Dark Dreams: Sexual Violence, Homicide And The Criminal Mind (2002) - Plot & Excerpts
This is my first real experience with true crime, read on a recommendation, and I really enjoyed this.The writing was informative and educational while still being very accessible to someone like myself whose knowledge of the topic comes pretty exclusively from fictional television programs and films. I feel like I learned a lot about the people who commit the most heinous of rapes and murders. I feel like it gave me a lot new information on the professionals who study these crimes, how they study them, and just how these criminals think. I enjoyed a more in depth analysis of profiling, which is something I knew about before, as well as more information on equivocal death analysis and linkage analysis which were types of analyses that I hadn't been familiar with. I also really enjoyed the case studies of crimes that I was very familiar with, like the Jack the Ripper killings, and the crimes I was not as familiar with. I also liked how Hazelwood and Michaud connected things that these lesser known killers and rapists did to more well known criminals, like Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy, which made it feel a bit more accessible. I have been interested in crimes of these nature, but I've typically only read articles on the topic, and not usually anything meant to inform the reader on the actual studies of these crimes and criminals. I've mostly read articles about what happened, who was involved, and so on. It was a nice change of pace to read a full length work that gave much more in depth information.While overall this was a disturbing read, it was quite good and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the topic. I am very interested in reading more true crime in the future, I feel like this was a good introduction to the genre.
Crisp, organized, and calmly analytical. I had the good fortune to attend a two-day workshop taught by Roy Hazelwood while working in a prison psychiatric hospital, and it was interesting to compare this book with his in-person presentation - this book reads like a much-expanded version of the notes from that training; he presented a lot of the same case histories and research results, but was less dispassionate in person. There aren't very many psychologists or psychiatrists whose contributions to forensic psychology have been as groundbreaking or as useful as those of the FBI's violent criminal profiling unit with their methodical and systematic collection and analysis of volumes of data about the people who commit these kinds of crimes. The books of this author, as well as those of John Douglas and Robert Ressler, are some of the best I could recommend as reading for anyone who wanted examples of how to do this kind of data collection and analysis, what is sometimes called the 'natural experiment', i.e. a study in which the researcher collects information from events with the aim of understanding them, rather than the type of experiment in which the researcher causes events to see what will happen.
What do You think about Dark Dreams: Sexual Violence, Homicide And The Criminal Mind (2002)?
I am interested in criminal profiling and always have been. Specifically, I am interested in the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. This book is written by one of the founders of that unit and in it are highlighted some memorable cases. The good thing is that an aspect of a sexual crime is mentioned, briefly explained, and given an example. I enjoyed this approach because it made it easier to learn the basics of criminal profiling. In particular, I like to read about the steps used in profiling. This is a good book to read if you're into these sorts of things. I highly recommend it.
—Justyna
A insightful read about some horrendous crimes and the behavioral analysis of some of these offenders who carried out these crimes.Roy Hazelwood who has spent sixteen years as member of the FBI Behavioral Science Unit brings you through some cases he has worked and gives you a look inside the profile of these criminal minds and what makes them 'tick'This book pays a lot of attention to sex crimes which RH specialized in. He gives you an in-depth analysis of why people do these crimes. He looks at the most likely to carry out these felonies which basically could be anyone.I was somewhat disappointed in this book.RH gives you small glimpse into the criteria needed to become a profiler and also the criteria to be considered before a profiler is called on to help with a particular case. I was hoping that he would have given a longer explanation of the methods that go into profiling.The cases compiled in this book are gruesome. This book is no light read and the fact that it is true crime makes it painful to read. Its not just the UNSUB that's profiled but also the victims and their families. The atrocities committed to the victims is a very disturbing read. Overall I think I will stick to crime fiction. I will admit there are few books mentioned in this book that I am tempted to look in to.
—Maggie
Dark Dreams was a brilliantly written, if disturbing, look into the mindset of sexual predators as told by one of the giants in the field of criminal profiling Roy Hazelwood. It is one of these books you just can't put down, but at the same time does not sensationalize the subject matter. You get the dirty details essential to each case cited and the author explains the hows and whys behind the perpetrator's actions. If you have even the slightest interest in forensic psychology or the process of criminal profiling, this book is a must!
—William
