"My Life Among The Serial Killers"

OK, It is time for another book review, and for those of you out there that are as fascinated with this particular subject as I am, this is a must read. The subject of today’s review is Serial Killers. In particular a woman by the name of Dr. Helen Morrison who over 30 years now has investigated the subject herself, conducted hundreds of interviews with some of the most notorious killers alive, and spent thousands of hours researching up close and personal the minds of the monsters themselves.

"My Life among the serial killers,” is a very interesting look into the life of Dr Morrison, and her notes, and stories about the serial killers she has interviewed. Of the most infamous being John Wayne Gacey, and Bobby Joe Long. Dr. Morrison also lists several of the more sadistic killers that have plagued the earth throughout history. As she quotes many times, Serial killers are not a new subject. They have been around since the dawn of time, but it is only now that we are starting to have even the vaguest understanding of what makes these twisted souls do what they do.

When dr. Morrison first began back in the 70’s, women in general were still not really considered equals to men, especially among the law enforce departments across the U.S. who wanted nothing more then to get a conviction of these killers. They did not care about the studying that needed to be done, and certainly did not care about some woman who wanted to do the studying, so of course she met quite a bit of resistance. As the years went by and she continued her research and interviews, the subject of serial killers, began to take on a new light, and her research while faulty in some aspects, becomes more insightful as she became more recognized in her field.

While I personally disagree with many of the conclusions Dr. Morrison presents in her book, I still found her notes and conversations with these killers enthralling. To sit and speak with these monsters in human form makes my skin crawl, yet fascinates me to the core. As the hours roll along during her interviews with these killers, she breaks them down little by little until without them even knowing it, they reveal some of the most horrific details of their killings. What they thought about what they were doing, and most intriguing of all, the fact that almost all of them never once admitted remorse. They all of course admitted they were sorry they were all caught in the end, but they were never sorry of the brutal murders they committed.

Here is a fact that is morbidly interesting to say the least. After John Wayne Gacey was executed, she was given permission some how to have access to his brain for research purposes, and to this day in a bottle of formaldehyde in her basement, there sits a slice of brain from one of the most notorious killers of our era. Odd how most serial killers keep trophies of their victims, and now a trophy from a serial killer sits in a jar owned by some one on the other end of serial killing.

Although some of her ramblings are at times incoherent, or more broken thoughts, then helpful insights, a good portion of her research is still looked at as valuable and very thought provoking when she discusses her theories about how a serial killer is just that from the time they are born, and the inevitably this kind of trait is actually hereditary, or based in part in the actual DNA make up of a human. If for no other reason then the stories she tells about her interviews, this book is worth a read.

My rating for this book is 8.00 out of 10.00