Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer - Softcover

Douglas, John E.; Dodd, Johnny

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0470325151 ISBN 13: 9780470325155

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2008

Synopsis

A dramatic and compelling true-crime psychological thriller This incredible story shows how John Douglas tracked and participated in the hunt for one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history. For 31 years a man who called himself BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) terrorized the city of Wichita, Kansas, sexually assaulting and strangling a series of women, taunting the police with frequent communications, and bragging about his crimes to local newspapers and TV stations. After disappearing for nine years, he suddenly reappeared, complaining that no one was paying enough attention to him and claiming that he had committed other crimes for which he had not been given credit. When he was ultimately captured, BTK was shockingly revealed to be Dennis Rader, a 61-year-old married man with two children.

About this title

Product Description:

From the New York Times Best-Selling Author John Douglas Comes a Story of True Crime That Reads Like Fiction Inside the Mind of BTK tells the incredible true story of how FBI profiler John Douglas tracked and participated in the hunt for one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history.

Review:

"...It′s an unforgettable portrait of a guy most of us are glad we never met." ( Bloomberg.com, November 8, 2007)

Legendary profiler and bestselling author Douglas (Mindhunter), who pioneered the FBI′s systematic study of serial killers, offers his insights into one of this country′s most chilling killers Dennis Rader, a seemingly innocuous family man and municipal employee, whose brutal murders terrorized Wichita, Kans., for three decades. Identifying himself by the initials BTK (for Bind, Torture, Kill), Rader (who in 2005 pled guilty to 10 murders and is serving consecutive life sentences) taunted the press and law enforcement, striking at random in savage attacks that often decimated families, and then confounded his pursuers with long dormant periods. With the aid of People magazine writer Dodd, Douglas nicely weaves the story of his own development as a profiler with the history of BTK′s crimes and his own role in the investigation, drawing on analyses he developed early on in the rampage; he noted, for instance, the razor sharp control the killer maintained after his crimes. While the stomach–turning story of BTK′s crimes has been told by others, Douglas′s unique professional experience and his exclusive personal access to Rader offers a different perspective, even as the answer to the question of how such a monster comes to be remains elusive. (Oct.) (Publishers Weekly, August 20, 2007)

"...Douglas′s unique professional experience and his exclusive personal access to Rader offers a different perspective..." ( Publishers Weekly, August 20, 2007)

About this edition

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0470325151
• ISBN 13: 9780470325155
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368