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The Butchers

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THE BUTCHERS covers more than thirty cases, from Catherine Hayes who set a trend in Dismemberment in 1726 when she hacked off her husbands head and tossed it into the Thames, to Dennis Nilson who was doing much the same to his victims in 1983; from Marcel Petiot's quicklime pits in Occupied Paris, to New York's infamous Albert 'The Cannibal' Fish.However meticulous and ingenious, none of them got away with murder! and, as this fascinating book shows, only painstaking investigation and forensics led to the final unmasking of the sadists and psychotics who sought such bloody concealment of their crimes

Hardcover

First published April 18, 1991

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Brian Lane

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Karin A..
81 reviews
March 14, 2015
Bought this book in the 80s in Europe. Picked it up to read only now. Horrific, gory murders from the 1700s until the 1980s. Thirty cases in detail. There is no perfect crime but I don't know how these murderers had the stomach for what they did to their victims, not only to kill but the aftermath and then live with their deeds. Fascinating even if horrifying read.
Profile Image for Bookish Enchantment (Katherine Quirke).
1,065 reviews28 followers
January 2, 2011
If you want chilling real life murders pick up this macabre book of the sick puppies of our history.

It will make your blood run cold. Lane's writing is straight to the point and easy to read.
Profile Image for La_Biblioteca_del_Scriptorium.
34 reviews2 followers
October 16, 2025
Los carniceros, de Brian Lane, es un libro inquietante y absorbente que explora los límites de la crueldad humana. A medio camino entre la crónica real y el análisis psicológico, la obra repasa los crímenes más atroces cometidos por asesinos en serie y homicidas múltiples a lo largo de la historia. Publicado originalmente como una investigación sobre la mente criminal, Lane ofrece un recorrido escalofriante por los casos más oscuros de la criminología moderna.

El autor recopila una serie de perfiles criminales de asesinos conocidos como “carniceros” (no solo por la brutalidad de sus actos, sino por la frialdad con que los cometieron) . A través de relatos documentados, Lane examina las vidas, motivaciones y métodos de estos homicidas, revelando cómo factores como la infancia, la personalidad o el entorno social pueden converger en un comportamiento monstruoso.

Más allá de enumerar crímenes, el libro se adentra en la mente de los asesinos y, con precisión casi clínica, intenta responder a la pregunta que intriga a todos: ¿qué convierte a un ser humano en un verdugo?

Los carniceros no es una lectura ligera. Es perturbadora, detallada y, a ratos, difícil de digerir. Sin embargo, su fuerza reside precisamente en eso: en mostrar la crudeza de la realidad sin disfraces.

Brian Lane escribe con rigor y sin sensacionalismo, construyendo un retrato psicológico que fascina tanto como horroriza.

Su estructura, basada en casos breves y directos, permite una lectura ágil, aunque a veces el tono analítico pueda sentirse un poco distante. Pese a ello, el equilibrio entre información y reflexión mantiene el interés constante.

¿Por qué leer Los Carniceros? (tranquilo, no estas mal de la cabeza)

Porque ofrece una mirada profunda al lado más oscuro de la humanidad. Ideal para quienes disfrutan de la criminología, la psicología forense o los relatos reales de asesinos seriales, Los carniceros combina investigación seria con una narrativa inquietante y absorbente. Un libro que impacta, intriga y deja huella.
Profile Image for Peter.
4,078 reviews805 followers
January 21, 2024
In this book the author tries to solve the question what is the perfect murder. We are introduced to Ted Bundy, the Zodiac killer and all kinds of untimely deaths like acid baths, burning, cannibalism, dismemberment, quicklime, trunk murder and are shown on famous examples how to get rid of bodies. Besides there are full chapters on monsters like Ed Gein, Fritz Haarman (the ogre of Hanover), Dr Crippen. You'll also find a black and white photosection inside. It was an interesting and at parts gross read but the structure of the book was a bit confusing in my opinion. Definitely recommended if you are into true crime!
Profile Image for Flavia.
60 reviews29 followers
February 19, 2013
Well, I may say that we learn anything with this kind of literature. The authour write rapid stories, with have a kind of similiaty, spooky coincidences, if you got full attention. I thought most of time that how my english improved, with repetion of things realted to crimes, police. etc...
I would like to have less cases & more aproach from differents sides, deep in psychology matters, the envirement, the jornalistic view, the law, the social, etc...
The most of them I've never heard about. The things didn't change so much, maybe we have more ciennce to be allied, but the criminals have much more the low in them favor.
I couldn't filosophy more them that.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews

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