The Killer Across the Table by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker

Having recently started watching Manhunter on Netflix, my interest in the FBI officers who pioneered criminal profiling has grown. One of the most renowned FBI profilers, a man who is a legend within the Bureau (and indeed wrote the book the NetFlix show is based on and is a consultant for the show) is John Douglas. Douglas has written a number of titles about his experiences of criminal profiling, not least his most famous book, Manhunter (again, the basis for the show). The Killer Across the Table is his latest title and takes an in-depth look at four different serial killers.

The United States has given the world a plethora of infamous serial killers. From David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam, to Ed Kemper (who appears in Mindhunter, both the book and the show); from Richard Ramirez to Ted Bundy, the US is no stranger to serial murder and the perpetrators who kill and maim. The Killer Across the Table surprises in that Douglas and his co-author choose four murderers who are relatively unknown outside of the United States.

Joseph Kondo, Donal Harvey, Todd Kohlepp and Joseph McGowen might not have the international infamy of Jeffrey Dahmer (though from what I understand they are quite well known in America) but their crimes are no less horrific and the experience of sitting across the table from them and interviewing them extensively, as Douglas has done, I imagine to be no less harrowing. 

Douglas’s technique is to gain the killer’s trust and get them to talk. He utilises many techniques of his own devising to do this and soon they won’t stop talking, describing in graphic detail their deeds. An important aspect of his work is to not show his disgust at what they tell him, something I imagine must be incredibly hard to do. As with any examination of real-life serial murder, and perhaps especially so with this title, this is not for the faint hearted. The details described in this book are harrowing in the extreme. That said, this is not just gratuitous salaciousness, but rather an attempt to understand what makes such people tick and thus is well worth a read if interested in the subject.

4 out of 5 stars