The Mind of a Murderer

Author: Richard Taylor

A gripping and eye-opening insight into life as a forensic psychiatrist, from one of the most experienced doctors in the field

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Summary

A gripping and eye-opening insight into life as a forensic psychiatrist, from one of the most experienced doctors in the field

Description

'Whodunnit' doesn't matter so much, not to a forensic psychiatrist. We're more interested in the 'why'.

In his 26 years in the field, Richard Taylor has worked on well over a hundred murder cases, with victims and perpetrators from all walks of life. In this fascinating memoir, Taylor draws on some of the most tragic, horrific and illuminating of these cases - as well as dark secrets from his own family's past - to explore some of the questions he grapples with every day:

Why do people kill?

Does committing a monstrous act make someone a monster?

Could any of us, in the wrong circumstances, become a killer?

As Taylor helps us understand what lies inside the minds of his patients, using their own words to tell their stories, he presents us with the most important challenge of all: how can we find common humanity, even in the darkest of human deeds - and why it is so vital that we try?

The Mind of a Murderer is a fascinating exploration into the psyche of killers, as well as a unique insight into the life and mind of the doctor who treats them. For fans of Unnatural Causes, The Examined Life and All That Remains.

About the Author

Richard Taylor was born in Singapore and grew up in the south of England. He trained as a doctor at University College London, and was inspired to move into psychiatry, and then forensic psychiatry, by some of the stabbing victims he treated in A&E as a junior doctor; long after the life-threatening injuries had been dealt with, he would find himself wondering about the narrative behind the crime - who attacked whom, and why?

He completed post-graduate training at the Bethlem and Maudsley hospitals and then took up a post as Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist. Since then he has gained extensive experience working on cases involving all types of crime including rape, arson, serious violence, murder and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. He has dealt with murder cases of all types over his nearly three-decade psychiatry career, both as an expert witness and as a treating forensic psychiatrist.

More on this Book

'Whodunnit' doesn't matter so much, not to a forensic psychiatrist. We're more interested in the 'why'. In his 26 years in the field, Richard Taylor has worked on well over a hundred murder cases, with victims and perpetrators from all walks of life. In this fascinating memoir, Taylor draws on some of the most tragic, horrific and illuminating of these cases - as well as dark secrets from his own family's past - to explore some of the questions he grapples with every day: Why do people kill? Does committing a monstrous act make someone a monster? Could any of us, in the wrong circumstances, become a killer? As Taylor helps us understand what lies inside the minds of his patients, using their own words to tell their stories, he presents us with the most important challenge of all: how can we find common humanity, even in the darkest of human deeds - and why it is so vital that we try? THE MIND OF A MURDERER is a fascinating exploration into the psyche of killers, as well as a unique insight into the life and mind of the doctor who treats them. For fans of UNNATURAL CAUSES , THE EXAMINED LIFE and ALL THAT REMAINS.