# Do you read serial killer novels? If so, why?



## L.J. Sellers novelist (Feb 28, 2010)

I've read dozens of serial killer stories, and in fact, the first two novels I wrote were serial killers stories (which I'll likely never publish). But then I lost interest in the genre. This quote I read from a book review captures why. "...a serial killer, that _one-size-fits-all bogeyman_ of contemporary literature who is almost invariably feeding a sexual fetish as he preys on women..."

Yet, despite their formulaic (and unrealistic) nature, serial killer stories remain widely popular. Do you read them? What do like best about them?
Curious minds want to know. 
L.J.


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## Alexandra Sokoloff (Sep 21, 2009)

Hi there LJ. (I still have that item of yours, need to get it back to you!)

Interesting to see your question this morning. One of my favorite books of all time is a serial killer novel: The Silence Of The Lambs.  I read everything Mo Hayder writes, and she's done a few serial killers. Generally I avoid the genre.  And I picked up a well-reviewed book this week that made me understand why.  I had met the author and thought he was a smart and decent guy.

But the book - there's no other word for it.  It was vile. The female detective/protagonist was raped in the first chapter (that would be enough to make me junk anything). It was obvious that other characters would be slaughtered, graphically, by the end of the chapter.  

There's a huge difference between the psychological horror of early Thomas Harris, and Mo Hayder, and the torture porn of books like the one I picked up and threw down last night. I want to read about the clash of good and evil but as far as I'm concerned, writing it exploitively is contributing to the evil. And far, far too many serial killer writers are writing it for shock value and sales.


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## L.J. Sellers novelist (Feb 28, 2010)

Hi Alex!
You're right that not all serial killer novels should be lumped together! Some are intriguing character studies with surprising plot twists, while others are simply torture porn or detective in jeopardy plots. Yet for me, as a writer and reader, motive is the most fascinating aspect of a crime story. And ultimately, all serial killers have the same motive, leaving little to think about. 
L.J.


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## joshuacorin (May 6, 2011)

"Why" is always the bugaboo question, isn't it?

Since I both read and write these types of novels, I guess I should toss in my few cents. For me, I think it ties back to the notion of the Nietzschean abyss, you know? Just the act of gazing into that vast darkness - because who among us isn't just a _little _curious - speaks to our lizard brain fascination with the unknown. We fear it and we need to know more. We're aware that it is not us, that it is the Other, and this compels us to understand what makes it tick. If we understand it, if we connect to it on an emotional level, then it becomes a part of us, and we can relax.

But psychosis and sociopathy, by their very definition, can't be connected to on an emotional level. Insanity is a C-battery charge in a AA-battery world. It bears the semblance of something we recognize, but this semblance is nothing more than a mask. Dare we pull back that mask?

Alexandra, in mentioning the recent craze of "torture porn," actually brings up an important point. Whether the cinematic equivalent (Eli Roth, for example) grew out of the splatterpunk movement of the 80s and 90s (Clive Barker, for example) or whether they both separately grew out of the late modernist fun factory of the 60s (yes, I'm talking about you, Michael Moorcock), many authors in the serial killer genre (myself included, sometimes) make the mistake of confusing shock and terror. Shock is calculating, sudden, and ephemeral. Shock is easy. Terror requires a delicate combination of tension and suspense, and since these both require patience, they both are in tragically short supply. Due to a number of factors (most namely the internet), our span of attention is becoming more and more deficient. Is it any wonder that one of the bestselling authors today is James Patterson, "master" of the 500-word chapter?


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## SidneyW (Aug 6, 2010)

I like serial killer novels where there is some mystery involved as well. They're not whodunit's, of course, but there can be an element of crime and solution with the potential for twists and turns to the reveal.  

I think serial killers, in a way, fill the role vampires once did, since vampires are more romantic figures these days. Serial killers are frightening, unstoppable and very possible, too.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

I have read a few, but real SKs generally turn out to be rather pathetic and ordinary, rather than the super smart villain who sends clues into the police and is very hard to catch.


