150 Serial Killer Files of the World's Worst Murderers (An Encyclopedia of Serial Killers)

The first thing I need to mention is that I purchased this book as an audio book. This is significant because it contributes strongly to the impression that I got of this book. This is going to sound like a strange comparison but to me this book brought forth the image of what I imagine speed dating to be like. I know, weird analogy, but hear me out.

When you are listening to this book what happens is that you get a whole lot of very brief descriptions of each of many killers. Most of them I had read something about before, but some were brand new for me. To me it was almost like registering for a speed dating event. You get a few minutes to review photos of individuals that are participating, and then move from one table to the next getting just the highlights. That is to say you get a list of names, dates, and general timeline. No time for things like in depth understanding, just is this someone I'm interested in or not.

The reason I suppose that this image is so appropriate is because it has the same effect on me. I will use this book to note individuals I might be interested in completing a case study. A brief overview of individuals like this will give you an opportunity to pick out individuals for say a case study on individuals who developed fantasies based on a fetish, or individuals who went from victim to abuser. It is also possible to use brief cases coverage to weed through and pick out individual cases that support a theory such as, "Serial killers appear to have either higher than average or lower than average intelligence." I am not saying that is a fact by the way, just that it is an example of a theory that could gain potential support material in this book.

So what makes this a 4 star book? I like the writing of Jack Rosewood. He is direct without a lot of padding and sequential so things make since. Furthermore he does his research and does not insert opinion.

This is a brilliant book. Alphabetically ordered, each serial killer is profiled—with a listing of their victims, method of killing, and the eventual outcome for the killer. I was prepared for a very dry book, but it isn’t. Each murderer is presented with their background. Interestingly, some had very troubled childhoods while others were raised with very normal families. The author doesn’t draw any conclusions, but consistently, there were red flags in these men’s pasts. And yes, there are women, but their numbers are very small.

The author also tackles serial killers from other countries – the British Isles, France, and Canada. Of course Canada interests me because of Paul Bernardo. Where I lived, his killings were covered extensively in the media and his arrest and subsequent conviction was contentious because his wife was given a deal in exchange for her testimony against him. After the papers were signed, the police finally located the video tapes that showed Bernardo’s wife, Karla Homolka, was very active in the killings, including that of her own sister. A deal with the devil, people have called it. But they couldn’t reverse the deal and she served her time. But fascination with her hasn’t ended, as every time we turn around she is being profiled in the media. She was living in the Caribbean and has three children. Then she turned up in Canada and was volunteering at her children’s school. This is proof that when monsters are sent back into the community, they need to be watched. Normally, I like to believe people can be rehabilitated, and maybe now that she is away from Bernardo, she has changed. I will never forget, however, her role in the deaths of her sister and two other young women. All of this wasn’t included under the entry for Bernardo, but the rest of the facts were accurate.

Navigating through the audiobook is simple. Each serial killer has a digital chapter, so advancing to the next killer is as easy as a click. They are in alphabetical order, so finding each perpetrator is easy. Now, these are graphic and gruesome and accurate descriptions. There is no holding back, so consider yourself warned.

That being said, there are the facts as well as trivia, making each killer more memorable, or at least highlighting something different about each perpetrator.

Whether you choose to listen to the entire encyclopedia at one time – which is doable – or you choose to seek out information about just one killer at a time, if this is an area of interest, this is the book for you.

Kevin Kollins is the perfect narrator for this book. He has a deep and resonant voice, with the appropriate gravitas for the subject matter. My fear was that he might be monotonous, so I was happy that this was not the case. His pronunciation and enunciation is very good, making the book interesting to listen to.

This is a fascinating book for those with a macabre interest in the subject and a strong constitution.

I highly recommend The Big Book of Serial Killers as a great encyclopedic resource from a seasoned author. The professional formatting was designed to synthesize factual information into an interesting backstory. At a glance, important characteristics described serial killers, victims, locations and criminal status similar to your favorite step-by-step technical manual. The overview coupled with new factual background data not generally presented, provided childhood traumas in a cohesive manner.

