I loved Mindhunter (the TV series and the book) so I was even more intrigued to read this deep dive into a hand picked selection of killers that John Douglas interviewed over the years to get a better understanding of their minds. There were some cases in here that I had not heard of before and they were utterly terrifying. The depths of human depravity never fails to mortify me. But this was not some gratuitous exercise, it was handled with a lot of dignity and thoughtfulness and spoke candidly of the families and victims and the devastation these crimes bought. The work that the FBI have done over the years because of thw determination of people like John Douglas to understand how and why these violent crimes are committed to try and stop it from happening in the future is to be commended.

Fantastic read especially for someone who is interested in all of these sorts of things.
Brilliant

True crime at its finest.

I actually haven't read Mindhunter — though I have watched about half of the TV series — and wondered if I maybe should have got to that one first, but I found there was no need. This book consists of the author, the "father of criminal profiling", talking us through four different murder cases, exploring questions such as what makes people kill? Can these cases be predicted and therefore prevented? Can these murderers ever be rehabilitated and considered safe for release?

This won't be a book for everyone, obviously. Because it goes with the territory, expect violence and sexual assault, including involving children. The cases described are relatively unknown, so if you're wanting to read about Jeffrey Dahmer or Charles Manson, you'll be disappointed (Douglas does reference some more "famous" cases in passing, though.)

I'm still not sure how I feel about profiling or forensics in general — there is definitely something that reeks of junk science about it to me. But I'm no expert, and that's okay! It's still interesting to read about. I think the cases discussed in the book were well-chosen and subverted a lot of the things you might expect about crime — for example, victims being chosen that are well-known to the killer, making it easy for them to be caught.

Apparently there's a fair few books written by this duo, so I'll definitely be checking those out!

I received a free review copy of this book from Netgalley.

Overly sensationalised which affected the credibility of the author's observations. I struggled with this aspect.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big fan of Mindhunter-so I was so excited to read this book. It didn't disappoint. Creepy and equally heartbreaking delving into the minds of criminals at their worst. A Recommended read for all crime boffs out there.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publishers for this ARC

Unfortunately I did not get to read this book as I missed my chance. My apologises

I’ve been interested in True Crime stories for years now. When I want to watch TV but there is nothing on, I always end up with Investigation Discovery as a default. I’ve been watching almost all of the CSI episodes (although I’m aware that investigations don’t quite work like that) and for a while, I was addicted to Criminal Minds. I’ve been wanting to read some True Crime books, but I never really got around to it and I had no idea where to start it. I came across The Killer Across the Table due to luck, little did I know that there is no better person than John E. Douglas to introduce me to the genre.

I need to start with stating that I had no idea who he was before I started reading. Though I did read up on him ever since. In case you are in the dark as well as I was, a quick recap: John E. Douglas is a retired FBI agent, who, along with his colleagues, made criminal profiling into what it is today. They started with interviewing several high profile serial killers to quick their project off. It’s all pretty fascinating. He and Mark Olshaker wrote several books on the topic, including Mindhunter on which the Netflix series is based. Which you totally should watch if you are into this kind of thing. I was listening to the audiobook, which was narrated by Jonathan Groff, who plays Holden Ford in the Mindhunter series, whose character is based on John Douglas. He also has a damn great voice.

In The Killer Across the Table, they focus mainly on four interviews/cases with Joseph McGowan, Joseph Kondro, Donald Harvey, and Todd Kohlhepp. I’ve only been familiar with the latter, as I’ve seen a documentary about his crimes on ID – made with Douglas‘ involvement. Through these very different cases, Douglas shows us how they conduct these interviews, how profiling can provide background knowledge, and basically what it means to be a profiler. He gives the reader plenty of information regarding each case – often pretty gruesome ones. If you can’t stomach reading about abuse, especially involving children, then I don’t recommend you to read this book.

