From the Publisher
"Fast-paced tale of the search for a racist serial killer in the early days of criminal profiling…A taut, terrifying view of White supremacy taken to murderous extremes, now all too common." — Kirkus Reviews
"This book was not only educational but terrifying. Franklin’s gone, but who is to say how many more Franklins are out there?" — Alabama Public Radio
“John Douglas and Mark Olshaker, the authors of Mindhunter, return with a chilling true crime story that feels all too relevant in today's climate, despite the fact that it covers a case from the 1970s.” — PopSugar
“The authors write with clarity and authority as they lay out a devastating portrait of an unrepentant racist. This is a must read for those looking for insight into the minds of those instigating racial violence today.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"When it comes to true crime, nobody’s got war stories like [John] Douglas." — Philadelphia Inquirer
“Well-written, fascinating and suspenseful.” — Washington Times
“When it comes to true crime, nobody’s got war stories like Douglas.” — Detroit News
PopSugar
John Douglas and Mark Olshaker, the authors of Mindhunter, return with a chilling true crime story that feels all too relevant in today’s climate, despite the fact that it covers a case from the 1970s.”
Alabama Public Radio
This book was not only educational but terrifying. Franklin’s gone, but who is to say how many more Franklins are out there?”
Kirkus Reviews
Fast-paced tale of the search for a racist serial killer in the early days of criminal profiling…A taut, terrifying view of White supremacy taken to murderous extremes, now all too common.”
Detroit News
When it comes to true crime, nobody’s got war stories like Douglas.”
Washington Times
Well-written, fascinating and suspenseful.
Philadelphia Inquirer
"When it comes to true crime, nobody’s got war stories like [John] Douglas."
Kirkus Reviews
2020-10-22
Fast-paced tale of the search for a racist serial killer in the early days of criminal profiling.
As an FBI agent and instructor, Douglas largely invented the criminal profile, a branch of psychology of the sort that fuels TV shows like NCIS and Criminal Minds. He gained a reputation for ferreting out likely perpetrators by means of patterns. For example, when a young woman was murdered in the Georgia woods, he specified a subject in his 20s, with a military record ending in a dishonorable discharge, a smug attitude, a blue-collar trade, and a dark vehicle—the last because, he and Olshaker write, “I had observed that orderly, compulsive people tended to drive darker cars.” Bingo: He perfectly described a subject whom the Georgia police had just interviewed. These skills come into play when the narrative turns to the search for the virulently racist Joseph Paul Franklin, who targeted Jews, Black men, and, more pointedly, White women who dated the latter. Sometimes his victims were Black children, targets of opportunity. “Though it still wasn’t part of the cultural lexicon,” write the authors, “by then we were already using the phrase serial killer to reference a predatory offender who killed three or more victims at different times and places.” They found Franklin also was implicated in the shootings of Larry Flynt, who published pornographic images of interracial couples, and Vernon Jordan, the civil rights leader. Douglas and Olshaker carefully lay out the trail of evidence but come to unsettling conclusions. Although such killers are marked by a sense of powerlessness and alienation, the racist murderer at the heart of this book has also inspired other killers such as Dylann Roof. As the authors write about Franklin, “his unwavering dedication to fomenting hate made him a potential inspiration and symbol to others with similar orientation.”
A taut, terrifying view of White supremacy taken to murderous extremes, now all too common.
