Book Review: Lustmord by Brian King

There's one book that I can't say enough about for people interested in true crime and psychology, and that book is Lustmord by Brian King. Brian King also wrote the introduction to The Sexual Criminal by J. Paul de River, which from the synopsis sounds like an extremely graphic book. not for the easily disturbed. I was surprised to see this because I'm currently studying Handwriting Analysis and this book (Sexual Criminal) was recommended for studying the handwriting of killers. I would go further and state that Lustmord does include handwriting and drawings made by the killers. So I guess I need to purchase de River's book also!

Lustmord isn't you typical true crime book. It's not centered around one or even a small handful of killers, but a long list of them. And what you get is their personal writings, scribblings, doodles and more from well known killers to the lesser known and international (non-US) killers, like the Japanese cannibal who killed and ate a foreign English teacher. I've not seen another book like it. Just one thing to note: the font is quite small, but hey, I guess that just means more content to pour over!

Reviews:

"Brian King has adopted a fascinating criteria for inclusion: these are "pleasure-killers" who have sought to decipher, compliment or embellish their misdeeds with artwork or writings. . . . And while a number of these scribes can conduct - ahem - a "decent" story, many more can barely string a sentence together. Ironically, it is with the latter - in a R. D. Laing child-like innocence kind of way - that some of the choicest nuggets are to be had. . . . "Lustmord" is fuelled by obsessives who are out of control, trying desperately to grab the handrail of life before they fall off the ride. . . . a mighty hefty read that doesn't fail to deliver on a regular basis." -- Headpress (U.K.), Spring 1997

"King has gathered together a superstar roster of evil creative types . . . Contextualized here, their drawings, suicide notes, short stories, and so on, become a kind of Outsider literature, transgressive beyond A. M. Homes's wildest dreams." -- The Village Voice, April 1997

"While I'm not obsessed with serial killers and mass murderers, it's impossible not to be drawn into this immensely fascinating book. . . . This is a very disturbing book, but one that you won't be able to put down." -- Factsheet Five, September 1996

Check out the overwhelmingly positive customer reviews >>>HERE<<<

Funny note: I purchased this book used (as it seems to be out of print) and on the inside of the back cover a previous owner wrote:

PROPERTY OF
BRIAN BUTLER
FAILURE TO RETURN WILL RESULT IN A
WRETCHED LIFE LONG CURSE

That explains a lot! hehe

I AM DEEPLY HURT BY YOUR CALLING
ME A WEMON HATER. I AM NOT.
BUT I AM A MONSTER.
I AM THE "SON OF SAM." I AM A LITTLE
"BRAT."