Mindhunter

Inside the FBI Elite Serial Crime Unit (Now A Netflix Series)

Mindhunter is a real-life, fascinating insight into the life of a FBI Special Agent, and the minds of the psychologically disturbed serial killers he hunts.

The bestselling true story and inspiration behind the hit Netflix show, looking at how one underfunded FBI team became the first to explore the dark world of serial killers. 
 
 'John Douglas knows more about serial killers than anybody in the world' Jonathan Demme, director of The Silence of the Lambs 
 
 John Douglas is a former FBI Special Agent and expert in criminal profiling and behavioural science. He made a career of looking evil in the eye - and understanding it. No wonder that he was the inspiration for Special Agent Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs, as well as the film's consultant on the reality of serial killers. 
 
 Now in Mindhunter, Dougals explains how he invented and established the practice of criminal profiling, submerging himself in the world of serial killers in a quest to understand why they killed, and to help prevent more innocent lives from being ended by future killers. 
 
 Taking us on the journey of his serial crime unit developing from a derided two-bit operation in a dingy officer to one of the FBI's elite task forces, Douglas discusses some of the most terrible crimes of the age, including those of Jeffrey Dahmer, Charles Manson, Ted Bundy and the Atlanta child murderer. 
 
 With the fierce page-turning power of a bestselling novel, yet terrifyingly true, Mindhunter is a true crime classic. 
 
 
 Praise for Mindhunter: 
 
 ‘John Dougals is the FBI’s pioneer and the master of investigative profiling’ Patricia Cornwell, bestselling crime writer 
 'A cracker of a book' Esquire 
 ‘A must read if you are interested in crime and particularly the criminal mindset.’ ***** Reader review 
 ‘A real-life page-turner’ ***** Reader review 
‘Had me hooked from start to finish’ ***** Reader review 
‘A brilliant insight into serial killers and criminals, I just couldn't put it down!’ ***** Reader review

A frightening look inside the mind of the depraved

John Douglas knows more about serial killers than anybody in the world

Jonathan Demme, Director of The Silence of the Lambs

John Douglas is the FBI's pioneer and master of investigative profiling, and one of the most exciting figures in law enforcement I've had the privilege of knowing

Douglas is a hero for the agonised Nineties: not the action man quick on the draw, but the thinker who dares go into the unexplored badlands of the mind

fascinating… a must if you love criminal loons

truly horrifying and gruesome but gripping

If you enjoy popular crime shows, the many true crime podcasts out there, and want to know what the reality that inspired Netflix’s Mindhunter series, this is the book for you.

John Douglas joined the FBI in 1970, starting his career as a sniper in a SWAT team and progressing on to become a hostage negotiator. In 1977 he transferred to the Behavioural Science Unit (BSU), where he taught applied criminal psychology. He created the FBI's Criminal Profiling Program and led this division of special agents through harrowing and groundbreaking cases, including those behind Anthony Hopkins' role as Hannibal Lecter. Douglas lives with his family in the Washington, DC area. 
 
Mark Olshaker, author of four novels and producer of the Emmy-nominated The Mind of a Serial Killer, lives in Washington DC.

The bestselling true story and inspiration behind the hit Netflix show of how one underfunded FBI team became the first to explore the dark world of serial murderers. 
____________________________________________________________________ 
 
'John Douglas knows more about serial killers than anybody in the world' - Jonathan Demme, director of The Silence of the Lambs 
 
John Douglas is a former FBI Special Agent and expert in criminal profiling and behavioural science. He made a career of looking evil in the eye - and understanding it. No wonder that he was the inspiration for Special Agent Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs, as well as the film's consultant on the reality of serial killers. 
 
Douglas invented and established the practice of criminal profiling, and submerged himself in the world of serial killers in a quest to understand why they killed, and to help prevent more innocent lives from being ended by future killers. 
 
As his serial crime unit developed from a derided two-bit operation in a dingy officer to one of the FBI's elite task forces, Douglas personally confronted the most terrible crimes of the age, including those of Jeffrey Dahmer, Charles Manson, Ted Bundy and the Atlanta child murderer. 
 
With the fierce page-turning power of a bestselling novel, yet terrifyingly true, Mindhunter is a true crime classic. 
____________________________________________________________________ 
'John Douglas is the FBI's pioneer and master of investigative profiling.' - Patricia Cornwell 
 
'A cracker of a book' - Esquire

Mark Olshaker

John Douglas

________________________________ 
THE SHOCKING FOLLOW-UP TO MINDHUNTER, NOW A SMASH-HIT NETFLIX DRAMA 
 
John Douglas is the world's top pioneer and expert on criminal profiling. His lifelong work to understand and combat serial killers is legendary among law enforcement circles. Now, following up on his first book, Mindhunter, Journey Into Darkness delves further into the criminal mind in a range of chilling new cases. 
 
Profiling suspects from OJ Simpson to the Unabomber, and investigating the assassination of John Lennon and the Waco tragedy, Journey Into Darkness explores the crimes of the century – as well as cases you've never heard of – with the peerless eye of one of the FBI's finest. 
 
Douglas, famously the inspiration for Special Agent Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs, reveals the fascinating circumstance of each crime in detail as he explores the larger issues, from crime prevention and rehabilitation to the reasons behind escalating violence in society. A must read for all true crime fans.

John Douglas

Books by John Douglas

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter