I’m a big fan of all things true crime, especially books. This one was very intriguing and I found myself having a hard time putting it down.

Peter Vronsky is one of the best out there for covering large groups of criminals in his true crime books, and this book is no different with how detailed and fascinating it is. Vronsky is an author not to be missed by anyone who enjoys reading true crime.

I have been into listening to true crime podcasts and every time they talk about the Golden Age of serial killers I think I want to know more then I found this book and it was what I needed. I really enjoyed it and thought it was a good read to learn about the different killers back then. Especially learning about what might have led these people to be serial killers! Definitely would recommend it.

I love the way this true crime book was written. It was informative and each case was written well. I will be checking out the other true crime novel written by Vronsky!

I read and enjoyed Peter Vronsky’s Sons of Cain and his latest, American Serial Killers, is equally fascinating. Using a 50-year timeline, Vronsky uses the decades as a backdrop of the times and the murders. Rather than listing each killer and their deeds, this book feels more atmospheric and makes it different from any serial killer compilation I’ve ever read. Highly recommended for true crime fans.

Peter Vronsky is such a talented writer and I want to live inside his mind. This book was amazing and I cannot wait to see what else he releases!

Really interesting history and time-line of the rise of American serial killers. It was fascinating to consider how public interest created a celebrity culture surrounding some of the more high profile cases.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I love true crime and I really enjoyed learning more about serial killers from this time period. I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style but the information seemed well researched.

This was a fascinating book! It was well written, I loved how Vronsky went through the years and really built up the history heading into the epidemic years. I liked how he told it all in a linear form and didn't just give us all the facts of say the Dahmer case but instead we saw his evolution through the years in between other killers. A must read for any true crime fans and I will definitely need to pick up his other books!

Similar to his other books, this volume is filled with in-depth information regarding various killers that were active during the late 20th century. There were a wide range of profiles including notoriously well-known killers as well as lesser-known ones. Vronsky presents the information in an informative and engaging style. Recommended for anyone interested in true crime.

American Serial Killers: The Epidemic Years 1950-2000 by Peter Vronsky is like a true crime encyclopedia of sorts. Vronsky discussed serial killers during a specific period of time (1950-2000) that he termed “The Golden Age.” The book was extremely informative, well researched and written. Definitely a must read for true crime fans. #AmericanSerialKillers #NetGalley

I was excited to read this book. It was extremely well researched and gave a lot of information. The one thing that I didn’t like was how disjointed the book is. It starts out with Jeffrey Dahmer but does not get back to him for several hundred pages.

The book was extremely knowledgeable and informative. It was a lot to take in and I had to read it over several days. If you are interested in serial killers and true crime I recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC!
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'He identified himself as Jeffrey Dahmer...'

I've read a lot of books about serial killers, both fiction and non, but I knew I would love this book when the prologue includes the line above.

This book is different from a lot of others in its genre, and I think that's what I enjoyed most about it. It took almost a scientific look at the beginnings of some of the most notorious killers, as well as some that are less known, but no less heinous.

I really enjoyed the way Vronsky focused not only on the killers, but on the families of the victims, the law enforcement and their evolving tactics, and the victims themselves. It was a unique approach that took this book to the next level.

If you're a true crime reader, or interested in psychology, this is a must read for sure, but definitely not for the faint of heart.

American Serial Killers: The Epidemic Years 1950-2000 by Peter Vronsky is a true-crime book.


First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Berkley Publishing Group, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis and Opinions:
Well, a book whose Prologue is the arrest of Jeffrey Dahmer grabs your attention fast.

The  Introduction talks about the "Golden Age of Serial Murderers", where these serial killers between 1950 and 2000 actually became "celebrities".  The book focuses on male sexual serial killers during this period, hoping to account for the unprecedented surge during that time, as well as the reason for the recent decline in these murderers.

Vronsky then goes on to discuss early serial killers from the 1800's to 1950, world-wide, most of whom I had never heard of, and there were many of them, although Albert Fish is rather well-known, and a few others ring bells.  I sometimes got bogged down by dates, and the first segments were about killers prior to 1950....which was not why I wanted to read the book.

Vronsky does, however, finally get to the years I was interested in, and there is definitely a lot of information on the serial killers from 1950-2000.  It's just that you have to wade through all of it if you are just interested in one killer.

The information the author provides is very disjointed.  For example, there is not a separate chapter on Ed Gein, or Dennis Rader (the BTK killer), or Arthur Shawcross (The Genesee River Killer).  Instead Vronsky related the information by years (usually decades), so that we learned about their parents, their childhoods, their formative years.  We learned what was happening with all of them during that time.  Then it went on to the next decade, and we learn what was happening with those same killers during this time frame.  For example, Edmund Kemper's story starts in chapter 3 (although he is mentioned earlier in the book), continues in Chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7, but there is much information on other killers in between, that it is hard to keep track of Kemper.