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

I don't usually, because I can't deal with any realistic depiction of torture, particularly if it's presented as an entertainment. (And don't get me started on the subject of child torture porn, not only in the crime fiction.) However, there are some interesting non fiction books on that subject, both in terms of social and psychological aspects of such behavior, and the methods of investigation of crimes that seemingly lack a logical motive. 
Not entirely about serial killers as such, but I found Journey into Darkness by John Douglas quite interesting. 
http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Into-Darkness-John-Douglas/dp/product-description/0671003941


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## susan67 (Mar 18, 2011)

I read serial killer novels and strangely I enjoy them. I like the psychology of them such as what makes a serial killer different, what caused them to be a killer and what keeps the average person (such as myself) from becoming one. I definitely enjoy any story that involves psychology in some form. 
I also enjoy how they "profile" and what goes into that and how the "good" guys go about getting into the killers mind. For some reason, I find all this fascinating.
The really scary part for me....is they are actually out there, somewhere....


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

L.J. Sellers said:


> Yet, despite their formulaic (and unrealistic) nature, serial killer stories remain widely popular. Do you read them?


Never, I'm too chicken. I can't even watch America's Most Wanted without getting scared.


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## mjdispirito (Mar 29, 2011)

R. Reed said:


> I have read a few, but real SKs generally turn out to be rather pathetic and ordinary, rather than the super smart villain who sends clues into the police and is very hard to catch.


That's pretty much my beef, Reed. My idea of a serial killer with some frighteningly mysterious motives and a tendency to dupe the authorities is the Joker. He's the man.


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## bashfulreader (Jan 29, 2011)

In general, no.  I really try to avoid any "real-ish" type crime stories, because they just get under my skin - tend to make me a little paranoid.  They'll keep my up at night, wondering if all the doors and windows are locked.  I'd much rather read about a nasty vampire or werewolf, because somehow it seems much less likely that I will be attacked by one.  

However, I just had to open this thread when I saw who posted the question, because The Sex Club is a bit out of my reading comfort zone, for the reason I mentioned above, but I really enjoyed it - and plan to read more in your series.


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## KindleChickie (Oct 24, 2009)

I read them and enjoy them, both fiction and nonfiction.  I think part of their appeal is being able to view fractured society safely from my reading chair.  Most of us live our lives comfortable and trusting in societies rules and checks to keep us relatively safe.  Nothing is more uneasy for us than finding someone who refuses to play by the rules.

I love to be scared.  Roller coasters, haunted houses, horror movies, serial killer books, love all of em.  The only genre that scares me more than serial killers is demonic possession and satanic stuff.  Bordertown was a great movie, both serial killers and satanic at the same time.

I do draw the line with children.  I don't want to read or hear about kids being tortured, sexually abused or killed.  And the "torture porn" aspect of some of the genre just gets old.  It doest offend me or turn me off (let alone on), it just gets old.  A lot like reading about BDSM sex for me, it isn't offensive just boring.  For me anyways.


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## L.J. Sellers novelist (Feb 28, 2010)

Thanks, bashfulreader, for trying my series. I do write about realistic crimes, but show little violence on the page.
L.J.


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## JFHilborne (Jan 22, 2011)

Interesting question. This topic came up at the LA Festival of Books last weekend on my booth and the reaction was mixed. I think it depends on a number of aspects, especially motive and the victims. How do you compare a serial killer to a mass murderer or a spree killer? Are those who kill over a long period of time (serial killers) worse than those who murder multiple victims in a short space of time? All killers are screwed up in some way, but I always find serial killers in the books I've read or movies I've watched more complex and interesting than a one-time or mass murderer.

Like Susan67, I also enjoy the psychology behind them.


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## cindyvine (Jan 13, 2011)

I guess I like the psychology behind it and how (hopefully) good will overcome evil.  But I don't like the whole torture porn stuff.  I'm also interested in why people act the way I do.  Although Dexter is a TV Series, that's the kind of serial-killer stuff I like.  Very clever, keeps you on the edge of your seat, a jolly good story.


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## patrickt (Aug 28, 2010)

You asked why but I feel compelled to write why not. I never read books about serial killers. 

Years ago a man robbed a convenience store and ordered the clerk, a married college student working part-time, onto his knees. Then, he shot him in the head. When I asked the man why he killed the clerk he looked confused and said, "Why not?" Why not is not a human response. How do you understand motivation for some who would ask that question?

