- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Pennant Books Ltd; second edition (1 Dec 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 190601549X
- ISBN-13: 978-1906015497
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 322,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
It is refreshing to find a book that shows real insight into its subject matter. Too many true crime books written by policemen, psychologists and pathologists simply end up as a chronological story of what happened, which sheds no new light at all. Alison and Eyre, as behavioural investigative advisers, get as far under the skin of serial killer Robert Napper as most of us would care to go. His horrific murders of Rachel Nickell and Samantha Bissett, not to mention Samantha's four year old daughter, rocked a nation hardened to media distorted violence. Patiently and with a great deal of understanding, the authors unravel the case against Napper and the 'honeytrap' police operation that put Colin Stagg in the frame. They use their professional expertise not only to explain what makes serial killers like Napper tick, but how such killings affect everyone involved, from eyewitnesses to policemen, journalists and bereaved family members. What is truly inspirational about Killer in the Shadows is the way it systematically demolishes our preconceptions and assumptions, urging us to test ourselves with statistical puzzles that are simply fascinating. It was a sobering experience for me, as a true-crime writer, to discover that I only got 10% of the answers right! The book is a gem; treat yourself and read it. --M. J. Trow, author of Jack the Ripper: Quest for a Killer
This is an excellent book which pushes and refines the true crime genre by combining popular but academic psychology and a real life case. It is filled with insight and observation, but written in such a way as to allow the non specialist to gain just as much as a student of criminology or psychology. --David Wilson, Professor of Criminology, Centre for Criminal Justice Policy and Research, Birmingham City University
This is a wonderful book that works on so many levels and which both the general and more 'expert' reader will enjoy. It teaches us much about people, from the almost demonic to the truly heroic, containing compelling, quietly, sensitively told stories of human frailty, resilience and compassion in the face of the utmost awful adversity. It completely avoids the sentimental, salacious or sensational, favouring instead carefully balanced observations on the terrible crimes of Robert Napper and on the people whose lives he changed forever. Their humbling stories are interwoven with plentiful, learned insights into decision making. It might serve as a handbook for anyone who has to make decisions in complex, perhaps politically charged situations, like police officers (in this case), magistrates and other professionals or indeed for journalists who report them. This book is brimming with facts, ideas and insights, yet is an easy read. It will draw you in and may even move you to tears. --Stephen Ackers, Dept. of Civic Design, University of Liverpool
This is an excellent book which pushes and refines the true crime genre by combining popular but academic psychology and a real life case. It is filled with insight and observation, but written in such a way as to allow the non specialist to gain just as much as a student of criminology or psychology. --David Wilson, Professor of Criminology, Centre for Criminal Justice Policy and Research, Birmingham City University
This is a wonderful book that works on so many levels and which both the general and more 'expert' reader will enjoy. It teaches us much about people, from the almost demonic to the truly heroic, containing compelling, quietly, sensitively told stories of human frailty, resilience and compassion in the face of the utmost awful adversity. It completely avoids the sentimental, salacious or sensational, favouring instead carefully balanced observations on the terrible crimes of Robert Napper and on the people whose lives he changed forever. Their humbling stories are interwoven with plentiful, learned insights into decision making. It might serve as a handbook for anyone who has to make decisions in complex, perhaps politically charged situations, like police officers (in this case), magistrates and other professionals or indeed for journalists who report them. This book is brimming with facts, ideas and insights, yet is an easy read. It will draw you in and may even move you to tears. --Stephen Ackers, Dept. of Civic Design, University of Liverpool
Product Description
In December 2008, the Old Bailey bore witness to a modern-day Jack the Ripper. Robert Clive Napper was finally brought to book for the most horrifying unsolved crime of recent times: the July 1992 murder of Rachel Nickell. Yet in the mid-1990s Napper had been committed to Broadmoor mental hospital as "a grave and immediate risk to the public" , after the monstrous murders of a mother and child. After he invaded the home of Samantha Bisset and her little daughter Jazmine, in 1993, the scene was so hellish that the police photographer could not return to work. Samantha's mother went to her grave insisting that the murderer of her loved ones also killed Rachel. Evidence linked Napper to the Green Chain Rapes , a series of up to 70 violent sex crimes along a footpath of the Thames. So why - the press later demanded - was this predator not apprehended earlier for the Wimbledon Common killing? In KILLER IN THE SHADOWS, forensic psychologist Laurence Alison draws upon more than a decade of exposure to the Nickell case. First involved in the rebuttal of evidence against suspect Colin Stagg, Alison and co-author Marie Eyre trace the case from its grim origins to Napper's conviction. Both a case study for the criminologist and an introduction to criminal psychology for the layperson, KILLER IN THE SHADOWS examines the mindset of the sexual murderer, the impact upon victims families and the decisions faced by police officers expected to know the unknowable. Disturbing and compassionate, this illuminating analysis also asks if, now that time and technology have caught up with him, Robert Napper has concealed yet more crimes behind his dead-end wall of insanity . . .
