Criminal profiling: what’s it good for? Rachel Corbett takes a stab at it (I’ll see myself out) and comes away with a book that is an easy read, informative, but also a little light.
Corbett starts off by talking about a personal situation which led her down the path of crime investigating. What follows is mostly vignettes on various type of profiling including Jack the Ripper, Hitler, and the Unabomber. Along the way, Corbett muses about whether profiling is the powerful tool to crime solving that is often presented or just a few steps above fortune telling.
The book is highly readable. I flew through it, and if you are unsure about the genre of true crime, this is a wonderful primer. For true crime junkies, you might be left wanting more. These vignettes are very high level and I finished with a lot of questions I would have wanted answered. The last couple chapters ask some very large questions about current police tactics without in-depth analysis. Ironically, it is Corbett’s skillful writing which left me wanting to hear much more. Either way, you will like what is here, and this may be a gateway to other books on the subjects she brings up.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by NetGalley and W. W. Norton and Company.)
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