ABANDONED. Book about a murderer who has no emotions

[Paul]

The main character is a sociopath murderer who tries to come to terms with what he is.

I started reading this on holiday in 1990 so can't remember many details.

The publisher was Sphere Books, I think.

[Westcoast_girl]

This probably isn't it but:
Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate

[Paul]

Thanks for replying, but it was definitely a fiction book.

[Kate]

I haven't read this series or watched the TV show, but I know the main character is a sociopath: Darkly Dreaming Dexter. This could be it.

[Paul]

Thanks Kate. That wasn't it either.

Wish I could find a catalogue of the publisher's books. I'm sure the name would pop out at me.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Did you contact the publisher and ask about a catalog?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

I'm guessing Paul means the earlier Sphere since he read it in 1990. From Wikipedia:

There are two Sphere Books.

1. Founded in 1961, Sphere Books began work on its first publication, the 1962 paperback edition of Gottfried Benn's The Trainee Man. Originally part of The Thomson Corporation, Sphere was sold to Pearson PLC in 1985 and became part of Penguin. The name was retired in 1990.

2. The current Sphere is an imprint of Little, Brown.

You can go to Little, Brown's website

http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/Sphere/i...

for current Sphere books. You can filter by genre and sort by old to new.
http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/books/no...

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer?

[Sue]

'Mr Murder' by Dean R.Koontz?
"For author Martin Stillwater, life couldn't be more perfect. He and Paige are happy together, and their two daughters, Emily and Charlotte, are intelligent and healthy. At last, Martin's novels are achieving long-hoped-for levels of success. So why does he feel such dread, experience sudden blackouts? There must be a simple explanation. Mustn't there? The killer doesn't know his own name, only the name he uses. He has no family, no friends, no home. He cannot recall who gives him his assignments, and he doesn't know why his targets must die. Sometimes, in despair, he is overwhelmed by his loneliness and tortured by the meaningless of his life. Now, however, he senses that in a town he can't yet envision, a life awaits him, a place to call home, with family and friends. Charlotte knows something is wrong: the man moves and sounds like Daddy, but he doesn't smile as quickly or as often as usual. And when he does smile, he seems to be pretending. Daddy isn't Daddy."

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Paul, are you still looking or did you find this?

[Gbolahan]

I read a book about a sociopathic killer with no emotions, who was being controlled by a police officer or a federal agent(something of that sort)...but this one I read was more about using written letters to trace criminals...in the end, the "controller" is stopped (killed, I, think) and the sociopath was gunned down at the protagonist' home by the protagonist.
I just put it out here to help to try to help Paul...who incidentally hasn't posted here since July 2013...
And sorry, I don't remember the title of the novel I read...☺

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

No response in 2+ years. Moving to Abandoned.

[Laina]

Hi, I know this is abandoned, but thought I'd throw it out there in case it was revived. I recently finished The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson, and the it could fit your description. There was a Sphere edition, found here:
The Killer Inside Me