THE Lonely Sense: The Autobiography of a Psychic Detective [Paperback]

Why do so many police departments employ psychic detectives, when doing so exposes them to ridicule? The simple answer is that there are indeed genuine, gifted psychics, however rare, who have proven to be stunningly accurate.

One of the most accomplished is Robert Cracknell, who first received international notice when he achieved an 80-percent accuracy rating when tested at Oxford University's Society of Psychic Research.

The Lonely Sense is Cracknell's compelling account of how he survived and transcended a traumatic life seemingly more likely to create a criminal than a crime solver, going on to distinguish himself with his unique insights into high-profile crimes.

Cracknell's career as psychic sleuth began three decades ago when he assisted police investigating the Yorkshire Ripper serial murders, He shared an insight in November 1980 that the murderer would kill one more time and then be arrested--not by the criminal investigators but by traffic cops stopping him for a minor infraction. He had the prediction officially recorded by Kevin McClure of the Society for Psychical Research at Oxford University. The arrest of Peter Sutcliffe on January 4, 1981, in the exact circumstances he foresaw, proved the prediction correct.

Two decades and numerous investigations later, when the DC-area serial sniper case dominated the news, Cracknell boldly contradicted the shared conventional wisdom of law enforcement, the media, top criminal profilers, and the public, who all seemed certain that the killings were the work of a solitary young white man. He wrote that "the perpetrator is not acting alone and is not an American citizen of long standing. An arrest is imminent," adding, "I do not totally rule out a politically motivated group." Arrest was indeed imminent, coming one day later. Cracknell's description of the perpetrator as "not an American citizen of long standing" eerily identified Lee Boyd Malvo, who was a Jamaican immigrant. His vision of a "politically motivated group"--a rarity in serial killings--was corroborated by the revelation that John Muhammed had been reported to the FBI for alleged terror ties and that both he and Malvo had praised the September 11 attacks.

Whether recounting his involvement the Ripper case, the kidnapping of heiress Gaby Mearth, the Southern Organs fraud case (as featured on the Biography Channel's "Psychic Investigators" documentary series), and other investigations; or the highlights of his own dramatic life story, Cracknell's harrowing journey through life's dark regions is mesmerizing and ultimately inspirational.