Book Review: Serial Killers: Up Close and Personal

Title: Serial Killers: Up Close and Personal

Author: Christopher Berry-Dee

Publisher: Ulysses Press

Year: 2007

Pages: 448

Genre: Non-fiction

Rating: 4 stars

One sentence summary: The lives of serial killers before, during, and after their crimes combined with interviews from the killers themselves.

A full synopsis of this book can be found on Goodreads.

Spoiler Level: None

This was an interesting overview of ten American serial killers from around the 80s and 90s. I enjoyed the author's blending of fact and storytelling as it made the experience more immersive and tense than a regular non-fiction novel. Following the killers throughout their sprees and watching the police try to capture them almost made you think: will they catch them, and how will do they do it? I have two complaints about the writing style however. First, though each killer's life is told chronologically, there were moments where I wasn't completely sure where I was in time. I almost felt like we were jumping back and forth in time because of the way the author reveals information from his present into past events. Because information comes from all angles, from quotes, from the police, from family, and from the authors interviews, each story kind of felt all over the place. Second, while most of the stories were fascinating, sometimes the author rambled on or included facts that weren't necessary and interesting to the story. Overall, the book was well researched and I liked how it included quotes from the serial killers themselves. Like a lot of non-fiction, there were a couple of slow and dry moments throughout, but I was mostly engaged. I would recommend this to those who are interested in serial killers and can handle the gruesome details.

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