Overkill

In the last decade the world has witnessed a  frightening surge in mass murders and serial  killings. This rash of multiple murders -- in the sheer  number of body counts and volume of blood spilled  -- has shocked civilized society. With each new  discovery of another serial killer, the level of  brutality and gore seems to sink us even deeper  into the abyss of inhumanity. Why this sudden  proliferation of multiple murders, be they the bloody  trail of carnage of a serial murderer or the  unexpected deadly explosion of a mass murderer? What  makes someone go on a murderous rampage? How do  serial killers and mass murderers  differ?

Criminologists James Alan Fox and Jack Levin  - -the nationally renowned authorities on  multiple murder -- have led the field in investigating  these phenomena for over a decade. In this  absobring work, they hold a magnifying glass to the  minds of the perpetrators of these hideous crimes to  explain the seemingly inexplicable. They produce  profiles of the kinds of people who follow these  murderous paths and examine the reasons behind  their vicious acts. They also describe the latest  law enforcement methods used to track down these  heinous killers.

Fox and Levin  explore why multiple-murder sprees are erupting not  only with greater frequency but in more gruesome  ways. The authors leave no stone unturned in  examining the psychological, sociological, and  biological explanations behind these savage misdeeds.  This engrossing book is the culmination of years  of original research as well as one-on-one  interviews with mass and serial murderers.