Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer

The FBI profiler & co-author of the #1 New York Times–bestseller Mindhunter recounts his role in catching one of America's most notorious serial killers.

Inside the Mind of BTK tells the incredible true story of how FBI profiler John Douglas tracked and participated in the hunt for one of the most notorious serial killers in US history. For thirty-one years a man who called himself BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) terrorized the city of Wichita, Kansas, sexually assaulting and strangling a series of victims, taunting the police with cryptic communications, and bragging about his vicious crimes to local newspapers and television stations. After disappearing for nine years, he suddenly reappeared, complaining that no one was paying enough attention to him and claiming that he had committed other crimes for which he had not been given credit. When he was finally captured, BTK was revealed to be Dennis Rader, a sixty-one-year-old churchgoing, married man with two children.

As a leading serial killer profiler for the FBI, John Douglas was first called to consult about the case in 1980 and remained involved with the story and all of its principal players up to the arrest and prosecution. After Rader was arrested, Douglas was granted both an exclusive interview with the killer after his sentencing, as well as access to friends, family, and police. In this page-turning book, Douglas reveals both new information and insight into why Rader did what he did, why he stopped for a mysterious nine-year period, and his current psychological state in custody.

Praise for Inside the Mind of BTK 

"Legendary profiler and bestselling author Douglas (Mindhunter), who pioneered the FBI's systematic study of serial killers, offers his insights into one of this country's most chilling killers—Dennis Rader, a seemingly innocuous family man and municipal employee, whose brutal murders terrorized Wichita, Kans., for three decades. . . . While the stomach-turning story of BTK's crimes has been told by others, Douglas's unique professional experience and his exclusive personal access to Rader offers a different perspective, even as the answer to the question of how such a monster comes to be remains elusive." —Publishers Weekly

"Riveting! Douglas and Dodd have focused a laser sight on one of the most fascinating and disturbing serial killers of our time. Their in-depth analysis of BTK's early childhood, his seemingly "normal" everyday life, and his shockingly well-hidden "other" life deftly explores the nature of evil and how we can better protect ourselves from such cunning predators." ―Lisa Gardner, New York Times–bestselling suspense author of Hide
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Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer

The FBI profiler & co-author of the #1 New York Times–bestseller Mindhunter recounts his role in catching one of America's most notorious serial killers.

Inside the Mind of BTK tells the incredible true story of how FBI profiler John Douglas tracked and participated in the hunt for one of the most notorious serial killers in US history. For thirty-one years a man who called himself BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) terrorized the city of Wichita, Kansas, sexually assaulting and strangling a series of victims, taunting the police with cryptic communications, and bragging about his vicious crimes to local newspapers and television stations. After disappearing for nine years, he suddenly reappeared, complaining that no one was paying enough attention to him and claiming that he had committed other crimes for which he had not been given credit. When he was finally captured, BTK was revealed to be Dennis Rader, a sixty-one-year-old churchgoing, married man with two children.

As a leading serial killer profiler for the FBI, John Douglas was first called to consult about the case in 1980 and remained involved with the story and all of its principal players up to the arrest and prosecution. After Rader was arrested, Douglas was granted both an exclusive interview with the killer after his sentencing, as well as access to friends, family, and police. In this page-turning book, Douglas reveals both new information and insight into why Rader did what he did, why he stopped for a mysterious nine-year period, and his current psychological state in custody.

Praise for Inside the Mind of BTK 

"Legendary profiler and bestselling author Douglas (Mindhunter), who pioneered the FBI's systematic study of serial killers, offers his insights into one of this country's most chilling killers—Dennis Rader, a seemingly innocuous family man and municipal employee, whose brutal murders terrorized Wichita, Kans., for three decades. . . . While the stomach-turning story of BTK's crimes has been told by others, Douglas's unique professional experience and his exclusive personal access to Rader offers a different perspective, even as the answer to the question of how such a monster comes to be remains elusive." —Publishers Weekly

"Riveting! Douglas and Dodd have focused a laser sight on one of the most fascinating and disturbing serial killers of our time. Their in-depth analysis of BTK's early childhood, his seemingly "normal" everyday life, and his shockingly well-hidden "other" life deftly explores the nature of evil and how we can better protect ourselves from such cunning predators." ―Lisa Gardner, New York Times–bestselling suspense author of Hide
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Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer

Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer

Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer

Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer

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Overview

The FBI profiler & co-author of the #1 New York Times–bestseller Mindhunter recounts his role in catching one of America's most notorious serial killers.

