Review: Mind Behind The Crime

Mind Behind The Crime by Cheryl Critchley
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I feel like this book was trying to be too many things at once and so ultimately failed at all of them.

There are three main components to it:
-The true crime stories
-The psychology of criminal acts
-How the psychology of criminal acts is relevant to each specific crime

The book opens with a long-ass introduction that discusses what cases will be included and what disorders are relevant to these cases. Then it talks about different types of murders. Then it touches on the psychological disorders behind different types of murders. So just in the introduction alone we already have a serious case of repetition. Not gonna lie, I skipped a lot of it when I realised it was being repeated (and then when it came up again in relation to each case).

Then each case is grouped under a general disorder/murder type, with an introduction that AGAIN discusses the traits of the disorder/murder.

The cases themselves are set out in a rather messy manner, and to me it didn't really seem to flow. First you get the 'character' list, then motive/short summary of the crime, then an introduction that sets the scene, then the actual crime and its fallout, followed by an overview of the murderer's background/history. Then some more about the relevant disorder and how it applies to the murderer (yet again).

But not always.

The subheadings change, the order is sometimes different, some include a LOT of extra detail and some are quite vague. I found it incredibly frustrating.

I felt like I was reading the same thing repeatedly when it came to the psychological stuff. There is some really fascinating information here but it's kind of just dumped so you have to be pretty patient to wade through it all. I found that when it related to the behaviours of the murderers it was quite interesting and easy to understand, but there was always the patronising info-dump either in the introduction or in the conclusion (or both) that seriously undermined it.

Then the cases themselves were really interesting but tainted by the personal opinions of the author(s). This bugged me so much. You'd get this nice long paragraph about the influence a personality disorder has, and how it affected the murderer, and it would really make you think about how much psychological disorders are responsible for unacceptable behaviour. But then you'd get this naive, black-and-white statement where the author basically says, 'the disorder is irrelevant because this person committed murder which makes them a horrible person. Full stop.'

I mean, I agree, there are seriously terrible people in this book, and the crimes are absolutely heinous, but you can't write a book about the influence of personality disorders and then inject your own biased opinions. That's not how science works.

I think this would have been better had it focused in one direction. For example, if it was just the true crime stories, including fleshed out characters with personality disorders. Or if it discussed how different personality disorders can have criminal implications, with reference to some true cases. I think going into this much detail for both aspects just made it a tedious read.

It was quite interesting to read about some cases that I'm actually familiar with, and I was horrified to learn some of the details that were obviously withheld when I watched the story emerge on the news. It's quite sobering to think that these crimes were committed only a few years ago in most cases, and some not too far from where I'm currently living. That fact had the potential for such a massive impact, and I think it's important to emphasise that so many of these murders came completely by surprise.

Unfortunately our society has become such that we must be constantly aware of our surroundings, be vigilant, and take serious note of suspicious behaviour. I feel like this book is trying to say, 'these are homicidal tendencies, PAY ATTENTION!' but the message is buried by all the superfluous crap.

So it wasn't a great read but it does contain some fascinating, important information and I'll keep it as a reference book for sure. Even if it's just for the fun of picking which personality disorders most suit the people I know ...

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