Author Of The Zombie Apocalypse Call Center

From my list on if you want to survive a zombie apocalypse.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love zombie apocalypse fiction and movies and games. There’s something fascinating about survival and post-apocalyptic fiction, where you see the real character and desire of humanity to survive no matter what. I also like the morbid humor that shows up. I started writing the zombie apocalypse call center series as a way to poke fun at my customer support center experiences and mix it in with my own fascination with zombie apocalypses.

Taylor's book list on if you want to survive a zombie apocalypse

Taylor Ellwood Why did Taylor love this book?

Miranda Tucci is looking for love during a zombie apocalypse but finding love is hard when the majority of available partners are either zombies or psychopaths.

On top of that Miranda has a lead on a cure for the virus, but the government is trying to control it. Can she get the cure and save civilization?

I enjoyed the character development, especially around trying to find love and surviving the zombie apocalypse.

By A.M. Geever,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Love in an Undead Age as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Surviving the zombie apocalypse was hard…

...but finding true love might be fatal.

Urban farmer Miranda Tucci is lucky to be alive in what's left of California's Silicon Valley, despite a love life that's dead on arrival. Then an old flame turns up and she wonders…

...does her DOA love life have a pulse?

Or will the ghosts of her past collide with the present?

A ruthless governing council controls the cure for the zombie virus. If Miranda joins a plot to steal it, will the vaccine be used for political advantage, or can she survive long enough to usher…


Book cover of American Psycho

David E. Gates Author Of The Wretched

From my list on horror books that changed my life and could change yours.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have loved horror since my early teens, when I first discovered The Rats and Lair and other horror stories by James Herbert. The thing I like about horror, in particular, is that there are no holds barred, no censorship, as to what can be written. I grew up on movies like The Exorcist, Friday the 13th, Jaws, Alien, The Thing, etc., but horror writing takes you deeper and gives a more visceral experience than anything any film can do.

David's book list on horror books that changed my life and could change yours

David E. Gates Why did David love this book?

This was one of the hardest books to "get into," but a friend of mine told me to stick with it because the rewards of getting through the first quarter would be so great. I'm glad I did. It is an astounding piece of work, quite different from anything I've ever read before or since, and remains one of my top five books.

The tangents the book takes, and the blasé attributes of the leading character are superbly crafted. It was suggested it was "unfilmable," and there's one scene in particular I thought they'd never get away with, but if you look at the movie version carefully, it's in there. 

By Bret Easton Ellis,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked American Psycho as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Patrick Bateman is 26 and works on Wall Street. Handsome, sophisticated, charming and intelligent, he is also a psychopath.


Book cover of Notes on an Execution

Sam Holland Author Of The Twenty

From Sam's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Serial killer nerd Introvert Book lover Spaniel owner

Sam's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Sam Holland Why did Sam love this book?

I love a serial killer book, especially one that can bring something different and original to the table. This book was exactly that.

The book does not tell the story of Ansel Packer, a serial killer due to die on death row; it focuses on the lives of the women around him. Of Saffy, the detective trying to track him down; Hazel, twin sister of his wife; and Lavender, his mother. The tragedy of this tale is shown through their eyes and the shock waves he leaves in his wake.

Beautifully written, poignant, and heart-rendering; I adored this book.

By Danya Kukafka,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Notes on an Execution as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE 2023 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL • NEW YORK TIMES BEST CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR

“Defiantly populated with living women . . . beautifully drawn, dense with detail and specificity . . . Notes on an Execution is nuanced, ambitious and compelling.” —Katie Kitamura, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (Editors' Choice)

"A searing portrait of the complicated women caught in the orbit of a serial killer. . . . Compassionate and thought-provoking." –BRIT BENNETT, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Vanishing Half

Recommended by New York Times Book Review • Los…


Book cover of The Wasp Factory

Philip Henry Author Of Method

From my list on told from the villain’s POV.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was about 8 years old, I read a book called Tom and the Two Handles by Russell Hoban. It’s a children’s book designed to teach that every story has two sides. This book stuck with me for some reason. So, when I started writing novels, I always made sure my villains had pure motives. Remember, no well-written bad guy THINKS he’s a bad guy. He thinks he’s doing the right thing. This is true of all the classic Bond villains right up to Thanos in the MCU. Plus, and I’m sure most writers would agree, the bad guys are always more fun to write.

Philip's book list on told from the villain’s POV

Philip Henry Why did Philip love this book?

I had no idea what I was getting into with this book, and the experience was so much richer for that blindfold. That title alone was enough to intrigue me–what on earth could it mean? This is one of the most interesting and shocking coming-of-age stories I have ever read.

The island world the author creates made me think of Lord of the Flies and what can happen when youth is allowed to go unsupervised. This is deliciously dark and twisted stuff. It’s a short book, but you won’t forget it.

