Mapping the Trail of a Serial Killer: How The World's Most Infamous Murderers Were Tracked Down

by Brenda Ralph Lewis

The idea of the wandering murderer, leaving a trail of mutilated bodies in his wake, has long fascinated followers of true crime. By charting the geography of the killer's actions, Mapping the Trail of a Serial Killer takes an innovative approach to exploring the killing sprees of more than 40 mass murderers from the early 20 th century right up to the present day. With specially commissioned maps pinpointing each killer's actions, Mapping the Trail of a Serial Killer reveals patterns of behavior and enables the reader to understand some of the thinking of the minds of men like Ted Bundy, David Berkowitz, and Andrei Chikatilo.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Crime

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Brenda Ralph Lewis is a writer with over 200 books on history and numerous magazine articles and television documentaries to her name. Her fascination with Scottish history and culture began early in her career and she has since returned to the subject at every opportunity. She regards [her] book on tartans as a labor of love.

Reviews

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good compilation of some serial killers from around the world. Some well know and others not so much. The author puts together clear timelines and maps that are very informative. I had thought from the title this would be abotu geographical profiling, and though it is not, it is very well written and researched and a good read

[Fishface · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was just OK. Most of the cases were already known to me and the emphasis was not, as stated, an exploration of how the police caught the various killers, almost all of whom were either serial types or spree killers who travelled as they killed. (Not sure what Aileen Wuornos was doing in here, as she did neither of these things.) It was just a quickie retelling of each case, without even a complete list of each of the killers' crimes or good timelines, just maps showing more or less where most of the killings happened. If there was good coordination between the different jurisdictions involved, which would be important in cases like these, we never heard about it. It was also full of mistakes, the kind that made me wonder if the author was a native English speaker or what -- it says in here that one victim, her throat slit by Tommy Sells,"staggered naked" 400 KILOMETERS to get help, equating that to the 400 or so yards she actually walked to get to the nearest neighbor. They also said the Beltway Snipers used a "truck" to kill their victims, when there was a photo right there of the Chevy Caprice sedan they used. It makes me wonder what other mistakes I might have missed.

[Serkan Murat Kırıkcı · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bir Seri Katilin İzini Sürmek, 20. yüzyılın başlarından günümüze kadar 25 seri katilin öldürme içgüdülerini, akıl ve düşünce biçimlerini bir araya getirmiş. her katilin hikayesi, zaman çizelgesive kurban haritasıyla tam bir profil özeti mümkün. ortak özellikleri net görülüyor. aile sorunlarıyla erken yaşta suçla tanışma, cinsel fanteziler, psikolojik problemler, şizofreni ve şeytanla işbirliği tezleri...

Mindhunter dizisiyle gördüğümüz profil çıkarma macerasının kitap üzerinden okunması konuya ilgi duyanlar için hayli keyifli.

[Ralph · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a trained criminologist, I'm often appalled, even dismayed, by the way serial killers are portrayed in the media. They are rarely the smartest person in the room and are often quite unintelligent. In this book by prolific writer Brenda Ralph Lewis they are portrayed as flawed outsiders who are often caught because of their proclivity toward making the stupidest of mistakes, such as getting drunk and boasting, or committing some petty crime that times them to one of their murders.

Both the infamous and the obscure are profiled here, and the maps included for each serial killer often point to reasons why they were able to remain at large for such a long time (mobility and movement from one jurisdiction to another) or why they were caught (patterns of geography as telling as their "signatures").

Many of the killers, such as Ted Bundy, are depicted as being charming, not because they are charming, but because they have learned how to seem charming, much as a sociopath learns to mimic normal emotions in order to hide among his prey. They can also be very manipulative, having learned to "press the right buttons" to get a desired response. Mostly, however, they are depicted as brutal predators. Lewis rejects the commonly held idea that serial killers are "monsters" since that appellation would indicate they are something other than human; fortunately, they are very human, prone to all the usual frailties such as arrogance, cowardice and stupidity.

While one could easily take issue with names included or left out, Lewis has provided a generally satisfying selection of personalities and motivations. This book is by no means an in-depth or motivational study of the subject, but it does provide a general introduction to the subject. If there is anything to be wished for, it is a bibliography, both with regards to the individual cases and the subject in general. Otherwise, it is a good basic reference book for the criminologist, psychologist or crime writer.

[Undomiel Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

What puts this book right at the top of my list of favourite true crime books is that it takes you step by step through the key moments in the solving of the crimes. Instead of just telling you who did what, I love that as your read, the case unfolds, and you get an understanding of how these horrific people are caught, and not just the gory details. A truly gripping read!

[Regina Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too bad they don't have IQ of ever killer.

[Sarah Holt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an interesting read but the writing style is fairly cumbersome. Had the writer been more fluid in her sentence structure and picky in her word choice it would have been easier to read.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of facts. More encyclopedia than novel.