Scott Bonn

For decades now, serial killers have taken center stage in the news and entertainment media. The coverage of real-life murderers such as Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer has transformed them into ghoulish celebrities. Similarly, the popularity of fictional characters such as Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter or Dexter demonstrates just how eager the public is to be frightened by these human predators. But why is this so? Could it be that some of us have a gruesome fascination with serial killers for the same reasons we might morbidly stare at a catastrophic automobile accident? Or it is something more? In Why We Love Serial Killers, criminology professor Dr. Scott Bonn explores our powerful appetite for the macabre, while also providing new and unique insights into the world of the serial killer, including those he has gained from his correspondence with two of the world’s most notorious examples, David Berkowitz (“Son of Sam”) and Dennis Rader (“Bind, Torture, Kill”). In addition, Bonn examines the criminal profiling techniques used by law enforcement professionals to identify and apprehend serial predators, he discusses the various behaviors—such as the charisma of the sociopath— that manifest themselves in serial killers, and he explains how and why these killers often become popular cultural figures. Groundbreaking in its approach, Why We Love Serial Killers is a compelling look at how the media, law enforcement agencies, and public perception itself shapes and feeds the “monsters” in our midst.

The Curious Appeal of the World's Most Savage Murderers

Why We Love Serial Killers

R. J. Parker

Charles Lundquist is chaplain at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in Westchester County, New York, located forty-five miles northwest of Manhattan. He is also a serial killer who preys on teenage girls. Lundquist is a cold-blooded psychopath who calls his murderous alter ego the guardian because he believes that he is serving God and protecting innocent females from evil by killing them. Ironically, he loves to kill and his lust for blood is insatiable. When New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton realizes that a serial killer is on the loose in Manhattan, he assigns homicide captain James Pritchard to lead the manhunt. Pritchard is a talented but troubled detective who is dealing with the deaths of his wife and teenage daughter killed by a drunken driver. The hunt for the guardian quickly becomes a personal obsession for Pritchard. Joining him in his quest to find the guardian is a brilliant and attractive FBI special agent named Julia Cassidy. Cassidy, too, becomes obsessed with stopping the guardian, and she and Pritchard quickly form a powerful, intimate bond. By the time that the guardian has claimed his fifth victim, the city of New York is in a state of complete panic. Making matters worse, the killer is taunting James Pritchard in letters he sends to the news media; daring the homicide captain to catch him. Pritchard and Cassidy become desperate in their investigation due to the absence of leads. They soon recognize that they are facing an adversary unlike any other they have ever encountered. The guardian is cunning, meticulous, arrogant, compulsive, unremorseful, and he will never stop killing. "Dr. Scott Bonn's in-depth interviews with real-life serial killers gives us great insights into their minds in this novel. Dr. Bonn has made it his life's quest to understand what "evil" truly is and he delivers it in this powerful and disturbing story. His writing should be required reading for both students and law enforcement professionals." Sal LaBarbera - Retired Detective Supervisor, LAPD Homicide and TV Personality "Scott Bonn is an expert on mass deception, serial killers, and manipulation of perception. BONN's EVIL GUARDIAN is a fact-based serial killer novel that is as daring, gripping and relentless as the killer himself."Burl Barer, Edgar Award winning author "Everything Scott Bonn learned studying real-life serial perpetrators for his book Why We Love Serial Killers he now puts into this compellingly told and twisted fictional tale of serial homicide."Peter Vronsky, Author of Sons of Cain Dr. Bonn has taken his vast experience in true crime and put it to great use in his novel "Evil Guardian. He takes you inside the mind of a psychopathic killer. You'll love this book but don't be surprised if you have trouble sleeping for a while after you finish. It's that good! Tricia Griffith, Owner and Host of Websleuths Radio

Scott Bonn

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