I interviewed two men who had killed two and thought they'd killed a third. One man was stabbed in the neck with a pair of scissors but he wasn't dying. They dragged him from the car, found a broken tree limb on the bround and put it on the man's throat. Then, one man stood on the limb while the other jumped up and down on the limb. It worked. But, what struck me was how important it was to these two men for me to understand that the man they were killing was a friend of theirs, they liked him, and they didn't want to kill him. No, they had to. Not their fault, really.

Another man killed his mother, grandmother, and a woman who happened to be visiting. It wasn't his fault either. He needed money and they wouldn't give him any so what else could he do? "Oh, I don't know. Maybe, get a job." He laughed, a lot, and said I was an idiot. 

I don't want to read about these people. There is no understanding. I understood they needed to be stopped and I preferred they be dead but never could anyone understand these people.

A plain old murder mystery with normal people and normal motivation is, for me, entertaining and intriqing. Not the serial killers. For example, I just finished a book where two old men who were in the French Resistance saw an old man who had raped and tortured the famlies of men in the resistance. They killed him. Whether you agree or disagree with what they did, it's comprehensible.


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## Alexandra Sokoloff (Sep 21, 2009)

Hey Josh, cool to see you here.

Back at you - I think you make an important point about the difference between shock and terror.  That's why I read Mo Hayder - even though her books are so disturbing I have to do days in a row of yoga to feel sane again.  That woman understands terror. (Well, all women understand terror, but that woman can write the hell out of it). What she does that is so different from the bottom feeder serial killer writers is concentrate on just ONE crime, one victim - the way Thomas Harris used to do.  And they are relentless in making us feel the agony of the crime through the victim's experience.  It is NEVER exploitive. Only a psychopath could get off on it.  The queasy thing about a lot of serial killer writers is that it's so about shock sensation, I'm afraid a lot of non-sociopaths are still getting off on it.

And you know I'm dark - but that, to me, is not good.


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## Dan Holloway (Dec 18, 2010)

Alex, I adore The Silence of the Lambs (I love Thomas Harris' writing so much the Hannibal Lecter novels were my specialist subject when I went on the UK quiz show Mastermind). I'd like to add Val McDermid to your list of non-schlock serial killer writers. Her Tony Hill/Carol Jordan books are exquisitely crafted, and are driven by brilliant characterisation, detailed research and meticulous plotting.

LJ, Ian Rankin presented a brilliant TV Series "Ian Rankin on Evil", which traces humanity's fascination with evil from the devil to serial killers. You should look it out if you can


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## Alexandra Sokoloff (Sep 21, 2009)

Dan, I couldn't agree more about Val McDermid; love the books, worship her!  The way she handles Carol Jordan, for example - no one but a psychopath could get off on what happened to her. That to me is basic morality in writing or filmmaking.

And Harris, I could go on about. He's the one person who's been able to give serial killers a mythic, nightmare resonance, as far as I'm concerned. Until Hannibal and after, that is.


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## Dan Holloway (Dec 18, 2010)

Absolutely on Thomas Harris! I was on Allan Guthrie's Criminal-E blog on Tuesday (http://criminal-e.blogspot.com/2011/05/dan-holloway-interview-company-of.html) and Hannibal was my book I could read again and again (I have done, about 20 times). What Harris has done is create a real sense of gothic (both the European settings with their 19th century feel in Hannibal and the American Gothic of Dollarhyde's house and Starling's West Virginia upbringing) - there are bits of Lecter that are more like Interview With the Vampire than a regular serial killer novel.


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## geniebeanie (Apr 23, 2009)

I am addicted to James Patterson, Agatha Christie and Grishom.


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## susan67 (Mar 18, 2011)

I agree about Thomas Harris and Lechter....probably my favorite fictional psychopath. Not sure if that is good to have a favorite psychopath....
I can't point out what it is that is so interesting about good ole Hannibal...but he is seriously scary.


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## PG4003 (Patricia) (Jan 30, 2010)

I love to read True Crime books and I guess a lot of it is the "OMG" factor.  But I can't read too many of these in a row or it makes me start thinking about how we humans can be so cruel to one another.  I still believe the majority of people in the world are good people, but when you read too many of these books it makes you start wondering.


