08/21/2023
In this fascinating debut, Monroe shares how she rose in the FBI’s ranks and became the inspiration for the character of Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs . Ever since she was a child in 1960s Long Beach, Calif., Monroe longed to work in law enforcement, but as a petite blonde, the road wasn’t easy: she lacked role models (“I would have done better to search for Amelia Earhart’s remains”) and chafed against the old boys’ club atmosphere of police departments. When she scored an interview with the FBI in the 1980s after growing dissatisfied with her policing assignments in Southern California, she was called into a “special joint interview” with her then husband to “make sure he supported” her ambitions. He didn’t, and attempted to dissuade Monroe from joining, but she divorced him and took the job. The stories Monroe shares of her 22 years in the FBI are thrilling, frightening, and occasionally amusing (like the time she and a colleague went charging into a hotel room to arrest a suspect at the same time—and got stuck in the doorway). In sharp, no-nonsense prose, Monroe describes delving into the psyches of such killers as Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and finding love with a fellow agent, with whom she survived the 1992 FBI siege at Ruby Ridge. Readers interested in criminology will devour this. Agent: Steve Ross, Steve Ross Agency. (Oct.)
The real-life model for Clarice Starling reflects on her career in the FBI . . . the author is an affable narrator, and her career accomplishments need no embellishment. Fans of true crime will find much to enjoy in this absorbing memoir of criminology.”—Kirkus “[A] fascinating debut . . . The stories Monroe shares of her 22 years in the FBI are thrilling, frightening, and occasionally amusing . . . in sharp, no-nonsense prose . . . Readers interested in criminology will devour this.”—Publishers Weekly
“This is a fascinating memoir from a woman who reached the upper ranks of the FBI . . . Monroe is a natural, engaging storyteller whose touches of humility and wry humor temper the horrors she details. Readers will be astonished by the experiences she relates . . .Those with a strong interest in investigative methodology and FBI history will race through Monroe’s striking narrative.”
—Booklist “A gripping and readable memoir that’s an essential read for audiences who want to understand the history of the FBI and the BSU. True-crime fans will enjoy Monroe’s tales about some of the most memorable cases she worked.”—Library Journal "Jana Monroe is the single most influential woman to ever serve in the FBI. . . . This book is about great, sometimes horrifying cases and the scary people who walk among us, but it’s also the memoir of a great woman, a great human, and a great friend who has helped to define what is possible in law enforcement but few will ever achieve."—Joe Navarro, bestselling author of What Every BODY Is Saying “Jana Monroe was an outstanding FBI Agent and leader who made important and long-term valuable contributions to the Bureau. As Director, I was very grateful for Jana’s and her family’s leadership while serving at FBI headquarters.”—Louis J. Freeh, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and New York Times bestsellin “A shot of pure adrenaline for true crime fans, this vivid, fast-paced memoir charts the barrier-breaking career of its remarkable author: a real-life Clarice Starling whose work as the only female member of the FBI’s fabled Behavioral Science Unit demonstrated that a woman could be just a coolly competent and tough-minded as any man.”—Harold Schechter, author of The Serial Killer Files “Former FBI profiler Jana Monroe's fascinating book is in part the story of some of history's most troubling serial killers. But it’s also the story of a smart, capable woman building a career in the male-dominated field of law enforcement. The result is an addictively readable, insightful, and occasionally inspiring book.”—Deborah Blum, bestselling author of The Poisoner's Handbook “Getting a phone call from a serial killer is the kind of thing most people would find unsettling. For Jana Monroe, it was just another day at work.”—New York Post
10/06/2023
Monroe, who helped train Jodie Foster for her role as Clarice Starling in the film The Silence of the Lambs , chronicles her prolific time in the FBI (she worked about 850 cases). The author does not spare readers the gruesome details of her work as she rose through the ranks to become one of the first women agents in the Behavioral Science Unit (BSU). As such, she faced many challenges and prejudices from the man-dominated FBI itself, and she openly describes all that she endured. Readers will see that Monroe did not allow any obstacle to stop her from reaching her goals. Her book, which flows from one story to the next, also documents the encounters she had with serial killers (Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and more), the impact that had on her career and life, and how justice was served. VERDICT A gripping and readable memoir that's an essential read for audiences who want to understand the history of the FBI and the BSU. True-crime fans will enjoy Monroe's tales about some of the most memorable cases she worked.—Leah Fitzgerald
2023-08-17 A memoir from one of the first female profilers in the FBI'sBehavioral Science Unit.
As a child, Monroe idolized Dirty Harry, and after majoring in criminology in college, she became a probation officer and then a police officer in Southern California. In 1985, her decision to apply to the FBI ended her first marriage, to a man who mistakenly thought that Monroe’s “feminist determination to succeed in law enforcement would yield over time to a woman’s natural desire to bear children and mother them above all else.” When she began her training at Quantico, she met a fellow agent who would become her “second and permanent husband.” While posted in Tampa, she went undercover as an aerobics instructor to investigate some “New York Mafia types,” and one case, a triple homicide, affected her deeply. Consequently, she joined the Behavioral Science Unit, “one of the Bureau’s truly elite units,” focused on serial homicide. BSU, housed in a “dismal subterranean” office at Quantico, was immortalized in The Silence of the Lambs , and Monroe coached Jodie Foster for her role as Clarice Starling. “Hannibal Lecters were our daily diet (no pun intended),” writes Monroe. “We saw echoes of him constantly—through in-person interviews we conducted, by studying their victims’ remains, and by poring over case studies of earlier serial killers to hone our understanding.” The author is clear about the determination it took to thrive in the “male-driven and male-defined world of the FBI.” She makes no bones about the challenges she faced, nor does she shy away from describing the “psychological toll” of the job. Refreshingly, Monroe injects some humor amid the descriptions of pure evil. While the narrative occasionally drifts into hodgepodge territory, the author is an affable narrator, and her career accomplishments need no embellishment.
Fans of true crime will find much to enjoy in this absorbing chronicle of criminology.
A shot of pure adrenaline for true crime fans, this vivid, fast-paced memoir charts the barrier-breaking career of its remarkable author: a real-life Clarice Starling whose work as the only female member of the FBI’s fabled Behavioral Science Unit demonstrated that a woman could be just a coolly competent and tough-minded as any man.
author of The Serial Killer Files Harold Schechter
"Jana Monroe is the single most influential woman to ever serve in the FBI. . . . This book is about great, sometimes horrifying cases and the scary people who walk among us, but it’s also the memoir of a great woman, a great human, and a great friend who has helped to define what is possible in law enforcement but few will ever achieve."
bestselling author of What Every BODY Is Saying Joe Navarro
Getting a phone call from a serial killer is the kind of thing most people would find unsettling. For Jana Monroe, it was just another day at work.
This is a fascinating memoir from a woman who reached the upper ranks of the FBI . . . Monroe is a natural, engaging storyteller whose touches of humility and wry humor temper the horrors she details. Readers will be astonished by the experiences she relates . . .Those with a strong interest in investigative methodology and FBI history will race through Monroe’s striking narrative.”
Former FBI profiler Jana Monroe's fascinating book is in part the story of some of history's most troubling serial killers. But it’s also the story of a smart, capable woman building a career in the male-dominated field of law enforcement. The result is an addictively readable, insightful, and occasionally inspiring book.
bestselling author of The Poisoner's Handbook Deborah Blum
Jana Monroe was an outstanding FBI Agent and leader who made important and long-term valuable contributions to the Bureau. As Director, I was very grateful for Jana’s and her family’s leadership while serving at FBI headquarters.
former director of the Federal Bureau of Investiga Louis J. Freeh