Inside the Mind of BTK tells the incredible true story of how FBI profiler John Douglas tracked and participated in the hunt for one of the most notorious serial killers in US history. For thirty-one years a man who called himself BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) terrorized the city of Wichita, Kansas, sexually assaulting and strangling a series of victims, taunting the police with cryptic communications, and bragging about his vicious crimes to local newspapers and television stations. After disappearing for nine years, he suddenly reappeared, complaining that no one was paying enough attention to him and claiming that he had committed other crimes for which he had not been given credit. When he was finally captured, BTK was revealed to be Dennis Rader, a sixty-one-year-old churchgoing, married man with two children.

As a leading serial killer profiler for the FBI, John Douglas was first called to consult about the case in 1980 and remained involved with the story and all of its principal players up to the arrest and prosecution. After Rader was arrested, Douglas was granted both an exclusive interview with the killer after his sentencing, as well as access to friends, family, and police. In this page-turning book, Douglas reveals both new information and insight into why Rader did what he did, why he stopped for a mysterious nine-year period, and his current psychological state in custody.

Praise for Inside the Mind of BTK 

"Legendary profiler and bestselling author Douglas (Mindhunter), who pioneered the FBI's systematic study of serial killers, offers his insights into one of this country's most chilling killers—Dennis Rader, a seemingly innocuous family man and municipal employee, whose brutal murders terrorized Wichita, Kans., for three decades. . . . While the stomach-turning story of BTK's crimes has been told by others, Douglas's unique professional experience and his exclusive personal access to Rader offers a different perspective, even as the answer to the question of how such a monster comes to be remains elusive." —Publishers Weekly

"Riveting! Douglas and Dodd have focused a laser sight on one of the most fascinating and disturbing serial killers of our time. Their in-depth analysis of BTK's early childhood, his seemingly "normal" everyday life, and his shockingly well-hidden "other" life deftly explores the nature of evil and how we can better protect ourselves from such cunning predators." ―Lisa Gardner, New York Times–bestselling suspense author of Hide

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780470437681
Publisher: Wiley
Publication date: 08/31/2022
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 368
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

John Douglas, a former FBI agent and pioneer serial killer profiler, is one of the most successful true crime authors in the country. He is the author of the New York Times number one best seller Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit, which first introduced the public to the idea of psychological profiles as a tool in hunting down killers. Douglas served as technical advisor for the film The Silence of the Lambs, much of which was based on his work. He has consulted on thousands of cases worldwide providing case analysis, interview and interrogation techniques, investigative strategies, prosecutorial strategies, and expert testimony. Since his retirement in 1995 from the FBI, Douglas has been donating pro bono assistance whenever possible to police and victims of violent crime. Mr. Douglas lives near Washington, D.C. Johnny Dodd is a writer at People magazine who lives in the Los Angeles area.

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Table of Contents

Preface to the Paperback Edition ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction 1

Act One: My Lifelong Hunt for BTK 11

Act Two: The Capture and Arrest of BTK 111

Act Three: Meeting BTK: An Exclusive Interview 273

About the Authors 337

Index 339

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Inside the Mind of BTK is a chilling and fascinating place to be, and there is no better guide to take us there than great American Mindhunter, John Douglas. This is a story of ordinary people and extraordinary evil - lock your doors, check your telephone lines, and read this book."
—Linda Fairstein, bestselling author or Bad Blood, Death Dance and Entombed, and for twenty-five years was the chief prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Sex Crime Unit

"Riveting! Douglas and Dodd have focused a laser sight on one of the most fascinating and disturbing serial killers of our time. Their in-depth analysis of the BTK's early childhood, his seemingly "normal" everyday life and his shockingly well-hidden "other" life, deftly explores the nature of evil and how we can better protect ourselves from such cunning predators."
—Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling suspense author of HIDE

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