Crime Traveller
No Result
View All Result
  
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Research

    Do criminals freely decide to commit offences? How the courts decide

    We might not be able to understand free will with science. Here’s why

    Indian Trafficked Brides: The Stories of Three Women

    Trending Tags

    • Neuroscience
    • Mental Health
    • Criminal Brain
    • Juvenile Crime
  • Psychology
    Image: Shutterstock

    Psychopaths – Born Or Made?

    The Question of Why: Did Ted Bundy have Dissociative Identity Disorder?

    Teenage psychopathy

    What Should We Do With Teenage Psychopaths?

    Trending Tags

    • Narcissism
    • Psychopathy
    • Profiling
    • Mental Health
    • Psychology
  • Family Violence

    Reckless Speculation about Jeffrey MacDonald

    O. J. Simpson Trial: 26 Years Later

    O. J. Simpson: Murder in the First Degree

    Reasonable Doubt: The Hendricks Family Murders

    Melanie McGuire

    A Convicted Killer, Two Criminologists, and One Podcast: Direct Appeal Investigates ‘Suitcase Killer’ Melanie McGuire Case

  • True Crime
    Justice For Helen Book Cover

    Helen’s Law: A Mother’s Long Fight For Justice

    Get Rich or Die Hard! The FBI Manhunt for Houston’s Northside “Sniper” [PART 2]

    Get Rich or Die Hard! The FBI Manhunt for Houston’s Northside “Sniper” [PART 1]

    Trending Tags

    • Unsolved
    • Serial Murder
    • Documentaries
    • Guest Posts
  • Book Reviews

    Details are Unprintable: Wayne Lonergan and the Sensational Café Society Murder

    Operation Jacknap: A True Story of Kidnapping, Extortion, Ransom and Rescue

    Stephanie Scott

    United in Grief: The Murder of Stephanie Scott

    Book Review: Reckless Speculation About Murder

    David Lazar by Robert Kalich: A Book of Truth Merged With Fiction

    An Interview with Dylan Howard: True Crime Books Release And The Truth Behind The Epstein Scandal

    Psychiatric Killings In The UK: Blood, Voices and Missed Appointments

    New True Crime Book Series from Skyhorse Publishing

    She’s So Cold: Murder, Accusations and the System That Devastated a Family

  • SPECIALS
    • CrimeConUK
    • Crime Spotlight
      Dr Sohom Das is host of the YouTube channel A Psych For Sore Minds

      A Psych For Sore Minds: An Interview with Forensic Psychiatrist Dr Sohom Das

      How Prisons Are Handling the COVID-19 Pandemic

      Don`t Become a Victim: What Info Not To Share About Yourself Online

      How Altering Our Education System Can Help Us Reduce The Crime Level

      What You Should Do When You Become A Victim Of Carjacking

No Result
View All Result
Crime Traveller
  • Home
  • Research

    Do criminals freely decide to commit offences? How the courts decide

    We might not be able to understand free will with science. Here’s why

    Indian Trafficked Brides: The Stories of Three Women

    Trending Tags

    • Neuroscience
    • Mental Health
    • Criminal Brain
    • Juvenile Crime
  • Psychology
    Image: Shutterstock

    Psychopaths – Born Or Made?

    The Question of Why: Did Ted Bundy have Dissociative Identity Disorder?

    Teenage psychopathy

    What Should We Do With Teenage Psychopaths?

    Trending Tags

    • Narcissism
    • Psychopathy
    • Profiling
    • Mental Health
    • Psychology
  • Family Violence

    Reckless Speculation about Jeffrey MacDonald

    O. J. Simpson Trial: 26 Years Later

    O. J. Simpson: Murder in the First Degree

    Reasonable Doubt: The Hendricks Family Murders

    Melanie McGuire

    A Convicted Killer, Two Criminologists, and One Podcast: Direct Appeal Investigates ‘Suitcase Killer’ Melanie McGuire Case

  • True Crime
    Justice For Helen Book Cover

    Helen’s Law: A Mother’s Long Fight For Justice

    Get Rich or Die Hard! The FBI Manhunt for Houston’s Northside “Sniper” [PART 2]

    Get Rich or Die Hard! The FBI Manhunt for Houston’s Northside “Sniper” [PART 1]

    Trending Tags

    • Unsolved
    • Serial Murder
    • Documentaries
    • Guest Posts
  • Book Reviews

    Details are Unprintable: Wayne Lonergan and the Sensational Café Society Murder

    Operation Jacknap: A True Story of Kidnapping, Extortion, Ransom and Rescue

    Stephanie Scott

    United in Grief: The Murder of Stephanie Scott

    Book Review: Reckless Speculation About Murder

    David Lazar by Robert Kalich: A Book of Truth Merged With Fiction

    An Interview with Dylan Howard: True Crime Books Release And The Truth Behind The Epstein Scandal