So, basically, you can't look up a particular killer and expect all the information on him to be in one chapter.  His information will be grouped together with others, over many chapters.

However, a number of the biggies are here.  These included Ed Gein (who preferred the skin of his victims, which he made into belts, and vests), Dennis Rader (the BTK killer), Arthur Shawcross (The Genesee River Killer), Edmund Kemper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, as well as some lesser knowns.  Some have quite extensive information, others very little.

So, overall, this book is an in-depth look at serial killers.  It delves into the "hows and the whys" of the killers, as well as to the "hows and whys" they were caught.  It looks at military records, psychiatric notes,  FBI Profiling and interviews.  It has a lot of information.  Bottom line, it was good, but I just didn't like the way it was presented.

Serial Killers scare me, that is also one of the reasons I’m fascinated with them. I want to know more about how their mind works and I’m down for a good true crime discussion at any time of the day.

In American Serial Killers, Peter Vronsky threads hard core academic data and has expertly spun them into a true crime story. This is like a history book depicting the timeline of serial killings. Vronsky has taken a particular time period 1950s - 2000s and briefly explored each and every killings happened at that time. He calls this period “The Golden Age” and the introduction is my favourite part in the book!! Some killers I knew, some I may have heard and some I didn’t even knew existed are mentioned in this book. Vronsky has studied these killers extensively and with his clear writing, has presented the facts with statistical evidence. Appreciable work 👏

This is no easy book to digest or read in a single sitting. The informations are well researched and interesting at many places. As this was an arc, I couldn’t get ahold of the references used, but I know they’ll be included in the finished copy. I’m planning on getting the finished copy for my home library because this is a must have/read for any true crime fans.

Thank you Berkley & Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest opinion!

Definitely a gripping and detailed look at several serial killers, some who are lesser known. It was also a very interesting approach to look at how serial killers emerged over the years and how this "epidemic" came about chronologically. Unfortunately, this same approach made the book feel a bit disjointed as you leave one killer mid story to discuss another, and this story hopping occurs through much of the book. Overall, a really interesting read if you've read a lot about serial killers and true crime already, but maybe not great for someone unfamiliar with the topic and looking for an in depth look at different serial killers.

I find it extremely difficult to give a conventional star rating to true crime books and personally believe that true crime should truly be judged on the clarity of the author’s writing - which is what I have done here.

Peter Vronsky expertly compiles the history of serial killers in America. American Serial Killers contains brief descriptions of crimes committed during the 1950s-2000s and the history behind what we now know about serial killers and their psychology while adding some interesting insight about society at different times that may signal potential links to the rising “epidemic” of serial killers in certain times/areas. True to the title, this book does focus more on the details of serial murders in history; however, the points at which Vronsky does discuss sociological, forensic and psychological data and crime statistics are written in an extremely engaging manner.

What true crime fans should know about this book:
It’s well written and well researched but it doesn't really go into details about who the victims were or in humanizing them more. If you want a book that touches more on those affected by these crimes, this may not be for you.
Despite possibly already knowing many of the horrible details of some of these crimes, I recommend a break from time-to-time. Vronsky’s writing does not pull any punches from the intense and gruesome details.
As this does serve as a more detailed look into the serial killers that existed in the U.S. between 1950 and 2000, the well known murders/murderers from these times are discussed but there are many much less well known cases throughout.
The ARC of the ebook did have links to take you to the references used by Vronsky. One such reference included an article about the house that one of the murders took place in being up for sale. I did think this was a great tool, but am not certain if these will remain as hyperlinked notations or if they will simply be available at the end of the book for reference.

My interest in true crime started when I was 6 and a guy broke into a house less than 5 houses away from mine, put plates on the man’s back, and attacked his wife. Our best friends slept at our house for a few days since they lived just a few houses away from the attack as well and it would take some time for their burglar alarm to be installed. The Golden State Killer wouldn’t be caught for about 40 more years.

About 5 years later, in 1985, I read in the newspaper that the (second) Night Stalker seemed to attack people in yellow houses. We lived in a yellow house about 40 miles from his last attack (which seemed a lot closer after reading that article). I slept under my covers that summer.

The golden age of serial killers was right in the middle of my childhood, and it sparked an interest. This book was like a retrospective of the shit that scared the shit out of me when I was a kid. With 30ish years of hindsight, the author takes a sociological approach to what created so many serial killers of the time period. Despite, or maybe because of, such a high population (there’s so damn many of us), coupled with cruel social policies (Reaganomics, for example), a devaluation of human life was inevitable.

But did people have to act on that or take advantage of that to become serial offenders? Well, yeah. Increased opportunity. Affordable transportation. Interstate highways. And people suck.

This book should appeal to both the true crime beginner or veteran, alike. Excellent book for a look at the sociological perspective now that we are (hopefully) at the bottom arc of the apex of the golden age. Hindsight is great, for me, since I did most of my true crime reading in the mid-90s. This book is also great for the beginner since many of the cases are ones that an old-timer probably already knows a lot about. I found myself skimming, however, over the “classics” like Fish, Gein, and Bundy. That being written, there were a lot of unknowns (to me) that were interesting to read about. Definitely worth a read.