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In December 2008 justice was finally served for the infamous and brutal murder in July 1992 of Rachel Nickell, killed in broad daylight in front of her young son on Wimbledon Common by Robert Napper. Napper has been confined in Broadmoor hospital for the criminally insane for the murders of Samantha and Jazmine Bissett for a number of years, and finally DNA evidence instigated him admitting to killing Rachel - a crime for which he had watched an innocent man spend time in prison and become a national pariah.
This is an excellent book which not only tells the story of the crime and long fight for justice, but also looks at the psychology of the killer in some depth. As another reviewer says, this means the book works on many levels and is accessible to both the general reader and the true crime "buff" like myself, with the balance between detail and a readable writing style spot on.
The style of the authors is highly readable and so the account holds the attention from the start. The book also includes some more "interactive" parts where the reader can get involved and is challenged to assess their own attitudes to crime and investigative skills. This was an element of the book which I have never seen elsewhere before and which I really enjoyed, and it certainly made me think in depth about the issues raised as a result.
The account presented is very balanced, not the type of sensationalist "journalistic" style of writing which fills some true crime books and which one might have expected from an account of such an infamous case. Even the discussion of other crimes which may have been committed by Napper is very reasonable, balanced and takes into account the evidence, or lack of, which connects him to the crimes. The do not speculate on how many crimes Napper may have committed, only linking him to a case where they feel there is evidence to do so, and also making clear which aspects of those cases point away from Napper being involved.
The writers are both academic psychlogists, and the psychology of Napper and to some extent the police involved in the case, is examined in depth. However, the book does not at any point feel like an academic textbook and is very accessible to all readers. Readers of a sensitive nature should be aware that there is some gruesome detail in this book, but this is written in as sensitive a way as possible and is not at all sensationalist - it is purely used where necessary to illustrate points about the psychology of the killer. It is an emotionally powerful book to read because of the nature of the murders involved, but this makes the book all the more worthwhile in my opinion.
This is one of the best true crime books I have read and well worth picking up.
This is an excellent book which not only tells the story of the crime and long fight for justice, but also looks at the psychology of the killer in some depth. As another reviewer says, this means the book works on many levels and is accessible to both the general reader and the true crime "buff" like myself, with the balance between detail and a readable writing style spot on.
The style of the authors is highly readable and so the account holds the attention from the start. The book also includes some more "interactive" parts where the reader can get involved and is challenged to assess their own attitudes to crime and investigative skills. This was an element of the book which I have never seen elsewhere before and which I really enjoyed, and it certainly made me think in depth about the issues raised as a result.
The account presented is very balanced, not the type of sensationalist "journalistic" style of writing which fills some true crime books and which one might have expected from an account of such an infamous case. Even the discussion of other crimes which may have been committed by Napper is very reasonable, balanced and takes into account the evidence, or lack of, which connects him to the crimes. The do not speculate on how many crimes Napper may have committed, only linking him to a case where they feel there is evidence to do so, and also making clear which aspects of those cases point away from Napper being involved.
The writers are both academic psychlogists, and the psychology of Napper and to some extent the police involved in the case, is examined in depth. However, the book does not at any point feel like an academic textbook and is very accessible to all readers. Readers of a sensitive nature should be aware that there is some gruesome detail in this book, but this is written in as sensitive a way as possible and is not at all sensationalist - it is purely used where necessary to illustrate points about the psychology of the killer. It is an emotionally powerful book to read because of the nature of the murders involved, but this makes the book all the more worthwhile in my opinion.
This is one of the best true crime books I have read and well worth picking up.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book will give you an insight into the mind of a killer; an insight into the Police and their procedures and the justice system. The authors show how the investigation of a crime can quickly head down the wrong avenue and how the over reliance of one particular opinion can ruin the lives of others. This book is sensitively written and shows disturbingly just how some people can degrade into killers. `Killer in the Shadows' isn't your average crime book, and is not a literary sideshow of horrors to indulge certain readers grim fascination with murder. This is a very good read indeed.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Firstly, I think there should be some distinction between this book and others in the 'true crime' genre; this one isn't written by journalists, it is written by two experts in the field of forensic psychology research, and it shows.
The thing that most impressed me about the book is probably the last chapter; so many crime books focus on the 'gory' details, but this one ends with a sensitive examination of what happens after the crime, after the trial and after the media spotlight, and explores how those left behind try to pick up the pieces. I think this demonstrates most clearly the sense of humanity that runs through the book; it is so easy from newspaper reports in the mass media to forget that every victim was a real person who was loved and is missed.
