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The Criminal Mind

Gripping encounters with serial killers and true crime from Britain's leading forensic psychiatrist

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The Criminal Mind

By: Duncan Harding
Narrated by: Duncan Harding
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Brought to you by Penguin.

WHAT MAKES A MURDERER? Unraveling the Dark Psychology Behind Britain’s Most Notorious Killers From Forensic Psychiatrist, Dr Duncan Harding

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION 2025
A young girl burns down the family home
A man doesn’t remember killing his wife

A teenager’s visions and voices lead to murder

One question binds these and many others from the casebook of Britain’s leading forensic psychiatrist: Why? What drives a person to commit seemingly inexplicable crimes?

Dr Duncan Harding is the person the police and the courts turn to for answers – to establish a defendant’s mental state and motivation: their fitness to stand trial.

It is a career that has brought him face to face with psychopaths, taken him to the limits of human compassion and to the darkest corners of his own troubled past.

This then is a journey deep into the criminal mind . . .

'Grips you from the start like a bestselling novel then takes you on an extraordinary journey … Riveting’ JOHN HUMPHRYS

'Incisive, informative and occasionally shocking, The Criminal Mind is an engrossing book’ DR RICHARD SHEPHERD, bestselling author of Unnatural Causes

'A penetrating insight into the darkest corners of the human mind. The most moving, surprising and compelling book you’ll read this year’ M.J. ARLIDGE, bestselling author of Eeny Meeny

©2024 Duncan Harding (P)2024 Penguin Audio

 Medical Professionals & Academics Psychology Psychology & Mental Health True Crime Crime Exciting Inspiring Thought-Provoking
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Critic reviews

Superbly written, as tense as a thriller, this is a book that will make you miss the bus so gripping are these cases
Harding’s riveting memoir is often very moving … it left me with a powerful respect for all the people in the health and justice systems who put their lives on the line to keep us safe
A combination of medical coming-of-age tale and true crime that is particularly gripping … Harding writes with empathy and insight … each patient a mystery to unpick
Insightful, informative and sometimes shocking, The Criminal Mind is an engrossing book (DR RICHARD SHEPHERD, AUTHOR OF UNNATURAL CAUSES)
A penetrating insight into the darkest corners of the human mind. The most moving, surprising and compelling book you’ll read this year (M.J. ARLIDGE, AUTHOR OF EENY MEENY)
Grips you from the start like a bestselling novel then takes you on an extraordinary journey that reveals, based on the author’s own clinical experience, why some of us lead lives of love and some of hate. Riveting (JOHN HUMPHRYS)
A fantastic read … a very accessible window into the darker recesses of human behaviour … hard to put down (JUDGE DAVID WILLIAMS)
Not just another forensic psychiatrist’s casebook, but a moving account of how Duncan Harding became forensic psychiatrist (KEITH RIX, PROFESSOR IN FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY)
All stars
Most relevant
This isn't the first book I've read dissecting crimes and criminal's minds. But I've never read a book written like this. It reads almost like a thriller. The author created a masterpiece that mixes complicated and fascinating cases with his autobiography. It's not a dry description of what happened, every case is described in a very personal manner, where Dr Harding vividly recollects and describes every small detail of the interviews he conducted. He uses very visual language that makes you feel like you're there, listening in on the interview, seeing the interviewee, witnessing their every twitch, and glance, and change in their tone of voice. It's really difficult to stop listening to!

Amazing!

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I never read or listened to a book like this before. Dr Harding shares his experiences in a hauntingly beautiful way. It has been a long time since a book has consumed my thoughts before going to sleep or driving to work. If you have any interest whatsoever in psychology or criminology, get this book!

Stories that will stick with you forever

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The honesty in his storytelling is admirable. It's inspiring to hear someone from a lower class background make it in a difficult academic field through passion and tenacity. It's a rare and interesting look at child psychology and the criminal justice system. Really enjoyed this book and would recommend.

Super interesting five into psychology

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Really captured the complexity and suspense was generated - an excellent book. Would recommend for anyone interested in understanding the reality.

Very engaging

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A fascinating insight into the works of a forensic psychologist with both adults and children suffering psychosis and / or depression. I couldn’t stop listening.

In a nutshell - kids need boundaries.

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