Books like A Mind for Murder by Alston Chase

John E. Douglas recounts his 25‑year career in the FBI Behavioral Science Unit, detailing how psychological profiling helped him solve some of the nation’s most infamous serial killings.

An eye‑opening profile of serial killer Jason Moss, blending psychological insight with a raw biographical narrative that reveals the grim reality of his crimes in Nevada.

John Douglas chronicles the FBI pursuit of Dennis Rader, the notorious BTK serial killer who terrorized Wichita, Kansas for 31 years, revealing the investigative methods that ultimately brought him to justice.

Chase adds an important element to our understanding of the infamous Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. Part of what made Kaczynski an iconic figure after his arrest in 1996 for 16 mail bombings (resulting in three deaths) between 1978 and 1995 was his unusual background as a highly gifted, Harvard-educated mathematician. While the media found comfort in writing him off as a mental case, more remarkable was how seemingly typical Kaczynski was. Bucking the conventional wisdom, Chase (In a Dark Wood) identifies Kaczynski as a victim more of the anxious and contradictory Cold War 1950s than of the incendiary 1960s. With a background strikingly similar to Kaczynski's-including both a Harvard degree and self-imposed exile in Montana-Chase is in a unique position to probe the underlying tensions that led Kaczynski to commit dispassionate murder in the name of ideals. Chase persuasively isolates the turning point in his subject's years at Harvard, "where lasting human relations are more rare than championship football teams." In Cambridge he faced the typical Harvard pressures but, more importantly, was a subject of three years' worth of what many will agree were wildly irresponsible psychological experiments led by maverick psychology pioneer Henry A. Murray. While the conclusions Chase draws are unimpeachable, his description of the fateful experiments feels truncated, no doubt because some records remain sealed. Chase's disenchanted indictment of academia (represented here by Harvard) as lackey to the military-industrial complex is all the more compelling for the author's unruffled sense of perspective. With its unusual emphasis and sometimes surprisingly personal tone, this may become the definitive Kaczynski volume. 16 pages of photos not seen before.

Pat Brown, a pioneering female criminal profiler, shares firsthand insights into her investigations of sex crimes, domestic murders, and mysterious deaths, revealing how psychological analysis unlocks new investigative avenues.

A psychic recounts her collaborations with police and FBI to help solve murders and missing persons cases.

A neuroscientist chronicles his investigations into the brains of psychopaths, revealing the neural underpinnings of their lack of conscience and empathy and the motivations behind their antisocial behavior.