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## ascepticalmedium (Mar 18, 2011)

I love them and it's my favourite type of book to read. I love the detail of how they are found, the clues etc. and profiling. One thing that does irritate me though, is the amount of authors these days who talk about the way a person is killed as the MO it isn't the MO it's the signature. The MO is how they find their victim and claim them. The methods used etc. The signature is how the body was laid out, things done to it and all that sort of stuff.

Out of interest, I met Richard Rappaport on holiday last year and had dinner with him and his wife. He is the psychiatrist who coined the phrase 'serial killer'. Funnily, the person who interviewed him about it claimed that for himself though, but Richard can prove it was he who started it as it was in one of his cases. Just thought you might like to know that.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

I'm like you, L.J., I used to read quite a lot of them, but sometime ago, I just had had enough and now I avoid them completely. Most books that have serial killers force you to spend time in the killer's POV, and I don't want to do that. I also got tired of the so clever killer who never died. Blow him up in Book 1, and he's still back in Book 2 or 3 because he was so clever and well prepared he had a bomb proof cave under the house or whatever. It just got old, but maybe that's because so did I.


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## tim290280 (Jan 11, 2011)

I'm a fan and not a fan. I think it really depends upon the serial killer and author in question. I think Dexter is a great example of a character, and Jeff Lindsay a great example of an author, that manages to create a story that involves the reader with the evil protagonist. There are plenty of others were it just doesn't work. Serial killers as bad guys is fine, as the novel is more about catching them and not the killer themselves.


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## Tamara Rose Blodgett (Apr 1, 2011)

I have a serial killer (of children) in book #2 of the Death Series( I am writing now to be published in August) and it is definitely NOT stereotypical. In addition, children are using their abilities to bring the killer to justice. Remember Ted Bundy? That angle has been used-to-death ( no pun intended), and readers (myself included) have to be sick of the same direction being revisited...

Has anyone read the earlier works of the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton? She has some interesting serials and mysteries that are terrific (books 1-10)...check that out if you like serial murder/mystery. The bad guys get theirs!

Happy reading~!


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## Cheryl Bradshaw Author (Apr 13, 2011)

I read them and I write them.  I've always been fascinated with the genre in general, but some writer's are really graphic which isn't my taste.  I'm more of an Agatha Christie girl.  You can write a serial without all the detail and still have a gripping character.  

I'm writing about a serial now, but it was important to me that he didn't fit the exact mold of a typical killer.   I like to change things up a bit.


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## Grady Hendrix (Sep 8, 2010)

I think one problem is that serial killers are the sparkly vampires of mystery fiction. As sparkle-pires are to YA, serial killers are to mystery. Some people love them, some people hate them, but they're an essential part of the genre, like it or not. 

I personally don't enjoy serial killer fiction (although I think Thomas Harris's early books were great) and maybe that's because I've uptight and I try to equate fiction serial killers with real life serial killers and get annoyed at the fact that fictional serial killers are more supervillains who bear no more relation to real killers than, say, Mr. Freeze or the Riddler, as people up this thread pointed out. Maybe if I just chill out and accept them as bogeymen and monsters, no more real than werewolves or deadlines, then I'll enjoy them more.


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## Mike McIntyre (Jan 19, 2011)

L.J. Sellers said:


> Yet, despite their formulaic (and unrealistic) nature, serial killer stories remain widely popular.


Serial killer fiction has not cornered the market on formulaic and unrealistic storytelling. You could substitute "historical romance," "urban fantasy," "cozy mystery," and so on for "serial killer stories" and have the same conversation. By definition, genre fiction is not novel.


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## Guest (May 11, 2011)

I don't read them, but my kid sister *LOVES* them (along with zombies...say..anyone know any good zombie serial killer books? She'd love it). I think she just uses her imagination to replace the victims with people she knows. She'd kill them herself, but then she realized the prison wouldn't let her out once a week to get her manicures and that she couldn't keep all of her shoes in her cell.


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## Patrick Skelton (Jan 7, 2011)

I dislike serial killer novels, actually.  Reminds me too much of primetime t.v.


