Monday 17 December 2018

Book Review: However Fights Monsters by Robert Ressler


I’ve read a few of these FBI non fiction murder books now, most noticeably Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, which I found more interesting than this. Unfortunately I found Robert Ressler not as charismatic as Douglas in his examination and explanation of various cases - although his knowledge is undeniable. He’s just a bit more sedate and academically inclined compared to Douglas’ more sensationalist approach. I will say his personality is slightly less irritating than Douglas though, as he tends not to self congratulate as much (it does happen though). I would have preferred more talk about the various cases rather than Ressler’s personal background too, but understand that it might have been necessary to include it to gain an insight into Ressler’s way of thinking etc.

The book is also obviously dated, with no new chapters referencing anything past the early 1990s. I really need to find more modern texts, but so far nothing is quite as superior as these for definitive facts and information relating to violent crimes etc.

Overall, this was good but historical, and covers a fair few crimes I hadn’t heard of and examined them in a clean analytical way. Any recommendations for something more recent would be appreciated!

 - 3 stars

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