John E. Douglas - Obsession: The FBI’s Legendary Profiler Probes the Psyches of Killers, Rapists and Stalkers and Their Victims and Tells How to Fight Back

OBSESSION

JOHN DOUGLAS
AND
MARK OLSHAKER

POCKET BOOKS
New York London Toronto Sydney

THE STUNNING NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER THAT PENETRATES THE MINDS AND REVEALS THE MOTIVES OF THE MOST TERRIFYING SERIAL KILLERS

JOURNEY INTO DARKNESS

THE EDGAR-AWARD NOMINATED, #1 BESTSELLER

MINDHUNTER

Inside the FBIs Elite Serial Crime Unit

AND UNABOMBER

On the Trail of Americas Most-Wanted Serial Killer

All Available from Pocket Books

John Douglas is a brilliant man. [He] knows more about serial killers man anybody in the world. Jonathan Demme, director of The Silence of the Lambs Mr. Douglas leaves us shaken, gripped by a quiet grief for the innocent victims and anguished by the human condition. Dean Koontz, The New York Times Book Review

PRAISE FOR THE RIVETING NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERS BY JOHN DOUGLAS AND MARK OLSHAKER

JOURNEY INTO DARKNESS

An unsparing account of a brutal business The real genius here lies in the analytical rigor of Douglas crime-scene investigations. Gutsy, hard-nosed police work of the most difficultand readablekind Gene Lyons, Entertainment Weekly Passionate, intelligent, and heartbreaking, the message of Journey into Darkness is a hard-hitting, no-holds-barred attack on our namby-pamby, wishy-washy, politically correct age. Roy E. Perry, Nashville Banner A hard-hitting, no-holds-barred look at [behavioral profiling] and how it has been used time and again to solve crimes across the country. Anniston Star (AL)

MINDHUNTER

In this chronicle of his remarkable and chilling career, John Douglas allows all of us to accompany him into unthinkably dark places where we find the bloody tracks of the Ted Bundys, John Hinckley Jrs., and Charles Mansons. Patricia Cornwell, bestselling author of Hornets Nest A quirky, winning tale of awful crimes and awe-inspiring detective work. Douglas gives us a pair of human eyes through which to view crimes and criminals that are at once grotesque and compelling. In the end, Mindhunter rings the bell because Douglas knows what all the great crime writers knowthat the criminologist must be at least as interesting as the crime. On that score, Douglas fits the profile. Richard Willing, USA Today Although Douglas profiles reflect years of experience, theres an uncanniness about their level of detail: He can predict the make and color of a killers car. In the Trailside Killer case in which Northern California hikers were slain in 1979, Douglas rightly predicted the assailant was a stutterer. Called the FBIs modern Sherlock Holmes, Douglas says he comes up with such details by going into a trancelike state in which he becomes both killer and victim. Douglas conservative estimate is that there are between thirty-five and fifty serial killers hard at work around the country right now, leaving several hundred dead people in their wake each year. Deb Price, Detroit News A fascinating journey into the thrill killers psyche. Douglas seems to have a true gift of instinct Mindhunter is gripping. Lou Grieco, Dayton Daily News (OH) In this fascinating memoir of his twenty-five-year career with the FBI, John Douglas contends that psychopathic serial killers have a warped need to kill. The key to Douglas approach is to look for the signatureas opposed to the modus operandiof serial killers. Douglas is at his best describing the terrible crimes that were committed and explaining the logic of his profiling method. Charles P. Thobae, Houston Chronicle Douglas is one heck of a storyteller. Mindhunter is the book that will make you lock up the house, take the phone off the hook and just keep reading. You wont be able to put it down. Rima L. Firrone, Ocala Star-Banner (FL) Hannibal Lecter may have been a fictional creation but his counterparts exist in real life, and Douglas has tracked down, testified against or just sat down and talked with dozens of them. A chilling memoir Lynda Hurst, The Toronto Star In his spellbinding book, the legendary Douglas delves into much of the gritty how-to of criminal personality profiling. Hes downright gifted. I defy anyone interested in psychology, detective work, or logic and puzzle-solving, to put Mindhunter willingly aside once begun. Ann G. Sjoerdsma, The Virginian-Pilot

BY THE SAME AUTHORS

NONFICTION

Mindhunter: Inside the FBIs Elite Serial Crimes Unit

Unabomber: On the Trail of Americas Most-Wanted Serial Killer

Journey into Darkness

Obsession

The Anatomy of Motive

FICTION

Broken Wings

BY JOHN DOUGLAS

Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives (with Robert K. Ressler and Ann W. Burgess)

Crime Classification Manual (with Ann W. Burgess, Allen G. Burgess, and Robert K. Ressler)

John Douglass Guide to Careers in the FBI

John Douglass Guide to the Police Officers Exam

John Douglass Guide to the California Police Officers Exam

BY MARK OLSHAKER

NONFICTION

The Instant Image: Edwin Land and the Polaroid Experience

Virus Hunter: Thirty Years of Battling Hot Viruses Around the World (with C. J. Peters, M.D.)

FICTION

Einsteins Brain

Unnatural Causes

Blood Race

The Edge

ANTHOLOGY

Unusual Suspects (edited by James Grady)

For information regarding special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-800-456-6798 or business@simonandschuster.com

JOHN DOUGLAS

AND

MARK OLSHAKER

OBSESSION

POCKET BOOKS
New York London Toronto Sydney

The sale of this book without its cover is unauthorized. If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that it was reported to the publisher as unsold and destroyed. Neither the author nor the publisher has received payment for the sale of this stripped book.

Originally published in hardcover in 1998 by Scribner

POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 1998 by Mindhunters, Inc.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

For information address Scribner, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

ISBN: 0-671-01704-7

eISBN: 978-1-439-10740-9

ISBN 978-0-671-01704-0

First Pocket Books printing December 1998

10 9 8 7 6

POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Cover photo by Peter Liepke

Printed in the U.S.A.

F OR J ACK D OUGLAS

March 19, 1918-May 14, 1997

Father, friend, and our greatest supporter

With love, and the hope youre just as proud of this one

AUTHORS NOTE

Our deepest and most heartfelt appreciation goes out to the team that has made this book possible: our intrepid editor, Lisa Drew; her able assistant, Blythe Grossberg; our own talented assistant and researcher, Ann Hennigan; our agent, manager and confidant, Jay Acton; all of our friends at Scribner and Pocket Books; and, of course, Marks wife Carloyn, our Mind-hunters chief of staff.

Were also profoundly indebted to all of the heroic people who shared their insights, their professional experience and, in some very real instances, their lives. These are, strictly in alphabetical order: David Beatty, Director of Public Policy of the National Victim Center; Jack and Trudy Collins; Carroll Ann Ellis, Director of the Fairfax County, Virginia, Victim-Witness Unit; Linda A. Fairstein, Chief of the Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit of the New York County District Attorneys Office; Hans Hageman, Director of the East Harlem School at Exodus House; Katie and Steven Hanley; Dr. Stanton Samenow; Gene, Jeni and Peggy Schmidt; Kansas State Attoney General Carla Stovall; and Sandy Witt, Victim Coordinator of the Fairfax County Victim-Witness Unit.

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