After having read more than one book about serial killers, I thought nothing can shock me, but John Douglas proved me wrong.
How would you react, if the person opposite gives a detailed account of his crimes? That’s a question I asked myself many times while reading. I would probably race out of the room and bring as much distance between me and those horrible revelations.
For John Douglas, it’s not only a sit-in and having an easy chat. It’s also about bracing himself not to lose his mind, sometimes even acting to get to the truth. Over the years, while his expertise grew, he developed specific techniques to improve his work. He also learns that all begins with trust and establishing a connection with each individual. His interviews go much deeper than just the ordinary ones you can read in a newspaper or magazine. You wouldn’t want any of those dialogues printed in a public paper.
Not all of the criminals mentioned are already known to the public, I found that very refreshing. The new insights spark the interest even more, and could therefore be interesting for readers who want to learn more about unknown crimes.
With the author’s style of writing you can easily imagine him sitting there interviewing the criminals. It’s amazing how Douglas remained calm and kept his face unreadable which doesn’t come naturally. It takes a lot of practice, even for a profiler. This book can’t only be categorized as a memoir, although the author reveals some titbits about his private life, the killer across the Table is definitely more of a collection of his work. I’m glad that he has opened the case files again to create this book, despite having already read about him in Mindhunters, I learned something new.
Thanks to him and his team the profiler’s work has improved immensely over the years. There will always be crimes to solve, but investigators can today rely on a variety of techniques to maybe solve cases faster.
