Not for the squeamish, this story is about a teenager who suffers a traumatic brain injury and develops mood swings and intense anger as a result of the accident. He also develops an affinity for the minds of serial killers, writing to them in jail and trying to find out if they are like him. Filled with gory details, such as the man who made sandwiches out of his victims, this book will shock you. I"m not that easily shocked, so really, the only thing that filled me with wonder was the entire family, sitting around the table, opening and reading these letters from prison. Totally not "The Wonderful World Of Disney".

As for "unlocking" the secrets of the murderers, I'm not sure how much of that really was done. The killers told many stories, and there may have been a body or two dug up, but we find out just what we had really known all along; these men and women are sociopaths, incapable of feeling remorse, and evil to the core. That's no secret. ( )

Gave it fifty pages but the combination of the "put thoughts in someone's mind" style of nonfiction writing and the contextless lurid excerpts from murderers' letters was too much for me. ( )

For the subject matter and level of gore, this novel was oddly uplifting. Some of the things these men wrote and said to Tony in the later parts of the novel were amazing and advice that oddly enough, all of us can take to heart. The problem was that within this book Joe Methany recounts tales of the women he killed in graphic detail. If you have a queasy stomach you won't be able to read those letters, I admit that I had to take breaks in between them because they got too gory for me and I want to investigate these things for a living! If you have any interest in serial killers this biography of a boy may not seem overly interesting, but it is for you. If you aren't interested in serial killers, but are in brain trauma and recovery this book is still for you. I feel that just about anyone can take away something positive from this book where a young man suffers from a tragedy, but learns to turn it into a gift. ( )

The Serial Killer Whisperer: How One Man's Tragedy Helped Unlock the Deadliest Secrets of the World's Most Terrifying Killers by Pete Earley

★★★

At age 15 Tony Ciaglia would suffer a horrific brain injury that would forever change his life. The once vibrant, popular high-schooler would become a reclusive, suicidal, obsessive, angry teenager prone to outbursts and forgetfulness. In his urge to find a hobby and keep himself busy he started writing serial killers (NOT at 15 I should point out but as an adult), just to see how they ticked (with his parents approval and strict supervision – this is still the rule now that he is 35 and still being cared for by his parents). It would change his life and many around him. He started questioning his own mental issues and if he somehow correlated with these brutal killers and would use the killers information in hopes of uncovering cold cases.

This is not a book for the squeamish. There are unedited letters throughout this book that go into quite the detail and are VERY graphic – including murder, rape, necrophilia, cannibalism, etc. I am not even overly squeamish but chose to read this book only in the day, not right before bed. The pregnancy dreams would have been terrifying I’m sure. Most of the murderers in this book are quite famous for their heinous crimes. You can look up any of these killers and easily get information on their deeds – this book just goes into further detail. If you like true crime books with all the gory details, you may like this book. As mentioned this book, not all letters written by the killers are 100% true. They are known for their exaggerations and it’s obvious they enjoy keeping it up in these letters, This book is a mix of biography on killers, biography on one suffering TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), and the letters between them.
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It's hard to rate this book because it's so horrific at times and yet so fascinating. I was personally as interested in the brain injury and its repercussions as in the serial killers. I too have wondered what makes serial killers tick, and that question is answered here. Hopefully, through Tony's work more cold cases will be solved.