Whoever Fights Monsters

My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI

By: Robert K. Ressler, Tom Shachtman

Narrated by: Tom Perkins

Face-to-face with some of America's most terrifying killers, FBI veteran and ex-Army CID colonel Robert Ressler learned from them how to identify the unknown monsters who walk among us - and put them behind bars. Now the man who coined the phrase "serial killer" and advised Thomas Harris on The Silence of the Lambs shows how he has tracked down some of the nation's most brutal murderers.

Just as it happened in The Silence of the Lambs, Ressler uses the evidence at a crime scene to put together a psychological profile of the killers. From the victims they choose, to the way they kill, to the often grotesque souvenirs they take with them, Ressler unlocks the identities of these vicious killers for the police to capture.

Join Ressler as he takes you on the hunt for America's most dangerous psychopaths. It is a terrifying journey you will not forget.

©1992 Robert K. Ressler and Tom Shachtman (P)2016 Tantor

A very good read but also VERY disturbing in parts

I've watched various crime shows on tv & thought this would be good to listen to so I could try to understand some of the evil that exists in this world. Some of the crimes that were committed were in fact so horrific that newspapers wouldn't even print them. While thiswhole book was informative it was also sick. So brace yourselves.

Amazing

This book is very interesting. I love Robert Ressler, ego & all. I recommend this book for anyone who likes true crime. It takes a deeper look into profiling, and why people do what they do.

Educational true crime

I can see how this might not be for everyone. There are some unsettling details. Also, the switch between passages of case study, education, and personal history might leave some people wishing there were more or less of a given passage type. For me though, this was a great blend of everything that makes a true crime story compelling. Especially when it's from a veteran expert. I loved it.

Absolutely fascinating

Although the audiobook was released in 2016, most of the events take place in the 1070’s and 1980’s—HOWEVER, this “outdatedness “ does NOT detract from the excellent story, well told and well narrated. It’s interesting from historical perspective ref development of behavioral profiling, from thriller/sick fascination point of view ref the cases discussed, and from psychological perspective ref how a serial killer is created/develops (see especially ch. 4). Highly recommend.

True crime fans, this is the book for you

This is an important book for anyone interested in behavioral sciences. It's written in a dry and informative way, but anyone interested in abnormal psychology will find it fascinating.

if you love true crime!

entertained the whole way through. a lot of great details heard straight from the horse's mouth

I love the book, but the author has a big ego

I have always been a big John Douglas fan and thought since these guys were coworkers it would be along the same lines. it seems at every chance the author could toot his own horn or make some kind of correction, that he was the one that started this, that interviewed so and so, directly in opposition to John Douglas.
it would be a fabulous book instead of a pissing match.

Couldn’t put it down

Great book on this subject. Full of insights and tidbits of facts. Puts you there, on the scene and putting two and two together.

So Good!

An interesting and informative look at the details of why serial criminals do what they do and how they are caught. If youra fan of the Mindhunter series on Netflix this book is a must.

good material, arrogant author

This book was fascinating, but it was a little hard for me to get past the author's ego at points. It's very name-droppy and self-congratulatory. if uou can overlook those parts, there's some really interesting information here