Killing for Company: The Case of Dennis Nilsen

This is a detailed and comprehensive look at one of Britain's most notorious serial killers. I found that Master's really had a fine handle on his subject matter and researched tirelessly both academically and by interviewing Nilsen himself to provide such a detailed account of Nilsen's criminal timeline and motivations. Considering this book was written originally in the 1980s, Masters is sharp with his analysis of psychology, criminology and academic case law to bolster his findings on Nilsen. Many of which are still relevant and sound in those fields of academic study today. This book is ultimately, morbidly fascinating as an academic reference for those who wish to study or are interested in the study of the criminal mind.

Trigger warnings for those that have a sensitive nature. Nilsen's commentary on his murders and the ways in which he disposed of his victims bodies,as well as Nilsen's own sketches of some of the dead bodies at the back of the book make for harrowing and disturbing reading. If you are easily upset or repulsed I would not recommend you read this book.

However I found this book incredibly well written and done in a respectful and sensitive way. Master's had a clear intention with this book which he executed brilliantly(pardon the pun!). Master's structured the chapters clearly and elaborated very articulately on the points he wanted to address. While Master's points of conclusion aren't concretely accurate or without some faults, this book started the conversation on a wider area of study still being mined today. A very impressive book to add to the criminology and criminal profiling cannon.

Thank you to the author, Random House UK and Netgalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.