Title: Talking With Psychopaths

Author: Christopher Berry-Dee

Genre: True Crime

Publication Date: 29th February 2024

Publisher: Bonnier Books

Cover:

Summary:

Look around you, because the person sitting right next to you could be a cold, heartless murderer. . .

In Talking With Psychopaths, bestselling author and criminologist Christopher Berry-Dee takes readers deep inside the dark minds of some of the most pitiless and dangerous people alive.

Having spent years interviewing imprisoned criminals – including notorious serial killers – he discovered that the lack of remorse these people showed was in many ways even more terrifying than the crimes they had committed. Yet in the course of these conversations, the author also had the chance to interview his subjects’ psychiatrists and, in doing so, uncovered a terrible truth: a monster can be hidden behind a friendly face.

Some of these experts, he found, proved to have more in common with their patients than he would ever have expected. This book examines horrific crimes committed by some of the most remorseless and merciless people ever to have lived. If it reveals a mindset wholly alien to most people, it also, shockingly, demonstrates that some of the people who treat these psychopaths have their own demons.

This chilling study of darkest of criminal minds will inevitably shift the reader’s view of psychopaths, and in doing so, reveals that horror can be much closer to us than we think…

Review:

I’m a big fan of true crime and, although I have heard of Christopher Berry-Dee’s books, I haven’t read one until now. Talking With Psychopaths is certainly interesting. I found the insight into what actually makes a psychopath and what that word really means very interesting. The book spends some time on that and then goes on to briefly discuss some case studies involving some well known criminals such as Harold Shipman and also quite a few lesser known ones as well.

The case studies were all intriguing and it was fascinating to hear more about the pathology of a psychopath and Berry-Dee’s theories on that subject, although I would add that they are just his opinions and not definitive. The brief case studies all make for interesting reading and although obviously covering serious subjects the chapters are sometimes actually quite humorous. Overall, for me personally, Talking With Psychopaths is slightly too pulpy at times for my taste, I definitely think many true crime fans will enjoy this look at a dark yet extremely compelling topic – the complex psychology of people who commit terrible crimes.

Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for my place on the blog tour and for the copy of the book. My review is entirely my own honest opinion. 

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Waterstones | Blackwell’s | Amazon