I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s thoughtful presentation of text, as it sequentially created unique psychological profiles for each serial killer. It also builds a foundation for assessing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) scores for crucial predictive measures. For example, Paul Kenneth Bernardo’s background profile included sufficient adverse childhood experiences prior to his 18th birthday to obtain an estimated ACEs score. With an excessive score of 6/10 qualifiers, there was a correlation with the author’s Psychopathy Checklist score of 35/40.

The correlation was very interesting as it was a direct link between childhood trauma and adult onset of violence. This book provided a plethora of deviants supporting new psychopathy research that included: “adverse childhood experiences that harm children’s developing brains so profoundly that the effects show up decades later; they cause much of chronic disease, most mental illness, and are at the root of most violence.”

For readers interested in a cohesive volume of serial killers or psychopaths’ historical information, before and after their murderous killing sprees, this encyclopedia is a must-have book. The new contextual information was quite impressive. As such, I agree – this book qualifies as a MASTERPIECE.

{My thoughts} – This book took me awhile to get through. Many of the crimes committed weren’t detailed, but some were, and those that were in many cases were difficult to stomach.

It breaks my heart to know that the human race is capable of doing such horrible things to one another. It also saddens me to learn that despite knowing and understanding they were doing horrible things that most had zero remorse.

I’m well aware that there are plenty more serial killers out there. That many haven’t been caught or have simple vanished from the scene. However, that doesn’t make it any easy to accept that people can do such terrible things to one another.

I’ve always been intrigued by the criminal mind. I’m a huge fan of nearly every law show because they intrigue me. I’ve yet to understand how people can do the things they do though. I’ve often wondered if those that write about or create TV scripts are secretly serial killers pulling the wool over fans and viewers eyes. Some of the fiction I’ve read, some of the shows I’ve watched, it’s just so out there in terms of what killers are capable of. It’s scary to think of the things the human mind can concoct let it be real or make believe.

This audiobook is disturbing on a number of levels so unless you’re are really interested in serial murderers I’d advise you to stay away. This is an alphabetical review of 150 sickos who have taken the lives of at least three people and, in some cases, hundreds (yes, hundreds) of lives. “The Big Book of Serial Killers” details the depraved lives of these abhorrent members of society, their crimes, their victims and the eventual outcome of their case.

What boggled my mind was not only the number of “unknown” or “unidentified” victims but the uncertainty of the total number of victims of some of these criminals. So many question marks about human lives is distressing.

Kevin Kollins does a great job of narration and, although formulaic, Jack Rosewood and Rebecca Lo’s writing is well documented and thoroughly researched.

Again, this is not a murder mystery or a crime novel. This is the real life account of the worst the world has to offer. Proceed with caution.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

For those that enjoy reading True Crime, this is an excellent compilation of those who murder. Sure, if you’re an avid reader of true crime books chances are that you have heard of many of these killers, but there are also lesser-known entries that I have never heard of and I have read a lot from this genre over the years!

The authors did an excellent job of summarizing each killer’s crimes and letting us know the outcome of their trial. I like the added trivia on the bottom of each case. For those that are just getting into the genre, this is a good starting point in getting to know a bit about these monsters.
This book isn't going to tell you every detail of the crime or trial, but it gives you enough information to be informed of what had occurred. All in all, a good read for both long-time and new readers of true crime!

I’ve read quite a few of Jack Rosewood’s true crime books-these are primarily shorter works: He has a series in which each volume focuses on one killer and he also has a series of true crime anthologies each examining about fifteen different murderers. This volume is a BIG, big book, a much larger project. Here we have an encyclopaedia of serial killers detailing a huge one hundred and fifty of the most famous perpetrators. The worst of the worst. This has an easy to follow structure with a brief résumé of info about the killer's lives, their victims, their MO, etc.

This was quite a harrowing read, it was quick to whip through though, and what a feast of info and facts and figures. It can certainly be read continuously in the normal way, (which is what I did), or, kindle format particularly lends itself to searching for a killer's name or a victim’s name and it will quickly come up with all entries of it/them in the book. So, an ideal reference guide which can be used again and again. Edge of your seat reading-it contained some truly terrible things but I was compelled to read on.

