Criminal Minds: The Science and Psychology of Profiling

by David L. Owen

Covers case studies in interesting and informative ways while explaining what profiling skills were used to catch the culprit. The page on how to decipher lifestyle and information of a criminal through obeservation of their crime scene is worth the money of the book alone.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, True Crime, Crime

First published September 30, 2000

About the author

David Owen is the author of Hidden Evidence and Hidden Secrets. He has written extensively on military deception, espionage, and written and produced television documentaries on computer crime and electronic intelligence.

Reviews

[Zara's Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about criminal profilers and how they and the history behind how they came to be. Each chapter starts with some information pertaining to the subject of the chapter and then at the end of each chapter there is a case study of a murderer. In the case study there is information about the crime, what the profilers had to work with, or not work with as the case may be, and what triggered the killing.

This is a great book for those who would like to know more information about the work and process of profilers as well as those who would like to know about the different criminals out there and how they tick. The way this book is organised allows readers to choose whether they want to read the information at the beginning of each chapter or just read the case studies at the end of the chapter.

It’s an easy read in that the wording is not difficult to understand but the content (especially of the case studies) isn’t always easy to read due to what is being described. This is a good, quick reference book which can be utilised for the pleasure of reading and/or as a reference for school studies (high school and university). The reader doesn’t need to read this book from cover to cover to make sense of it so it makes it conducive to being put down and picked up at will - something that some people in today’s time poor living is pretty attractive. I really enjoyed this book and have looked at it over and over again. I would be happy to read more of this author’s work in the future.

[Nathaniel Darkish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I felt there were some notable strengths to how this material was presented, such as the case studies and the fact that it dealt with several different types of crimes, it failed to go into the level of detail I wanted in terms of the specific types of things profilers look at to create their profiles.

[Beth Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be extremely informative and entertaining all at the same time. If you are interested in why the criminals do what they do, this book can for sure shed some light into the criminal mind for you.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, perhaps because it was such a good introduction to Profiling. It was a subject I knew nothing about, and though this book covered a lot of information without getting into a lot of detail, it was clear, interesting, and informative. The writing and organization was both concise and professional, while the content was undoubtedly fascinating. I practicality read it all in one sitting!

That being said, it practically didn't say anything about the motivation of criminals, which I thought was disappointing. I'll have to search for other books dealing with that subject. It was also a bit brief and didn't get into much detail, only offering the basic skeleton on different types of criminals and how profiling was used in specific cases.

However, I'm giving it five stars because it's a great introductory book to someone who has minimal background information about criminal psychology, like me. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more books on the subject!

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit I skimmed through this one, as well as two others on serial killers. I can read on serial killers, and horror, and even watch the documentaries and horror movies, but I think with the true text of what really happen theres only so much that can be taken at once. I did enjoy what I did read of this book though, it was scary and real, I think thats why I had so much trouble finishing it, because all the horror that I read about of clowns and werewolves and stuff I know is all fake.....well for the most part. I do believe there are ghosts,aliens,vampires, and other beings we don't always see but its not as real as this. I warn you if you read this it is very graphic and it is a struggle, it makes you think twice on you to trust, and yes I got all that after reading just what I did.

[Brian Mathieu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read on what makes a criminal tick, mentally. It has nothing to do with the TV show "Criminal Minds", although the profiling concepts are similar. There is a lot of non-intuitive information here. Was the criminal organized or disorganized? Does he choose his victims randomly, or according to a certain pattern? Does he intend to get away with his crime? Does he relish the attention his crime nets him, or is he more focused on the act itself? There are many case studies included. This isn't a very thick book, but it's a great overview of many of the concepts, and a good starting point to figure out if you want to read further on the subject.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book goes over the criminal minds of killers and how profilers work to find the criminals. It's very interesting and kind of tips you off on the kinds of individuals who commit crimes. So keep in mind the characteristics and watch out.
There are too many case studies I believe but in all it's a very interesting book so far.

[Royce Ratterman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most books are rated related to their usefulness and contributions to my research.
Overall, a good book for the researcher and enthusiast.
Read for personal research
- found this book's contents helpful and inspiring - number rating relates to the book's contribution to my needs.

[Leticia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has study cases of some of the worse killers and show how profilers help with the cases. Insightful and not to detailed to bore.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information and interesting cases. However, there were a plethora of typos and confusing sentence structure, which was distracting.