Douglas also brings in a lot of comparison to other cases and interviews he did with even more infamous serial killers such as Charles Manson, Gary Ridgway, etc. This was great, but sometimes it was also distracting as the narrative wandered away to here and there (as did my mind), taking the tension out of the book. I think I wanted to feel like I was sitting in the room with John, a killer right there across the table, playing their mind games. This book is definitely informative, but I was just missing something that would make it stand out. But The Killer Across the Table definitely gives us a look into the process and if nothing else, makes us realize that profiling is not for the faint-hearted. That and real life is a whole lot different than crime TV shows.

Quite an interesting read although I did struggles with it at times, basically it's interviews with 4 serial killers and I suppose from Douglas point of view it helped with his job in the FBI, but to the layman did get a bit monotonous, I did find it a bit repetitive so whether I would read anymore from this author we shall see. I would like to thank William Collins and Netgalley for an ARC copy to review. I have given 3* mainly for content think it was the title that grabbed my interest in the first place.

Look, the blurb for this book really covers everything you need to know. What I’m going to try to do is add some new context as to why you should read this book.

It is a must for anybody with an interest in the workings of serial killers. The amount of detail that The Killer Across the Table goes into is phenomenal.

If you have already watched Mindhunter, don’t make the mistake in thinking that you will learn nothing new from this book. The book covers more cases than the show and goes into a lot more detail.

The deep level of detail means that nothing is left spared. This book is not for the faint-hearted. You have been warned.

If you get the audiobook, Jonathon Groff will read it to you!

Overall, The Killer Across the Table does exactly what it says on the tin. For anyone with an interest in the area, it is a wonderful read and I totally recommend it.

Having read previous books by the author I knew this would be a book that I would enjoy and I did. Never morbid or too voyeuristic the book has some fascinating insights into the men who commit the most awful crimes and the self justification they employ

Nearly all serial killers believe their crimes are justified or at least explainable, a case of extreme narcissism at its cause' explains FBI profiler/best-selling author John E. Douglas in his latest work 'The Killer Across The Table'

Douglas delves deep into the lives and crimes of four of the most disturbing and complex predatory killers he’s encountered, offering never-before-revealed details about his profiling process and divulging the strategies used to crack some of these most challenging of cases. It's a fascinating insight into the criminal profiler's illustrious career interviewing (from across a table in various US criminal institutions) some of America's most nefarious and narcissistic criminal masterminds.

Over the past few years, true crime has really come to the fore and is probably more popular than ever, and you could be forgiven for wondering why that is? From the incredible Mindhunter series, through to Netflix worldwide smash hits Making a Murderer and Tiger King, to podcasts, magazines, and books, the appetite (a lot like these serial killers) is truly ravenous.

In this latest book, John E Douglas takes us through several cases of child killers, serial killers, single murders, and medical murders using his first-hand knowledge of USA serial killers to examine in-depth, how the minds of these depraved individuals work, and what society can learn from them.

Douglas takes a mild-mannered and at times sympathetic approach in interviews to sway the killer's psyche into opening up, giving them control and utilising reverse psychology to gain an understanding into the murderous modus operandi and behavioural traits.

Is it nature v nurture or are people 'born to kill'? We don't get a definitive answer from this book (or any true crime book for that matter) so I think that is where the fascination with true crime most certainly lies (like a dead body, for example)...

As someone with a keen interest into understanding why people commit heinous crimes, and a huge fan of both the first Mindhunter book and TV series, I was very excited to be accepted to read this. This was as fascinating and engaging as I expected, but for me not as interesting as the other book by Douglas.

An excellent and disturbing insight into the minds of some of the most depraved killers in society and shows that whilst some crimes may be similar the killers are all extremely different, despite any similarities.

Intense and shocking whilst at the same time compelling and riveting.

Enjoy is perhaps not the correct word to use in reference to a book discussing such horrendous crimes. I did fly through this at a rate normally reserved for fiction though.
It is highly compelling and while providing insight into the killers the authors balance the details of the horrific nature of the crimes with the impact felt by the victims, their families, and those investigating.
I would definitely recommend for anyone with even a passing interest in why people are driven to kill.