I received this Audible Audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review.
As always, I am never disappointed by Jack Rosewood's accurate and precise factual writing. The information he shares is truly disturbing, but written in such a matter-of-fact way that I was able to get though the book without anxiety or nightmares at the conclusion of listening to over 17 hours/150 files on the worst serial killers!
Although the books Mr. Rosewood writes are about people that I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to learn about, I do enjoy looking into the lives of those whose path took such a heinous path (what made them the way they were, what promoted them initially to begin their reign of terror, etc.).
I look forward to future books by this author as his subject matter is truly riveting.
#punkrocklibrarian #LibraryThing #GoodReads #Audiobook #Audible

This book is an excellent primer for anyone interested in serial killers. It should be the first book acquired, by those who have a primary interest and are interested in learning more about serial killers; who they are; why they kill; who they kill; how they kill; how they were caught, if caught; their trial; and, where are they now. Mr. Rosewood covers 150 different serial killers in one volume, using a format that is interesting, complete and is sure to hold your interest. I have been interested in, and reading, true crime books, for many years. I wish that this book was available, when I first started delving into the lives of serial killers. I strongly recommend it to anyone who is curious about serial killers and wants to know where to find out more about them. Buy this book. It is the golden ticket to knowledge and further interest into these maniacal human beings.

The Big Book of Serial Killers: An Encyclopedia of Serial Killers - 150 Serial Killer Files of the World's Worst Murderers
: Jack Rosewood

Thïs book is exactly what it says it is, an encyclopedia of serial killers. It gives basic information on many serial killers. With this being said, it doesn't translate well to audio book format unless all you want is to go through hours of listening in alphabetical order. I would like to read the e-book version. Jack Rosewood is an expert on this subject!

The narration was well done by Kevin Kollins.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This is an awesome read. Jack manages to tell the whole story in just a few pages. These are the worst of the worst and oh how we love to read about them. Many stories are very familiar but it seems I always learn something I didn't know. The cannibals are the really gory ones and the ones involving children. The victims are treated with respect and each are mentioned lest we forget them. This is one I will keep on my tablet as a reference book. Another masterpiece by Mr. Rosewood. I know he had to do a lot of research to put this together but it was definitely worth it. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys true crime stories.

The book was haphazardly written. There are numerous typos, minimal information and most of what was included seemed to be copied and pasted from Wikipedia. For example, one quote is said to be from an expert, but the expert isn't named. There are statistics included that claim to be from "studies" but the studies aren't cited. At one point, a sentence was repeated word for word on back to back pages, I thought I had accidentally gone back a page...

I have been reading books on serial killers for years and this book has introduced me to many I've never heard of. This is not a "soft" read, the facts of these cases are sometimes difficult to read. But, the honesty of the authors is appreciated. Thanks Jack!

I enjoyed this book, but it really wasn't what I expected. I did not like the fact that there was no crime scene photos and there is not a lot of details on each killer. It's exactly what it says it is: an encyclopedia. If you are looking for in-depth information, this is not the book for you, as it only gives the major points of each serial killer and not enough details.

There was some good info on the serial killers in this book. It would have been nice if a picture of each killer was included on their page. But generally speaking it was an interesting read and had good information.

This book is very well written and easily understandable. It points to facts and leaves out the rest of the garbage. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is interested in learning more about serial killers.

This is a very comprehensive book full of information on serial killers. I have bought a few different books in the past on this subject and this one by Jack Rosewood is by far my favorite. Definitely would recommend

There are really no words to describe how perfectly Rosewood captures the essence of each of the people in this book. It is enrapturing. It complete sucks you in, and before you know it, time has flown by. Very hard to put down....and worth every penny. I'm always hoping for more. ❤❤

There is nothing that bothers me more than is to see the country Colombia spelled like the University. To have this book published with the country misspelled is appalling to me. Can you imagine if another country did this to the spelling of United States? Mr. Rosewood needs and education as does his editor and publisher. Same on you all!