    Psychiatric Killings In The UK: Blood, Voices and Missed Appointments

    New True Crime Book Series from Skyhorse Publishing

    She’s So Cold: Murder, Accusations and the System That Devastated a Family

  • SPECIALS
    • CrimeConUK
    • Crime Spotlight
      Dr Sohom Das is host of the YouTube channel A Psych For Sore Minds

      A Psych For Sore Minds: An Interview with Forensic Psychiatrist Dr Sohom Das

      How Prisons Are Handling the COVID-19 Pandemic

      Don`t Become a Victim: What Info Not To Share About Yourself Online

      How Altering Our Education System Can Help Us Reduce The Crime Level

      What You Should Do When You Become A Victim Of Carjacking

Crime Traveller

The Cases That Haunt Us By FBI Profiler John Douglas

Jack the Ripper, Lizzie Borden, the Lindbergh Kidnapping, the Zodiac killer and the JonBenet Ramsey murder are all covered in detail with an analytical slant

by Fiona Guy
26 May, 2017 - Updated on 13 November, 2020
in Book Reviews
Reading Time: 5min read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare

“From Jack the Ripper to JonBenet Ramsey, the FBI’s legendary Mindhunter sheds new light on the mysteries that won’t go away.”

BUY FROM AMAZON

Some crimes are impossible to forget and when these cases are high-profile with international attention, for those trying to solve them the pressure is on. Using psychological profiling and modern behavioral analysis, retired FBI profiler John Douglas opens the case files of some of the most haunting unsolved cases in America.

John Douglas is the former head of the FBI’s Investigative Support Unit and a leader at the forefront of the technique of criminal profiling.  He is a man who has worked on some of the most high-profile criminal cases in our history including the JonBenet Ramsey murder and has spent hours interviewing notorious serial killers including John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Charles Manson and Ted Bundy.

In ‘The Cases That Haunt Us’ eight shocking and unsolved cases are examined both from the history books and modern-day. John Douglas works through the evidence in each case applying criminal investigation and behavioral analysis in an effort to discover new evidence, build new psychological profiles and identify new suspects.

Jack the Ripper, Lizzie Borden, the Lindbergh Kidnapping, the Zodiac killer and the JonBenet Ramsey murder are all covered in detail and with an analytical slant. Further cases including the Black Dahlia murder, the case of Lawrencia ‘Laurie’ Bembenek and the Boston Strangler are also given attention.

If you have ever been curious about these cases, the evidence found, the suspects and the theories this is a book you will be interested in. First published in 2000, almost all of these cases remain unsolved, and it is a book just as relevant and educational today 17 years later as it was then. The focus is the use of profiling to gain an understanding of a killer, their motivations, and modus operandi and ultimately try to seek them out and identify them.  It is a book which provides a fascinating insight into how FBI agents use such techniques when assessing a criminal case and highlighting just how much the theory behind these methods has developed over the years.

Psychological profiling
Psychological profiling can be a valuable asset in gaining an understanding of a killer.

Each chapter deals with an individual case. Exploring the case history of what we know already, through to any arrests made or trials which took place. Chapters are lengthy, and they are in-depth, ensuring you read all the facts and the evidence.  Included within each case analysis is what the behaviors surrounding the crime and methods of killing tell us about the individual responsible.  How psychology and behavioral analysis can give us clues about the type of person who has carried out this crime and how we can use knowledge of human behavior to gain an insight into a killer’s actions and state of mind at the time of a murder.

The scene of the crime is most often the starting point for such analysis where how a person has been killed, where the body has been found, and in what position, the clothing and belongings of that individual all can be used to begin to build a profile of the person that is responsible.

Related: Top 10 FBI Criminal Profiling Books

In the case of Jack the Ripper where five women were murdered and mutilated on the streets of Whitechapel in London in 1888, the investigative tools of the time were considerably less advanced than they are now.  Furthermore, not only was DNA analysis, fingerprint technology, and forensic science unavailable to the police officers of the era but the analytical thinking and analysis of the behaviors present in each murder was also not something that had yet come to the investigating officers.  At that time unless there was a witness or piece of evidence which clearly linked an individual to the crime, such crimes were rarely solved.  No doubt if these horrific murders had been carried out today it is likely forensic science would have provided the evidence needed to solve them.

Police investigators in the Victorian era
Police investigators in the Victorian era did not have the forensic or profiling techniques available to them that we have today.

