My Life Among the Serial Killers

Inside the Minds of the World's Most Notorious Murderers

By: Helen Morrison M.D., Harold Goldberg

Narrated by: Helen Morrison

Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Dr. Helen Morrison has profiled more than 80 serial killers around the world. What she has learned about them will shatter every assumption you've ever had about the most notorious killers known to man.

Morrison, a leading expert on serial killers, has spent as many as 400 hours alone with depraved murderers. In My Life Among the Serial Killers, Dr. Morrison relates how she profiled Richard Otto Macek, who chewed on his victims' body parts, stalked Dr. Morrison, then believed she was his wife. She conducted the last interview with Ed Gein, the inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. John Wayne Gacy, the clown-obsessed killer of young men, sent her crazed Christmas cards, and gave her his paintings as presents. Dr. Morrison has received letters from killers, read their diaries and journals, evaluated crime scenes, testified at their trials, and studied photos of the gruesome carnage. She has interviewed the families of the victims, and the spouses and parents of the killers.

Through it all, Dr. Morrison's goal has been to discover the reasons why serial killers are compelled to murder, how they choose their victims, and what we can do to prevent their crimes in the future. Her provocative conclusions will stun you.

©2004 Helen Morrison and Harold Goldberg (P)2004 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Meh…

Dr. Morrison is pretty full of herself. There were several times I rolled my eyes. She didn’t miss many opportunities to display her superiority, whether it be the fact she was married to a brain surgeon or her ability to fly her entire family to Brazil on a moment’s notice.

The story was bland, and the reading was stilted. It certainly wasn’t the worst audiobook I’ve ever listened to but it’s very not good either. It’s just… meh.

addicting and useful to society

i always feel like there is something strange about our need for morbid details of horrific crimes. however; the author is actually working toward a better future, and i was engrossed by all the details as well.

Love it - I read it again and again

This inside pespective by Helen Morrison is captivating. Since I purchased it, about 3 years ago, I've listened to it at least 3 times and I've just re-downloaded it for my iPhone, I am ready for round no 4.

Disturbingly interesting

I must confess an absolute facination with serial killers, more for their inherent ability to act without moral or ethical compass, than for their actions, specifically. Morrison, while a gifted profiler, unfortunately is not equally gifted as the narrator of her own work. This failure notwithstanding, the material covered was horrifingly interesting and kept me rapt, though only up to the point in which she waxes at length on her views regarding the neccesity of stem cell research used for the study of serial killers currently in captivity. Overall, her assertion that serial killers are "born" rather than "reared" is worth the price of listening.

Pretty Good!

This book is sort of like an introduction into
some of the world's most famous criminals. It
makes you want to learn more information about
some of them and the author came up with some great consistancy's with all serial killers.

A Killer Book

Morrison's research and narrative are as fascinating as perhaps they are disturbing. Society in general seems to crave the mystery and intrigue of stories about murder and the criminals who commit murder, as entertainment. Most murder mystery movies and books are fiction. I love the impact of true accounts shared here intelligently by Dr Morrison, sobering, shocking and quite informative. Anyone who loves Forensic File type of story telling as much as I do, will love this recording.

Great Book

Any additional comments?

Contrary to other reviews, I did not think Helen Morrison's voice was boring, but eerily calm. The stories are intense and as expected, creepy. The only reason I am not giving a full 5 stars is that towards the end of the novel she talks about how her life/family has dealt with her career, that was the only boring part.

AWESOME BOOK

very well read.. i enjoyed it a lot. hypnosis story of Richard Macek is unbelievable.. Dr. Morrison you're awesome..

Fascinating

I appreciate the clinical detail provided! It lends to the credibility and authenticity of the author's narrative, as opposed to other "true crime" series, that derived from media reports.

Dry and clinical

I am always looking for new novels written by Mental Health professionals, and normally I am thrilled to find some new insight into the workiings of the pathological brains of differently wired minds, very different, and yet not so different, from our own brains.. Unfortunatly this was not one of those books. First the book was very hard to listen to. The author should have allowed someone with more experiemce in narration. Dr Morrison is, by no means, uninformed, uneducated and her material was very insightful at certain moments, but unfortunately nothing that hasn't already been written about and using the same recycled research and information. The book was obviously well researched, but her deivery was very clinical and dry, making listening difficult. I was hoping for something much more interesting.
Happy Listening Always,
Miss D