A Contagious Evil - the Mind of a Serial Killer
Worth buying if: interested in Larry Townsend's forensic descriptions and case excerpts.
Skip it if: expecting academic criminology citations and heavy peer-reviewed sourcing.
Exact edition: Edition shown · ISBN-13 9781881684145. The Amazon link uses this ISBN, so the product page should open to the edition shown here.
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Summary
In A Contagious Evil - the Mind of a Serial Killer, Larry Townsend combines case summaries, behavioral observation, and cultural context to map how predatory patterns form and repeat across offenders; it's a 256-page popular-psychology dive into criminal minds.
Why this book now
Townsend's 2007 study remains a compact, accessible entry for readers revisiting criminal profiling and forensic psychology in popular culture discussions.
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Best for readers who...
Good fit if you want...
- interested in Larry Townsend's forensic descriptions and case excerpts.
- drawn to psychological profiles of serial killers and pattern analysis.
- expecting academic criminology citations and heavy peer-reviewed sourcing.
- seeking graphic true-crime scene detail or sensationalist storytelling.
Decided it fits?
Exact edition: Edition shown · ISBN-13 9781881684145
Worth buying if: interested in Larry Townsend's forensic descriptions and case excerpts.
Skip it if: expecting academic criminology citations and heavy peer-reviewed sourcing.
Check Amazon for the current price and availability of this exact edition.
Reader guide
Cues to help you decide faster.
Reading commitment
Light Short sit-downs
At 256 pages, this general-interest volume fits several focused evenings or weekend reading sessions and rewards slow attention to the author's behavioral threads.
What stands out here
This L T Pubns 2007 edition emphasizes Townsend's observational approach to serial offending rather than new empirical studies or extensive bibliography.
Best way to approach it
Approach it as a popular-psychology case compendium: pause on comparative passages, note recurring behavioral phrases, and use chapters as stand-alone references.
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Exact edition: ISBN-13 9781881684145
Check Amazon for the current price and availability of this exact edition.