The book, understandably given the authors, approaches the topic from an academic standpoint, but this doesn't put non-psychologists at a disadvantage, as the explanations are clear and well thought-out, even when examining some complex issues around the development of offending behaviour. Not only does the book explore issues relating to Robert Napper, but also provides some insight into sexual offenders and murderers in general, which is again accessible to academics and the general public alike.
One small point to make to Amazon, however; I'm not sure, given Professor Alison's defence of Colin Stagg against the heavily criticised sting operation which was led by discredited psychologist Paul Britten, it's such a great idea to be advertising Britten's 'Picking Up the Pieces' book on the same page! For further deconstructions of why this is such a bad idea on Amazon's part, there are a couple of excellent chapters on the Stagg case in Professor Alison's book 'The Forensic Psychologist's Casebook'; this is far more academic in tone to 'Killing in the Shadows', but still written in an accessible way and highly recommended for anyone wishing to broaden their understanding of the case, and of the subject of forensic psychology in general. In particular, the chapter featuring Canter and Alison's deconstruction of Britten's involvement and the way this shaped the police investigation into Stagg manages to be both eloquent and well-argued, without losing the entirely appropriate sense of anger at the way Britten's involvement damaged the profession.
In short, 'Killing in the Shadows' should appeal to anybody with an interest in offender behaviour and police investigations.
The thing that most impressed me about the book is probably the last chapter; so many crime books focus on the 'gory' details, but this one ends with a sensitive examination of what happens after the crime, after the trial and after the media spotlight, and explores how those left behind try to pick up the pieces. I think this demonstrates most clearly the sense of humanity that runs through the book; it is so easy from newspaper reports in the mass media to forget that every victim was a real person who was loved and is missed.
The book, understandably given the authors, approaches the topic from an academic standpoint, but this doesn't put non-psychologists at a disadvantage, as the explanations are clear and well thought-out, even when examining some complex issues around the development of offending behaviour. Not only does the book explore issues relating to Robert Napper, but also provides some insight into sexual offenders and murderers in general, which is again accessible to academics and the general public alike.
One small point to make to Amazon, however; I'm not sure, given Professor Alison's defence of Colin Stagg against the heavily criticised sting operation which was led by discredited psychologist Paul Britten, it's such a great idea to be advertising Britten's 'Picking Up the Pieces' book on the same page! For further deconstructions of why this is such a bad idea on Amazon's part, there are a couple of excellent chapters on the Stagg case in Professor Alison's book 'The Forensic Psychologist's Casebook'; this is far more academic in tone to 'Killing in the Shadows', but still written in an accessible way and highly recommended for anyone wishing to broaden their understanding of the case, and of the subject of forensic psychology in general. In particular, the chapter featuring Canter and Alison's deconstruction of Britten's involvement and the way this shaped the police investigation into Stagg manages to be both eloquent and well-argued, without losing the entirely appropriate sense of anger at the way Britten's involvement damaged the profession.
In short, 'Killing in the Shadows' should appeal to anybody with an interest in offender behaviour and police investigations.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
brings the case up to date
This book - along with David Kessler's The Wimbledon Common Murder - brings this case well and truly up-to-date. Read more
Published 6 months ago by WilsonD
Searching for an audience
This is a curious book. At the time of this review is has 10 five star ratings 4 one star ratings. I'm not surprised because it is so unclear about the target audience. Read more
Published 14 months ago by NorfolkBooks
excellent read!!!
I really enjoyed this book - it was my first introduction to real crime, and it was a sensitive account of a horrific situation. I can't wait to see more from this author!!!
Published 17 months ago by m kelly
A good balance between Crime, Criminal, Victim, Families, and...
For readers seeking the "thrill" of the gory details that often accompany "true life crime" publications, then they may be disappointed with this book. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Ian F
Too technical !
From looking at the front cover and the title of the book, I assumed that the book would go in depth into the life and crimes of Robert Napper but how wrong can you be! Read more
Published 20 months ago by anastasia
Harrowing
I have read a few books on serial killers and their ilk but this takes a bit of beating.Having said that the story had to be told and it is told extremly well
Its such a... Read more
Its such a... Read more
Published 21 months ago by James Smith
A shallow account.
This is a terrible account of the hideous crimes of Robert Napper, as I read the book it became obvious that the author had no more information on the subject than anyone else who... Read more
Published 23 months ago by J. WATSON
brilliant informative book
I read this book so quickly i couldn't put it down, it is so informative and my main reason for enjoying this book so much is that the writers write so compasionately when... Read more
Published on 24 Jan 2010 by K. Burton
Trading off Napper's Name
When I look to read a book on a subject I expect the content to strongly feature it. With Napper's image so predominantly slapped across the cover, and a title which would suggest... Read more
Published on 28 Dec 2009 by Avid Reader
The book is a gem; treat yourself and read it.
It is refreshing to find a book that shows real insight into its subject matter. Too many true crime books written by policemen, psychologists and pathologists simply end up as a... Read more
Published on 7 July 2009 by folkfan
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