Anyone here read "true crime" or criminal psychology books?

[Beorning]

(I hope it's the appropriate forum - if not, feel free to move the topic, mods)

I was wondering: does anyone here read "true crime" books, books on criminal psychology or similar works (some Internet resources, maybe?)? If so, I have a question: do you know any good (meaning, non-sensationalist and reliable) works on serial killers?

I'd be interested in a book (or some other work) that examines why such people commit their crimes. Something that would really examine their minds, what exactly was making them kill etc. I'm especially interested in the whole "compulsion to kill" notion - I've seen mentioned quite often in relation to serial killers, but what does it mean exactly? Have they really been people who had a literal, OCD-like or kleptomania-like compulsion for murder, or is it more of a metaphor?

Also, are there any good books on serial killers who turned themselves in and / or expressed regret? For instance, the Wikipedia article on Jeffrey Dahmer seem to suggest that he was genuinely sorry for what he has been doing?

I'm asking as a part of research for a possible RP...

[The Dark Raven]

Check out information on police profilers.  They are the people that study and get into the heads of serial killers to help catch them.  I do not know any books offhand, but those are the folks you are looking for (whether how they do it or what they do in more detail, if I understand you correctly).

[Sasquatch421]

Take a look at The Bloody Spur... It's about William Heirens AKA the Lipstick Killer. He wrote notes on the walls of the women he killed begging the police to stop him. H.H. Holmes himself talked about the only reason he killed was because he had the devil in him. Holmes probably gets the record for kills as no one will ever know how many fell victim to him. Other then that I don't know... The others I know of never expressed regret. Hell, Albert Fish wrote letters to the parents of the kids he took saying how they tasted...

[Beorning]

Check out information on police profilers.  They are the people that study and get into the heads of serial killers to help catch them.  I do not know any books offhand, but those are the folks you are looking for (whether how they do it or what they do in more detail, if I understand you correctly).

I'm considering getting one of the books by Ressler or Douglas, but they are so many... Not sure which would be the best - and these books costs a lot. Hm.

Take a look at The Bloody Spur... It's about William Heirens AKA the Lipstick Killer. He wrote notes on the walls of the women he killed begging the police to stop him. H.H. Holmes himself talked about the only reason he killed was because he had the devil in him.

I'll look into books about them, then. Thanks!

[Oniya]

The two that Ressler wrote with Schactman ('Whoever Fights Monsters' and 'I Have Lived in the Minds of Monsters') will probably be pretty good for what you're looking to learn.  Ressler is essentially the guy that invented criminal profiling.

[Beorning]

Thanks! Any knowledge on which of these books give the most detailed idea on what's going on in a serial killer's head?

[Oniya]

Slight correction - Ressler's second book is I Have Lived In The Monster.  Based on the Amazon reviews, this one isn't as good as 'Whoever Fights Monsters', and is much more expensive ('Fights' was available for under 10 USD, but 'Lived' is easily twice that.)