Each chapter is split into sections exploring the critical aspects of the case; the victimology, suspects, the behavioral case and with some a full psychological profile is provided. This is a book which highlights the complexities of criminal investigation and the importance of the crime scene itself.  To effectively solve a crime all agencies and departments need to be working together, from the first police in attendance at the scene, to the forensic teams and the chief investigating officers.

This network is where mistakes can be made, irregularities and inconsistencies which can be the difference between finding the culprit and bringing them to justice and a crime lying cold and unsolved.

In the final chapter of The Cases That Haunt Us a discussion on the advances in technology, theory and training are provided alongside some clear points about the importance of different stages of an investigation, communication with others investigating the case and the use of psychological profiling and where it can help in a case.  This book also provides a full index allowing for quick reference to the various terms and subjects covered in the text.

A well-rounded, detailed and extensive book which delivers on its promise on the front cover.  If the nature of unsolved crimes and the application of psychological profiling through the FBI is why you picked up this book, you will be rewarded with a fascinating and satisfying read.

You can purchase a copy of The Cases That Haunt Us by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker at Amazon.

Unlimited reading on any device, try Kindle Unlimited from Amazon for free
Prefer Audiobooks? Audible 30-Day Free Trial with free audiobooks

Tags: Historical Crime BooksProfilingPsychology
Share62Tweet21Pin8
Previous Post

Potential New Evidence In The Peter Falconio Murder Case

Next Post

Armed Attack On The Gardaí: The Murder of Sergeant James Woods

Related Posts

Do criminals freely decide to commit offences? How the courts decide

21 October, 2020

Are criminals responsible for their actions? It’s a question philosophers and criminologists have grappled with for centuries.

Read more

We might not be able to understand free will with science. Here’s why

21 October, 2020

It seems as obvious as anything that we have free will. But lots of philosophers and scientists will tell you free will doesn’t exist.

Read more

CrimeCon Is Coming To The UK: June 2021

15 October, 2020 - Updated on 18 January, 2021

When you’ve watched all the documentaries, read all the books but you still want to know more? It’s time to go to CrimeCon.

Read more

Comments 1

  1. Patricia Ann Griffin says:
    4 years ago

    The Housekeeper’s husband, the Handyman is the one who killed JonBenet.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Stay Connected

What's New?

True Crime & Justice

Get Rich or Die Hard! The FBI Manhunt for Houston’s Northside “Sniper” [PART 2]

14 January, 2021
True Crime & Justice

Get Rich or Die Hard! The FBI Manhunt for Houston’s Northside “Sniper” [PART 1]

4 January, 2021 - Updated on 14 January, 2021
True Crime & Justice

Court TV Expands UK Footprint with Launch on Freesat

19 December, 2020
Load More

Search

No Result
View All Result

Categories

#StaySafe

Coronavirus
(COVID-19)


Information & Guidance
World Health Organisation  
US - coronavirus.gov
UK - gov.uk/coronavirus

You Might Also Like

Book Reviews

Kitty Genovese, The Public Murder 37 Witnesses Ignored

11 March, 2016 - Updated on 5 July, 2018
Book Reviews

David Lazar by Robert Kalich: A Book of Truth Merged With Fiction

6 January, 2020 - Updated on 9 November, 2020
Family Violence & Homicide

A Crime of Passion or Pre-Meditated Murder?

8 April, 2017 - Updated on 23 June, 2018
True Crime & Justice

Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Mass Murder Mansion

19 February, 2020 - Updated on 9 November, 2020

RECENT

Justice For Helen Book Cover

Helen’s Law: A Mother’s Long Fight For Justice

21 January, 2021

Get Rich or Die Hard! The FBI Manhunt for Houston’s Northside “Sniper” [PART 2]

14 January, 2021

Get Rich or Die Hard! The FBI Manhunt for Houston’s Northside “Sniper” [PART 1]

4 January, 2021 - Updated on 14 January, 2021

POPULAR

Kitty Genovese, The Public Murder 37 Witnesses Ignored

David Lazar by Robert Kalich: A Book of Truth Merged With Fiction

A Crime of Passion or Pre-Meditated Murder?

Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Mass Murder Mansion

Site Links

  • About Crime Traveller
  • Contact Page
  • Become A Guest Contributor
  • Get Your True Crime Book Reviewed
  • Crime Spotlight
No Result
View All Result
  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Disclaimers
  • Cookies
  • DMCA
  • Newsletter

Copyright © 2016 - 2021 Crime Traveller, a website owned and operated by Alythium | All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Crime Research
  • Psychology of Murder
  • Family Violence & Homicide
  • True Crime & Justice
  • Crime Spotlight
  • Book Reviews
  • Get Your True Crime Book Reviewed
  • Become A Guest Contributor
  • Newsletter

Copyright © 2016 - 2021 Crime Traveller, a website owned and operated by Alythium | All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.