By Iain Banks,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked The Wasp Factory as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The polarizing literary debut by Scottish author Ian Banks, The Wasp Factory is the bizarre, imaginative, disturbing, and darkly comic look into the mind of a child psychopath.

Meet Frank Cauldhame. Just sixteen, and unconventional to say the least:

Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I'd disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim.

That's my score to date. Three. I haven't killed anybody for years, and don't intend to ever again.…


Book cover of Mummy's Little Soldier

Max China Author Of The Night of The Mosquito

From my list on serial killers to stay with you long after you’ve read them.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was fascinated by American True Crime magazines from an early age. I used to buy them with my pocket money from a second-hand bookstore near my home. I graduated to reading novels by the age of ten, sneaking my father’s book collection into my bedroom one at a time to read after lights out. His books covered everything from The Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins to The Devil Rides Out by Dennis Wheatley. By seventeen, I promised myself I’d write a novel one day. Most of my books are crime themed with a supernatural flavour. My debut, The Sister was published in 2013 and since then I’ve completed three more novels and several short stories.

Max's book list on serial killers to stay with you long after you’ve read them

Max China Why did Max love this book?

In her first crime novel, Gaites portrays a psychopathic monster in Ivan Smallbone, and a relentless race against time by police to stop him. Populated by flawed characters, Gaites explores the human psyche to great effect in driving her novel to its inevitable and tragic conclusion. Not for the squeamish.

By Rikon Gaites,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mummy's Little Soldier as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Mummy’s Little Soldier

1960 – Late in life Marjorie Smallbone gave birth to her only child. Relieved he was perfect, she named him Ivan. As the years went by, she discovered perfection is only skin-deep.

1983 – Sentenced to serve eight years in prison for the manslaughter of many young school children, upon her release in 1991 June Saunders’ appearance had changed. Shortly after, so did her name.

1994 – New Year’s Eve. DI Leo Thorne has identified similarities between two vicious rapes, but with no evidence to go on, his investigation’s stalled before it’s begun. Then, a sadistic rapist…


Book cover of The Talented Mr. Ripley

Barbara Copperthwaite Author Of The Perfect Friend

From my list on books told by liars.

Why am I passionate about this?

In my early twenties, I worked in a maximum security, Category A men’s prison. I got to know the prisoners, who were usually polite, funny, and, for want of a better word, ‘normal,’ even if guilty of terrible crimes. It made me realize you can’t simply tell if someone is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ by looking at them. It left an indelible mark on me: a fascination with people who lie easily and fool the world. My fascination grew when I became a journalist, but writing fiction has given me the freedom to truly explore liars of all types and try to understand them.

Barbara's book list on books told by liars

Barbara Copperthwaite Why did Barbara love this book?

He’s charming, he’s intelligent, and he’s a professional conman who is out to steal his new best friend’s life. And I can’t get enough of Tom Ripley! I absolutely love an anti-hero, and I like nothing better than getting a look inside a psychopath’s mind. I’ve read this book at least five times.

The writing is tight as a drum, Italy is brought to life, and it’s understandable why Tom falls in love with it…and Dickie. He falls in love so much he wants to become Dickie. The more Tom is backed into a corner, the more clever, audacious, and vicious he becomes. It’s no surprise to me that this book is such a classic.

By Patricia Highsmith,

Why should I read it?

24 authors picked The Talented Mr. Ripley as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It's here, in the first volume of Patricia Highsmith's five-book Ripley series, that we are introduced to the suave Tom Ripley, a young striver seeking to leave behind his past as an orphan bullied for being a "sissy." Newly arrived in the heady world of Manhattan, Ripley meets a wealthy industrialist who hires him to bring his playboy son, Dickie Greenleaf, back from gallivanting in Italy. Soon Ripley's fascination with Dickie's debonair lifestyle turns obsessive as he finds himself enraged by Dickie's ambivalent affections for Marge, a charming American dilettante, and Ripley begins a deadly game. "Sinister and strangely alluring"…


Book cover of The Hidden Tower

Joshua Kern Author Of Portals of Albion

From my list on portal fantasy & LitRPG novels to explore the genre.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a kid, I loved fantasy; it was my escape from real life. Portal Fantasy is one of the oldest sub-genres in that regard, with works such as Wizard of OzThrough the Looking Glass, and Chronicles of Narnia, to name a few. LitRPG is a newer genre, though its roots extend back to the 80s. Fantasy is full of magical worlds that embrace the reader’s mind, allowing them to live beyond their own life. I have experienced what it is like to fall in love countless times, to fly a ship through the sky using magic and swordfight, and to die and be reborn. Through these stories, I have lived.