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

I think the "serial" killer James Patterson  books (early Alex Cross) were fascinating.  Cross being a psychologist always spent the most time understanding their psyche - which I enjoyed reading.


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## Bernard J. Schaffer (Apr 16, 2011)

Only when they're written by Mr. Thomas Harris.  RED DRAGON had me actually go around my house and check every single lock on the doors and windows.


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## Carolyn J. Rose Mystery Writer (Aug 10, 2010)

Yes - if they're well written. The twist of the mind fascinates me - especially the twist in the mind of those who kill for thrills - as opposed to those who kill to try to cover up a crime. I'm a loyal fan of Criminal Minds (the original one) and am building my next book around one.


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## Cheryl Bradshaw Author (Apr 13, 2011)

Bernard J. Schaffer said:


> Only when they're written by Mr. Thomas Harris. RED DRAGON had me actually go around my house and check every single lock on the doors and windows.


He is truly the master - the time he takes to research and make sure it's done right is part of what makes his novels so amazingly good


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I do still read them.  For me, what is fascinating about them is the chase.  I like reading about the police or detectives or whatever, figuring the whole thing out and tracking the killer down.  I guess that is hardly original.  I bet most people who read mysteries and such like that.  

I think there is just something fascinating about serial killers.  What is it that makes them do what they do?  Why?  Every person has the chance to be either good or bad when they are born, so what turns them into monsters?  

As a writer, I have had serial killers in my stories, and probably will use them again.  They are just frightening.  The thought that the guy next door could be a killer...is a very basic fear for most, I think.


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## Nebula7 (Apr 21, 2011)

I read the Steven James "Patrick Bowers FBI" series. Why? Because they are awesome. Great writing and intense plot. The best I've ever read. Check them out. The series starts with "Pawn".


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## teeitup (Nov 1, 2008)

I'm a fan of "true crime" genre, primarily for the psychological/sociological reasons someone commits a crime.  If it involves a serial killer, I want to know why he became one and I enjoy writers who delve into the history/backstory of the criminal/family.  The ones I have a hard time with are books that involve children primarily and I won't even read those.  There are some excellent true crime authors but I can only read a limited amount then I move back to fiction or bios.  I have a friend and that is all she reads but for me, it starts to make me anxious and interferes with my sleep.


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## Erica Sloane (May 11, 2011)

Rarely. The only novels I read like that are by two or three authors, and I mainly read them because a) I like the writing, and b) I like the main characters (detectives).


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## navythriller (Mar 11, 2011)

Bernard J. Schaffer said:


> Only when they're written by Mr. Thomas Harris. RED DRAGON had me actually go around my house and check every single lock on the doors and windows.


I completely agree. While I don't read SK novels on a regular basis, a few of them are amazing. RED DRAGON doesn't just show you a serial killer. It takes you step-by-step through the life experiences that created him. (Shivers...)


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## joanhallhovey (Nov 7, 2010)

The challenge then is to make them realistic and not so predictable. I love both to read and write good thrillers. I like to explore the dark side of human nature - we all have our dark side; we all know what it is to hate, feel jealous, angry, envious, lonely - it's just a matter of degree.  First and foremost, the novel should be entertaining. Stephen King wrote a great short story featuring a serial killer in his book *Full Dark, No stars*. No formula in the hands of a master. An edge of the seat read, and at the same time a thought-provoking story.


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## Ethan Cobb (Jun 7, 2011)

One of the best I have read is Dan Wells, "I Am Not A Serial Killer".  The book follows a teen who is like a Dexter who hasn't become a killer yet.  When a real serial killer shows up in town the kid realizes that he can tap into the killers mind and solve who is murdering, and hopefully in the midst get over his own killer tendencies.  There is a paranormal aspect to the novel that often surprises many, and I thought was really cool.  I thought it was neat seeing things from a potential serial killers eyes, but one who is fighting hard against himself to not turn into a monster.  

Sidenote: Dan Wells also does a writers podcast called "Writing Excuses" that I think is really great. 

Anyway, after reading that I have a few more, but sometimes they get to gruesome for me, so I read them sparingly.


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