Profilers

So, for my birthday in September, I received a Nook Color from my parents.  It's a fantastic device, by the way.  I now recommend eReaders to everyone I know.

Anyway, the first thing I did was start looking at things in the vein of psychology--specifically criminal psychology.  It's something that has always fascinated me and I remember wanting to do it when I was younger, but the years have slipped away.  I'm not old, but I feel old (28-years-old).

I've come to really admire the following: Roger Depue, Roy Hazelwood and John Douglas.  These three men were amoung the group of firsts coming out of the tyrannic reign of Mr. Hoover in the FBI, breaking into the scene of truly professional, legally sound criminal profiling.

One thing that I noticed with their writing is that their books show their personalities very well.

Roger Depue, who used to be the supervisor of the other two, writes in a very warm and friendly manner, but is very straight-shooting about his perspective.  Roy Hazelwood is incredibly informative and intelligent, but very clinical in his delivery.  He is professional but clearly is eager to share his experiences.

John Douglas's books have stayed with me, however, because he's an incredibly passionate victims' rights activist.  They all are for the rights of the victims (as there are understandably many in any atrocious crime), but Mr. Douglas is passionate and downright angry about his views.  It reflects his no-nonsene attitude, but his deep understanding and empathy of the pains people live through when rape, torture or murder happen in their lives, to those they love.

I would never recommend any of their books if you cannot handle narrated descriptions of crime scenes.  But I feel as though Mr. Douglas's books, particularly Obession, his 1998 novel that speaks extensively about and for victims, are a good read for anyone not only interested in profilers, but in how to deal with trauma and victimization.  If you've ever found yourself telling a victim close to you to 'move on', you may not enjoy the harsh slap that he delivers in this book, but I think it's a good way to help you look from a different point of view.

Likewise, if you yourself are a victim, I think Obsession is a good book for you to read to know you're not alone and there are people out there that can help you without telling you to move on when you're nowhere near ready.

But again, he is writing--as are Mr. Hazelwood (who actually explores the cases I've always been most horrified by, but what made me interested in the subject at all) and Mr. Depue--to tell stories of their careers.  So there will be tales about cases in the past.  So this is definitely a cautionary recommendation.

(Also, because it will forever need to be said, John Douglas is said to be the inspiration for character Jack Crawford from Silence of the Lambs.)