“I think you have something here” I said,

“This could lead to a whole new way of understanding criminal behaviour. As far as I know no one’s ever tried to figure out why serial killers kill. The implications are profound.”

Haunting, heartfelt, and deeply human, Dr Ann Burgess’s remarkable memoir combines a riveting personal narrative of fearless feminism and ambition, bone-chilling encounters with real-life monsters, and a revealing portrait of the ever-evolving US criminal justice system. A Killer By Design will inspire, terrify, and enlighten you in equal measure.

It forces us to confront the age-old question “What drives someone to kill, and how can we stop them?”

“Of all the colleagues I’ve worked with, Ann is one of the sharpest – and one of the toughest ... She taught us how to harness the chaos of serial killers’ minds and helped us decipher the undecipherable. I’d recommend that everyone read A Killer By Design; not only is it a great page-turner, but it’s about time Ann’s story was heard” - JOHN E. DOUGLAS, former FBI criminal profiler and bestselling author of Mindhunter.