Joshua's book list on portal fantasy & LitRPG novels to explore the genre

Joshua Kern Why did Joshua love this book?

Portals, portals everywhere in this story. You get a portal, I get portal, even he gets one. Okay, not really, the MC does start using them a fair bit later on, but wow, this story gripped me.

That said, it might not be for everyone. The world is imaginative and vibrant, but the MC is slightly sociopathic. If you can ignore that, though, then you are definitely in for a ride. I know I was.

By James E. Wisher,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Hidden Tower as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Otto Shenk is the youngest son of a minor baron and a wizard.

Abused by his family and considered less than human by his kingdom, Otto does his best to survive.

But everything changes when Otto stumbles across a tower hidden deep in a dark part of the forest near his home.

A tower that was once the home of an Arcane Lord, the immortal wizards that long ago ruled the world.

Otto's life will be changed forever.

And so will the world.


Book cover of The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry

Barbara Copperthwaite Author Of The Perfect Friend

From my list on books told by liars.

Why am I passionate about this?

In my early twenties, I worked in a maximum security, Category A men’s prison. I got to know the prisoners, who were usually polite, funny, and, for want of a better word, ‘normal,’ even if guilty of terrible crimes. It made me realize you can’t simply tell if someone is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ by looking at them. It left an indelible mark on me: a fascination with people who lie easily and fool the world. My fascination grew when I became a journalist, but writing fiction has given me the freedom to truly explore liars of all types and try to understand them.

Barbara's book list on books told by liars

Barbara Copperthwaite Why did Barbara love this book?

Okay, it’s not told by a liar, but it is a fascinating nonfiction deep dive into psychopaths, how many there are, what makes someone a psychopath, the impact it can have on coming across one, and so much more. This is a subject that I can’t seem to get enough of–perhaps because I’m a really bad liar! I couldn’t put it down, and after reading the book, I bought the audiobook version, too. 

Psychopaths realize pretty early on in their lives that they aren’t like other people and have to find ways to pretend to be. It’s not that they’re bad people. It’s just that they think differently from most of the population, so they learn early on to disguise that by studying and mimicking everyone else. Their ‘otherness’ fascinates me, I suppose not least because I’m quite an intuitive, emotional person.

By Jon Ronson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Psychopath Test as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What if society wasn't fundamentally rational, but was motivated by insanity? This thought sets Jon Ronson on an utterly compelling adventure into the world of madness.

Along the way, Jon meets psychopaths, those whose lives have been touched by madness and those whose job it is to diagnose it, including the influential psychologist who developed the Psychopath Test, from whom Jon learns the art of psychopath-spotting. A skill which seemingly reveals that madness could indeed be at the heart of everything . . .

Combining Jon Ronson's trademark humour, charm and investigative incision, The Psychopath Test is both entertaining and…


Book cover of Tampa

Elwin Cotman Author Of Weird Black Girls: Stories

From my list on staring into the abyss.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ever since childhood, I’ve been interested in dark stories, and this led me to writing dark fantasy. To this day, my main inspirations as a writer are Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, both dark fantasists. I think it is only through understanding evil that we can appreciate goodness. As such, I strive to explore the darker parts of my characters’ psyches. I also write a fair deal about racism, which is a socially accepted, even celebrated form of evil. Fiction, because it has so few limits as far as subject matter, is, in my opinion, the best medium to have these conversations. Thank you for reading my list!

Elwin's book list on staring into the abyss

Elwin Cotman Why did Elwin love this book?

Statutory rape between teachers and students is a very uncomfortable subject that Alissa Nutting tackles head-on in her 2013 breakthrough novel.

I was impressed with how Nutting avoided sympathy for the devil. Her hebephilic protagonist, Celeste, is a terrible person who, like Richard III, conspiratorially lets the reader in on her plans to manipulate and seduce 12-year-old boys. The longer the book goes on, the clearer it becomes that Celeste isn’t some evil mastermind, just a dunderheaded rapist who gets out of trouble by virtue of being an attractive white woman.

I respect Nutting for writing this book. By staring at the monster in all her ugliness, she creates sympathy for the people whose lives are destroyed by Celeste and by people like her in the real world.

By Alissa Nutting,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Tampa as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Celeste Price is an eighth-grade English teacher in suburban Tampa. She is attractive. She drives a red Corvette. Her husband, Ford, is rich, square-jawed and devoted to her. But Celeste has a secret. She has a singular sexual obsession - fourteen-year-old boys. It is a craving she pursues with sociopathic meticulousness and forethought.
Within weeks of her first term at a new school, Celeste has lured the charmingly modest Jack Patrick into her web - car rides after dark, rendezvous at Jack's house while his single father works the late shift, and body-slamming encounters in Celeste's empty classroom between periods.…