Wow. This book was so informative! The author really knows his stuff, and its crazy he has come into contact (that he knows of) with three different serial killers. I did enjoy the book, but I found it to be a little long at times.

Filled with stats, facts and theories about serial killers through the ages, but there are some sections that can come off a bit dehumanizing. Overall a good place to start if you're just starting out on your true crime journey; however, it does not offer much new for an experienced true crimer.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book and to be an early reader via NetGalley! However, I will not be writing a review for this title at this time, as my reading preferences have since changed somewhat. In the event that I decide to review the book in the future, I will make sure to purchase a copy for myself or borrow it from a library. Once again, thank you so much for providing me with early access to this title. I truly appreciate it. Please feel free to contact me with any follow-up questions or concerns.

This is interesting because unlike other serial killer books I've read this is more informative on the biology or making of serial killers versus what I normally go for which are stories or relationships people have had with serial killers. If you want something more indept and informative than some other serial killer books this is for you!

If you’re looking for a good history of serial killers book, I’d recommend Harold Schechter’s The Serial Killer Files. This was my second book of Vronsky’s and I just couldn’t get into it. I wasn’t a fan of the writing and I found the beginning to be a little posturing in regards to his many accidental run ins with serial killers.

I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Sons of Cain by Peter Vronsky Book Review

Sons of Cain is a very detailed encyclopedia of the worst of humanity. 

I sure do love me some true crime. As soon as I heard about Sons of Cain, I knew I wanted to read it. A book that outlines crimes, killers & gives me more details about notorious cases? Heck, yes! 
Detailed & Honest History
The honest truth is, Sons of Cain is a bit more than I bargained for. This book is nothing if not thorough. Peter Vronsky writes a chronological encyclopedia of serial killers. 

While this book is not relaxing night time reading, it is often riveting. There are many crimes, cases & killers I was not aware of. Vronksy highlights the crimes in an objective fashion. For me, Sons of Cain is best read in doses. It's a book you sit down with, read about a few cases/ killers & then move on. Read all at once, I feel it could be overwhelming & redundant. 

THE VERDICT
I am Into This book!  With Sons of Cain, Vronsky creates a book all true-crime aficionados should have on the bookshelf. 

Special thanks to Peter Vronsky, Berkley Books & NetGalley for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

I have a fascination with serial killers, like many people I think ans this book was very interesting and a good read, it brings out a lot of interesting facts, without any ( i Don't think the word is appropriate but…) romance to it. I tought it was good, a bit répétitive and dry somtimes but somewhat, I will give it 4 stars

Dry in some spots but overall an interesting read. I felt like I learned about serial killers and how they come to be just by examining their history. However, the book as a whole was relatively slow and extremely statistic heavy. If you can get past that then this book tells such an interesting story. I learned so much about the history of serial killers and how their identification has changed through the years. It also focused a lot on societal factors that can cause more people to become serial killers. The book was obviously well-researched and presented a lot of information that I had never heard before, despite the large number of serial killer books I have read. I might have to pick up some of his other books in the future.

“Sons of Cain”, by nature of its subject matter, is not the kind of book that a reader would tend to want to say that they “enjoyed” or even “liked”. That said, it is a very good, very thorough book, worth a read to better understand these dark acts of humankind, their history, their patterns,, etc.
I was provided with an advanced reader’s copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review. And while I delayed beginning the book, and was slow working my way through it, this was not due to any shortcoming of the book itself. For me it just worked better with some breaks in reading.
If you’re looking for the kind of quick, sensationalized, pulpy true crime stuff found in grocery store checkout lanes, or at the airport bookstand, this ain’t it. This is decidedly more scholarly work. Recommended.

An interesting true crime review through the ages. I appreciated the statistical nature of the book, as if applied solid facts to the history of serial killing. Well worth the read.

This was a difficult book to read due to story line. Mr. Vronsky did an excellent job telling this story. I will recommend this book to others with a caution about subject.

I ended up not finishing this book (about 20% of the way in), so I can't really give a full review. I had a hard time reading what I did read, as it was very dry & fact/statistic driven. The first few chapters did give a lot of good information & interesting statistics, but it read more like a textbook instead of a true crime book. Other reviews said that the book got better later on, but I just couldn't make it through. I gave three stars to what I read (which was well researched & well written), but this just wasn't the book for me.

This book leans a bit on the academic side, but I liked that about it. Vronsky explores the evolution of serial killers in a detailed and engaging way.

I'm not over reacting when I say that Peter Vrosnky's Sons of Cain is one of the best detailed and entertaining explorations of serial killers I've read in a long time.  Not only does the book give true accounts of serial killers, it also explains the culture side of fears we've attached to fictional characters. He starts from the beginning of human story telling and goes into explorations of modern times. 

Vronsky posits that vampire and werewolf myth were created due to two different types of killers. Vampires are the more methodical, well-planned killers. Traditionally, these were the wealthy. Werewolves are though to be more of the violent disorganized killers.  He also goes into how witchcraft trials were used to allow men to use their violent urges against women and how at that time serial killers were harder to find.

One of the strengths of Sons of Cain is that the author sometimes uses older cases and then compares them to the details of more modern cases. For example, he may take a less known killer from Britain and then compare him to Ted Bundy. This definitely brings the concepts into clarity for a modern audience.

Sons of Cain is a great book if you're looking into the psychology behind killers and their existence since human beings became sentient creatures. I will admit that this book can be a bit much at times, especially in the sections that involve sexual abuse and killing. There were even a few times where I had to walk away and come back to the book.

Sons of Cain is now available from Berkley Publishing Group.

Peter Vronsky writes true crime in a way that feels academic and incredibly easy to understand. He knows how to really tell a story. As a fan of his work “Serial Killers,” I’m glad to see that his style is untouched. I recommend Vronsky’s work to anyone who really wants to dig into the psychology of murderers.

“”In other words, we know very little—next to nothing—about why there are serial killers””

“”serial killers need hugs too” 😱

This book is NOT for the faint of hearts. Takes us deep into these killers minds, leading back to the Stone Age. How they think, types of personalities that lean towards certain rituals/killings. This book reads like a text book, informative, detail oriented, (don’t get me wrong, i was addicted by the end of the first chapter). So dark I read it bits and pieces at a time, taking breaks to get my head wrapped around what goes wrong with these people to lead them to such horrendous acts. I was certainly most fascinated by the connection a that many famously known people had with serial killers without even knowing it.

I received Sons of Cain from NetGalley for an honest review - thank you for sending me this! I love anything involving true crime - books, movies, shows, podcasts, etc. so I was excited to win this book! This book had a TON of information in it. This would be a great book for anyone wanting to actually research serial killers and true crime as it is very fact heavy. My favorite part of the book was the part about the "modern" serial killer as those are the stories that I already had some knowledge about and that have interested me prior to this book. This book would be great for anyone interested in crime non fiction with a lot of detailed information and facts.

Peter Vronsky is one of the few serial killer historians with a resume to back up his credibility. His latest, Sons of Cain, provides a history of serial killers going back in time to the days when murders were attributed to supernatural causes. The book is divided into three sections of well-researched, stats and stories.. It's not as dry as that sounds. HIs writing is crisp and he keeps the pages turning, even if the first part is a little more than most need. This one is essential for readers who are fascinated with serial killers..

This was disturbingly wonderful to read! Icantc can't wait to tell everyone about his book! Thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

Although the first few pages really hook the reader in this book can quickly get bogged down in psychological history that may go over the heads of the layman. Once it gets into specific cases it begins to pick up again so I would make sure to tell library patrons to stick with it though the beginning.