If you have seem Netflix's Mind Hunters, you will definitely want to read this book. Douglas, the real profiler who is depicted on the show is the author of this book about four different criminals. He demonstrates how he gets them to talk about their crimes, how to get them to confide in him. While this is not always an easy read (Douglas has dealt with the very worst of humanity), it makes you grateful that there are people like him out there to halp catch and put away these dangerous individuals. True crime buffs will love this book

As a holder of an MSc in Forensic Psychology I was really looking forward to reading this - deep insight into the criminal mind as told by an original leader in the field criminal psychology. However, for me, there was a little too much sensationalism and not enough academics - this is a great book for those interested in an 'easy' insight to the criminal mind. For those looking for a deeper analysis, this may not be the place for you but it's still a good read.

Wow - what an incredible read. I had read Mindhunter and realy enjoyed the candid look at criminals, and especially written by someone who spoke to them directly!

Definitely not for the faint-hearted, the details of the crimes are so candid and matter-of-fact - but so interesting. I loved the structure of focusing on a main criminal, but using examples of others to contextualise matters.

A brilliant read, perfect for fans of true crime, the TV show Mindhunter or those interested in criminal psychology. John Douglas is the master.

Mindhunter by John E Douglas and co-author Mark Olshaker was a massively successful book way back in 1995 that inspired not only a plethora of Serial Killer books but also several movies as interest in the subject grew amongst the General Public. 25 years later the same team have written "The Killer Across The Table", in which Douglas relates the crimes of 4 killers and their different motivations and mindsets. Each killer's life story is told followed by their crimes and then an interview to show that there's no such thing as a "typical killer" . The stories as as horrible as they're diverse and ,a warning for the squeamish,the various crimes are described in great detail, not for sensationalism but so that the reader realises quite how abhorrent and horrific these people and their actions really are. Quite how Douglas could sit in a room with these people and not wish to beat them to a pulp I don't know, particularly child-killers Joseph McGowan and Joseph Kondro,who more than once killed friend's children "because they were available". The others featured are Donald Harvey,whose confession after several murders was ignored as fantasy and who went on to kill several more times,and Todd Kohlhepp, whose amazon reviews took on a whole new angle when his crimes were known!!

The Killer Across The Table is a great read,if not an easy one at times because of its graphic content. While each of his subjects is abhorrent they do all share pretty awful backgrounds and there's a lesson learned too late in Kohlhepp's case that the judicial system created a monster when there was a chance of rehabilitation.

Thanks to John Douglas and Mark Olshaker ,William Collins (The Publisher) and Netgally for an ARC in return for an honest review.

For any fan of True Crime, John E. Douglas is a must read author. In The Killer Across the Table, we see him speak to 4 prolific killers as he finds out what makes them tick, similar to how he works in Mindhunter but by this point, he was retired from the FBI going back to help out with parole hearing cases or for a television series.

I had never heard of the killers he spoke to in this book and; similar to Mindhunter, it was fascinating finding out about them, the reasons they were in prison and the way they thought about what they had done. Whilst talking to each of these killers, he compares how they work to other serial killers that he had originally interviewed when he first started his research discussing killers such as Kemper and Bundy etc. In fact there is a lot of name dropping of these famous serial killers and he can seem quite boastful but with the work he has done, it is only expected.

This is another captivating book by Douglas and I cannot recommend it enough. It is truly terrifying, the way the minds of these psychopaths work but the work that Douglas has done over the years is extraordinarily gripping and his writing is so full of his personality and so engaging, it makes you feel like you were there in the room with them.

This is a recommended read for anyone interested in true crime, criminal profiling, and psychology. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

If you're aware of Douglas' work then you'll most likely be interested in his stories, here he offers an in depth look into some of his biggest cases or studies to provide you with a professional insight into the minds of some of the worlds worst criminals. Mentions of 'big names' such as Kemper do work their way in as the work he did with those people was intrinsic to the development of his unit and so it is unavoidable. For fans of shows like Mindhunter and Criminal Minds, this book is a must-read!