Review: Lethal Psychopathology
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 29, 2012
Killer Charm: The Double Lives of Psychopaths: From the Files of Linda FairsteinKiller Charm: The Double Lives of PsychopathsBy Linda FairsteinPublished by Open Road ISBN9781453273234Given to me by the publisher via NetGalleyLethal PsychopathologyMost lethal diseases kill the person who has them. But lethal psychopathology kills other people. If it kills the person who has it, it's incidental to the other deaths, and comes (or came) in the form of a noose, an axe, an electric chair, a poison gas, and now most often a lethal injection.Considering what the victims went through before they died, this seems to many people to be unnecessarily gentle.The author wrote, "When I wrote Killer Charm in 2009, the country was shocked by the murder of a twenty-five-year-old masseuse in a hotel room in Boston--a victim of the mysterious `Craigslist Killer.' As other attacks occurred in the area, people were shocked to find that videotapes revealed a handsome young man who casually walked away from the scenes of the crimes. Philip Markoff, the twenty-three-year-old medical student soon charged with the murder and other attacks, was a poster boy for this kind of unexpected psychopathic killer. The superficial charm exhibited by an astounding number of dangerous psychopaths is one of their best weapons to overcome potential victims."Of course, not all serial killers are like this. It may be safely assumed that most or all serial killers are psychopaths. I once looked at the eyes of a serial killer, and it was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen and ever would see. There was nothing at home behind those eyes. He was safely handcuffed and shackled, and could not do harm to anyone. But whatever was behind those eyes was not human.Not all serial killers are like him, either. It would be better if they were, because those  eyes warn you off. But most psychopaths wear a mask: "[S]omeone who almost entirely lacks empathy but can appear normal, even charming and brilliant. Psychopaths apply their intelligence to mimicking conventional behavior; they are both great actors and heartless predators."The author went on to discuss briefly several more cases, in each of which living victims hadn't made reports to the police because the perp was so outwardly virtuous that they were sure they wouldn't be believed.The only complaint I have about this book is that it is far too short. But the publisher assured me that more such books will be coming out. I hope so. They are needed.