The Killer Across the Table

I just want to say that I don't really feel like I have a place to comment on the quality of this book. I will say it was extremely information dense and fascinating. I really enjoy all the work John Douglas has done for the field he is in. The psychology of a criminal is already very intense and the lens he uses for analysis is amazing. I read Mindhunter (because I am avid watcher of the Netflix show... I SOOOOO hope it comes back) which was also amazing. Jonathan Groff narrates this book and his voice is just what the hard facts needed to be in the delivery department. He plays the character that is loosely based off the author of this book and the audio includes a few pages with an interview between them which was really really wholesome and informative. I'm glad I got to experience it.

Very heavy. Douglas talks about a variety of conversations he's had with a range of types of killers with many more examples sprinkled between for comparison. The first time I've read about a medical ‘mercy' killer (one of the types). As you might imagine, several unbelievable people doing repeatedly terrible things. Olshaker has apparently helped write virus related books with a couple epidemiologists so I might look to that next.

Douglas takes us in prison to interrogate 4 murderers. We first learn about their stories, criminal history, we then have an insight in Douglas' interrogations.

Couple of months ago I read mindhunter and I really liked it, so I pick this one after and I am not disappointed. First it was well written and organised, making it clear of the reader. I liked the fact that we first have the criminal's story before the interviews, it gives us insight on what is in their minds and Douglas points out elements that can explain the behaviours. The element that I really loved was that Douglas explains why he asks a question and what the answer reveals about the killer, it helps the reader really understand things. Finally the links with other stories and murderers is also really helpful and interesting.
A bonus goes to the audiobook edition on scribd for the little interview of the author by Jonathan Groff the narrator.