A great collection of stories about serial killers in the US. The stories were engaging and definitely kept you in suspense. The insights to the cases and why the individuals did what they did was thoroughly intriguing. This is a must read for the true crime fan.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When I saw that Peter Vronsky had published another book, I couldn’t wait to read it. I had read his previous book Sons of Cain (2018) and found its overall argument compelling and original. Sons of Cain did an excellent job of not only drawing a thread between some of the earliest serial killings known in human history and some more contemporary and better-known serial killings, it also made a solid argument about the potential ways contemporary killers could have been affected by world wars. When I opened Vronsky’s latest book, American Serial Killers: The Epidemic Years 1950-2000 (Penguin Random House, 2020) I expected to see some of the same types of argumentation. There is some of that argumentation present, but it is a bit underdeveloped.
If you are someone who is looking to gain knowledge about serial killings that occurred between 1950-2000 in the United States, this book is for you. Vronsky is an extremely knowledgeable historian, and no detail is spared. Vronsky goes through the details of the killings committed by all the infamous killers we have come to know: Jeffery Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Ed Gein, Arthur Shawcross, Edmund Kemper, Richard Ramirez, and Dean Corll, to name a few. He intersperses the summary of these cases with medical, sociological, forensic, and academic data, which helps to ground these cases in their time period. Because he goes through all the cases in chronological order, he creates a useful timeline of the “golden age” of serial killing, attempting to explain why, during this particular time in history, there were so many serial killers.

Here at True Crime Index, we are most interested in true crime narratives that are victim/survivor-focused and victim/survivor-centered. That doesn’t mean that we don’t think other types of narratives are important for the genre—they certainly have their place and deserve serious consideration. Where we tend to diverge with texts of this nature is when all the gory details of the crimes are summarized in a sensationalistic manner with seemingly no purpose. We are of the mindset that if you must summarize details of crimes that are already very well known, there should be a reason for doing so. That reason may be to study an aspect of the crime/offender, to attempt to solve a case that is cold, or to make a larger argument about that particular time in serial killing history. These are all valuable pursuits, and in Vronsky’s last book, Sons of Cain, I really didn’t mind having to re-read the horrors that are Ted Bundy’s crimes because a larger, extremely important point was being made. I did not always get that sense with American Serial Killers.

At the beginning of the text, Vronsky goes through some extremely interesting and eye-opening academic data. If you are looking for hard data on contemporary serial killers, this is a great place to get it. Vronsky has an incredible ability as a writer and historian to turn this data into a compelling story. But when Vronsky begins to create his timeline of case summaries, the thread of this data and therefore his larger argument are somewhat lost in the gory details. He certainly reflects on theories of psychopathy and theories from criminologists like Steve Egger and social critics like Mark Seltzer in between the summarizing of these crimes, but the extent to which this is done does not come close to equaling or justifying the immense amount of detail that is given about the perpetrator and crime. I, like most true crime readers, have read the details of these infamous crimes many times over. There are no shortage of books, podcasts, and Netflix documentaries that explain over and over again what was done by these killers, and what their lives were like. There is, however, significantly less media that focuses on the victims/survivors. This is not to say that we shouldn’t study violent crimes and those who perpetuate them: we must. It is essential that we understand why serial killers do what they do. Vronsky is a proponent of this, and I have nothing but respect for that desire. This is why I was so surprised to see that the majority of this book is concerned with rehashing the details—as opposed to attempting to make sense of—the crimes.

Vronsky begins to make an argument in his book about post-war men’s magazines, also known as the “sweats” that were openly sold on newsstands from the 1940s to the 1970s. These magazines depicted women being tortured, bound, and enslaved. Some even printed images from crimes scenes. Vronsky wonders how certain killers may have been affected by the images they found in those magazines and in fact he dedicates a section of his book to transcripts from an interview done with Dennis Rader wherein Rader explains the effect they had on him. This is a fascinating line of questioning, and I wish this argument was more developed within the book. As Vronsky gets into his summaries of serial killings that occurred in the 70’s and beyond, the thread of that argument is lost. Of course, as those types of men’s magazines became a thing of the past, less and less killers would have consumed them. However, Vronsky is asking larger questions about the serial killer “script”, or, in other words, he wonders what these men had absorbed through the media and other avenues that then turn into fantasies that they attempt to live through their crimes. This is an idea he poses early on in the book that never really comes to fruition. As a reader, I was looking for much more of this type of questioning and much less summary on the killers and crimes themselves.

If you are looking for details of serial killings that occurred between 1950-2000, Vronsky’s American Serial Killings is the book to read. If you are looking for a text that goes beyond the “what” and the “how” in a significant way, Sons of Cain will be much more your speed.