A Plague of Murder: The Rise and Rise of Serial Killing in the Modern Age

From the bestselling author of THE OUTSIDER

Serial killers are the headline-grabbing criminals of the modern world. But despite extensive police investigations, court trials, and news stories, a complete map of the serial-killer mindset has proven elusive.

This fascinating study by one of the world's foremost popular criminologists lays bare the roots of a terrifying modern phenomenon. The term "serial killer" is still relatively new, coined by the FBI to describe those who murder repeatedly and obsessively, usually with a sexual motive. Who are these killers? What social and psychological pressures have produced them? Can we understand and learn to predict their behavior?

Colin Wilson examines the changing face of murder over more than a century. Here are studies of some of the most infamous killers of our era, from Jack the Ripper to Jeffrey Dahmer, the monster of Milwaukee; Reginald Christie to Dennis Nilsen, who killed for company; the Boston Strangler to Donald Gaskins, who murdered more than 100 victims; as well as Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker and many more.