Fiendish Killers by... (read on)

Anne Williams, Vivian Head, Sebastian C. Prooth and Amy Williams

So summer has arrived, I've passed all of my modules and I'm free to read what I like. This summer I've decided that I'm going to be reading in a pattern of fiction/non-fiction/fiction to make sure I don't just read fiction or non-fiction and one of my first choices was this joyful block of text which tells us readers the story of some of the world's most vile killers from Countess Bathory through to the Virginia Tech and Columbine Massacres.

Although I was already aware of the existence of most of these killers and even remember some of the events (notably the V-Tech Massacre during which I spent the whole day glued to my tele in order to remain updated) as they happened or were broadcast on the news.

Like most of the true trime, murderer books I've read, each killer's section gives a basic outline of their backgrounds rather than a full picture of who they were/are and focusses instead on the crimes they committed. This, however, is what I was expecting and hoping for so I was happy.

It's extremely rare for words on a page to make me cringe or my toes curl (only other book I can recall doing this is Shaun Hutson's 'Slugs', but some of the stuff this book pointed out, such as Elizabeth Bathory's habit of pushing sewing pins under her victims' nails, really did make my toes curl. When it comes to these descriptions the book misses out nothing and provides descriptions of the crimes that make you want to simply sit back and let out a long breath of air.

Split into 8 parts (Cannibals, serial killers, wicked teams, fiendish women, fiendish doctors, vampires, child fields and school shootings) this book provides the stories of probably any killer or killers you can think of from Jack the Ripper to the killers of Jamie Bulger. However, despite the book being an interesting read, I think it's safe to say that it's an introduction to true crime reading almost. This is due to the fairly short chapters and the book not going fully into the backgrounds of the killers which can sometimes leave readers wondering what may have caused them to turn into these "fiendish killers". Was it some strange urge or did they always have underlying psychological issues?

There's not really much more I can say about this book now. I've read some many book on true murders and such that I'm no longer shocked by them although I do remain interested. Plus the various killings give me inspiration for my deranged stories so the books have their uses still. This is definitely a good book, but if you've spent some time reading true crime previously it may be a little disappointing as it focuses on the crimes rather than the full case. A good beginner's book is the only way to put my thoughts on it really.

Overall rating: 6/10