Author: James Alan Fox and Jack Levin
ISBN No: 9781 4129 8031
Review date: 06/12/2025
No of pages: 262
Publisher: SAGE
Year of publication:
Brief:
Mass or serial ‘extreme killing’ is the ultimate crime among our species. A new edition of a book goes deeply into this fascinating yet upsetting topic.
Can we understand serial or mass murderers? Should we even try? Are they not ill, paranoid or berserk? Extreme Killing does concentrate on American cases but we have already heard many of them, such as the Virginia Tech and Columbine High School massacres. What makes this book such uncomfortable reading is the range of people who kill others (and often but not necessarily themselves) and their reasons – a twisted love (but a lack of guilt), anger, revenge because of some work grievance, or money. In other words, not plain insanity. Take the case of ‘US Postal Service letter carrier’ Thomas McIlvane who was given the sack and went to his workplace and shot several staff, including the man who had got him the sack. As the authors add: “The bottom line is that the derogatory term ‘going postal’ has outlived the reality.” The book includes the English Dr Harold Shipman. Multiple killers, then, may hold down ‘good’ jobs and have decent backgrounds and not look like killers. The authors steer clear of demonising the killers. As the case studies show, the killers may make threats and pose a risk, and make plans – but how to investigate, and rate their risk to others, and prevent (or cut short) their crime careers? As the authors sum up: “Millions of people with similar biographies and disadvantages do not kill; many go on instead to lead productive lives. Regardless of the biological, psychological, social, and economic hardships they may suffer, multiple murderers generally are capable of making personal decisions as to how and how not to behave.” In other words, killers may be deadbeats, depressed, cult members, copy-cats, or seething from personal slights. Whatever, they make the choice to kill, the same as the rest of us make the choice not to kill. Killers may or may not confess; may or may not lack a conscience. To their credit, while seeking to explain such crimes, the authors are adamant that there is such a thing as guilt – which some academics reviewed on these pages seem unwilling ever to admit.
