By Christopher Berry Dee https://www.christopherberrydee.com/
Published by John Blake Books https://www.bonnierbooks.co.uk/ @jblakebooks (an imprint of Bonnier Books UK) https://www.bonnierbooks.co.uk/ @bonnierbooks_uk
TBA pages ISBN 9781789467956
Publication date 29 February 2024
I was sent an electronic copy to enable be to participate in this Blog Tour. I would like to thank Tracy @Tr4cyF3nt0n from Compulsive Readers for the opportunity to take part and of course the author and publisher.
The Cover
Evil eyes, a knife and strange corridor in kind of a green monochrome. I don’t think the reader will be surprised to find some disturbing content.
The blurb
In Talking With Psychopaths, bestselling author and criminologist Christopher Berry-Dee takes readers deep inside the dark minds of some of the most pitiless and dangerous people alive.
With unprecedented access to the world’s most evil killers, Christopher spent years interviewing imprisoned criminals – including notorious serial killers – he discovered that the lack of remorse these people showed was in many ways even more terrifying than the crimes they had committed. Yet in the course of these conversations, the author also had the chance to interview his subjects’ psychiatrists and, in doing so, uncovered a terrible truth: a monster can be hidden behind a friendly face.
Some of these experts, he found, proved to have more in common with their patients than he would ever have expected. This book examines horrific crimes committed by some of the most remorseless and merciless people ever to have lived. If it reveals a mindset wholly alien to most people, it also, shockingly, demonstrates that some of the people who treat these psychopaths have their own demons.
This chilling study of darkest of criminal minds will inevitably shift the reader’s view of psychopaths, and in doing so, reveals that horror can be much closer to us than we think…
My review
Having already read a couple of his works, I was aware that the author has a very distinctive writing style. Thankfully, considering the people who he has corresponded with and interviewed in writing this book, he doesn’t go into too much detail regarding their crimes. He considers most to be the dregs of humanity and he certainly doesn’t pull his punches when it comes to giving his opinion on them, or recounting conversations with law enforcement officers (most of which are from the US). He reports events in a matter-of-fact way in prose which is aimed at the regular reader rather than the academic or professional. He does go into the science and explains it well, but wherever possible he avoids the jargon and buzzwords that go some way to shutting off the world of study for you and I who are his target audience. There is dark sarcasm and the odd comment that may trouble the more sensitive reader, but I believe that it is merely a function of those he deals with. They say if you lie down with dogs, you get fleas, then when consorting with killers it is important not to become desensitised. Many workers doing difficult jobs such as those in the emergency services develop a dark sense of humour as a coping mechanism to deal with the very worst experiences of humanity. So, I think it is quite reasonable for him to laugh at the expense of serial killers, psychopaths and savages.
Style aside, his works are certainly popular, as they manage to capture the essence of the convicted felons, they are amongst the best sellers. It’s not all popular appreciation though, some of his books are included on the required reading list of the FBI Behavioral Sciences unit at Quantico, in Virginia, and they are the world experts.
He doesn’t suffer fools (or rather those he considers to be fools) gladly and has a correspondingly low opinion of most professionals involved in the study of criminal psychiatry. As he says, put half a dozen shrinks in a room and the chance of them reaching agreement on anything, is about the same as we have of winning the National Lottery Jackpot. I can see two principal reasons for this. Firstly, is the divergence of opinion, particularly when cases get to court and they are called as specialist witnesses, with defence experts trying to prove spurious arguments like temporary insanity. Secondly, they must approach the subject with an open enquiring mind, to prove scientific rigor has been exercised. However, as the author is at pains to point out these killers, psychopaths and narcissists are the most skilled manipulators of the human mind there are. Coupling the mind that wants to believe with one determined to manipulate is a recipe for disaster. His approach is to regard the criminals as despicable, murdering scum, and he believes he is invariably proved right.
Don’t expect the author to hide his light under a bushel, as he sets out his successes, and quite right too, as some of the information he has manged to extract is stunning. The pain felt by the loss of a loved one who has been murdered is clearly heartbreaking; when there is no body, or the murder is unconfirmed, it can leave them in a near permanent state of grief, unable to live the rest of their life. That the author has managed to get convicted killers to further confess and reveal deposition sites to him is a testament to his work. True crime can seem voyeuristic at times but here are tangible meaningful results.
How does he do it? Over a period, he corresponds with them and subtly probes them to reveal their weaknesses, for something he can exploit. It may take months or even years to establish a rapport with them and start to gain their confidence, tricking them into believing they have a friendship. Most are narcissistic or egotistical, so he applies a form of reverse psychology on them, they think they are in control and all the while he is manipulating them. As my old father used to say “you can’t kid a kidder”. From the professional psychologist’s point of view this would be entirely unethical behaviour but from the layman’s point of view it gets the required results and so should be applauded.
Talking With Psychopaths gazes into the abyss of darkest of criminal minds and shows how a determined criminologist can turn the tables on them.
Talking With Psychopaths can be purchased from the Bookshop.org here
The author
After Asst Chief Constable Ron Stone QPM, Essex Police, Christopher became ownerand Editor-in-Chief of The Criminologist – the worlds most respected and oldest journal (at 49-years) – on matters concerning: law enforcement; penology; forensic psychiatry/psychology; penal reform; the judiciary, and all matters under the criminology masthead. He was appointed as Director of ‘The Criminology Research Institute’ (CRI) in 2005.
Writer of some 36 separate book titles listed with Public Lending Right (PLR), published by W.H. Allen, Virgin Books and long time loyal friend and publisher John Blake (London) and now also Blake/Bonnier Christopher’s books are translated into numerous languages around the world.
Christopher frequently appears on numerous TV documentaries as a leading authority on serial homicide. He was co-producer/interviewer for the acclaimed 12-part documentary series ‘The Serial Killers’, still being screened today and has consulted on the cases of: Fred and Rose West; Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, and Dr Harold Shipman in the TwoFour produced TV series ‘Born to Kill’, which accompanied another of Christopher’s books.
Source: Author’s website
Don’t forget to check out the other reviews on this blog tour:
Peter turns the page 