WARNING!!!.....

This book is not for the faint of heart. With that said, this book is one of the best audio books I own in this specific category, which for sake of this review I'll name" true crime books authored by forensic psychiatrists or criminal profilers".

This book far surpasses any book I've read by Douglas, Ressler or Hazelwood and that's because the cases in this book and not the same old regurgitated cases we hear over and over . The last two books I bought from Douglas , I was so bored I had to return one of them.

The other was the same high profile cases he writes about in all his books. The other profilers sugar coat the cases they pick and use the rest of the book to talk about how smart they are as profilers.

This book has really interesting cases , some I've never heard of, which is rare for the reasons I stated above. The cases that are well known , the "regurgitated"cases, at least have info added that I have never heard before and they do go into graphic detail but the delivery is done by a very pleasant sounding narrator.

This book is extremely graphic and extremely good. True crime lovers, you WILL NOT be disappointed!

Enjoyed thoroughly, thank you!

53 people found this helpful

A great true-crime read, but...

Overall, I got what I came for: A deep dive into true crime featuring cases and analyses that I hadn't heard before. But... there were some problems.

While I don't think the authors go excessively far in terms of their analysis of modern Western/American culture as a wellspring of especially evil/depraved crime, I think they do go *somewhat* far.

To wit: They're absolutely right when it comes to the ridiculous availability of guns; assorted drugs & alcohol; violence; and violent pornography, and how that sort of thing is always going to be harmful to *already at-risk* youth.

However... the authors show some troubling ignorance when it comes to how autism does and does not (always) work, what Goth culture is and is not, Wicca vs. Satanism... etc. Basically, I wound up eyeing the book askance quite a number of times as a person who has been a) married to someone on the autism spectrum for the past 15 years, b) surrounded by any number of Goths (though not one myself) who never once fit any of the criteria described in the book, and c) have tended to find Wiccans more dangerous to their mugs of herbal tea and vegan scones than to anyone or anything else.

In the end, this book was written by well-meaning people who have never seen fit to slip to the left of the mainstream, no matter how benign that slip might be. I appreciate their staunch feminism, I appreciate their dedication to their work, but -- everyone needs to open their minds, sometimes.

The narrator, while occasionally too fast, did a pretty good job with this, considering how many difficult/foreign words were interspersed with the less challenging ones. There were some decidedly odd mispronunciations, but overall? Nicely done.

24 people found this helpful

Maybe not the best pick for audio

I’m familiar with Dr. Stone from the show “Most Evil” and LOVE true crime and psychology. I am sure this is a fantastic book if read but as an audiobook it was really easy to tune out and it almost lulled me to sleep several times. I listen to lots of audiobooks and podcasts so it’s not that I’m just unfamiliar with the concept, this one I often tuned out and missed big chunks. I tried relistening but experienced the same thing. The narrator was kind of monotone and spoke a little too fast so I think this greatly contributed to the feeling but I think some books are just better on paper (or screen).

14 people found this helpful

A Necessary Text for Our Times

Doctors Stone and Brucato offer a compeling clinical structure to interpret and communicate about behavior our culturewould define as "evil". A must read for any clinical mind, practioner or law enforcement.

3 people found this helpful

Liked It, Didn't Love It

I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Stone's earlier book, The Anatomy of Evil, so I expected to really like this one as well. But The New Evil is more a collection of case studies with a guide for categorizing criminals. I think it would be uniquely useful to a student of criminology or psychopathy, in particular. Anyone in law enforcement or who studies criminal behavior would find the book useful. But for me, a layperson, it was slightly tedious in parts.

2 people found this helpful

Don’t let the title fool you- it’s not that interesting.

This book turned from psychological research to liberal propaganda within the course of 10 chapters. As a psychological clinician myself, I expect to hear more on the behaviors and mentalities of people suffering severe psychological disorders, which culminate in heinous acts; not the opinion/beliefs by the author that guns should be banned in the US and our constitutional rights to own a gun should be usurped by the need to prevent those with evil intentions from owning them. Way to oversimplify such issues. Aside from that ridiculousness, this book was often dry and pedantic, to the point it came off as pretentious and convoluted. If I could, I would demand a refund as it was often times excruciating to endure.

23 people found this helpful

Well-crafted narrative; more for academia

Well-constructed social and psychological narrative. Great for clinicians, research, and academia. Don't listen before bed like I did! It's the stuff of nightmares.

1 person found this helpful

Good except the anti gun lobbying

great read but riddled with selective anti-gun sentiment. the author obviously is anti gun which to each his own but some erroneous and misleading excerpts throughout. i would think someone that educated would put the work into knowing a subject before preaching his OPINION as fact. my 2 cents.

9 people found this helpful

true crime and forensic psychologists must read!

this is an academic, statistical, and psychosocial look at the variability of criminal behavior. the authors discuss the 22 levels of their "gradations of evi" scale. it offers some very interesting insights into how psychopathology, sociopathy, mental illness, and impulsivity affect one's level of "evil" and uses specific, generally well-known offenders as examples in each of the 22 gradations. If you are an aspiring crime writer, lover of true crime novels, and/or are interested in forensic psychology, this is a must-listen!

Fascinating

If you like details and learning the psychology behind criminal minds this is the audiobook for you. It’s graphic and covers most major crimes. Great learning. I enjoyed.