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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Serial Killers at the Movies in Books
Apr 28, 2022
72 of 230
Kindle
Serial Killers at the movies
By Christopher Berry-Dee
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bestselling author, Christopher Berry-Dee, talks to the serial killers whose wicked stories have most thrilled and fascinated us at the movies and, through far-ranging and disturbing interviews, he tells the stories of the mass murderers who provided the inspiration for some of cinema's most shocking films.
This was a very interesting read I’m enjoying reading his opinions and his outcomes on research. There are certain a few films from this to add to the list and also some to rewatch with new eyes.
Kindle
Serial Killers at the movies
By Christopher Berry-Dee
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bestselling author, Christopher Berry-Dee, talks to the serial killers whose wicked stories have most thrilled and fascinated us at the movies and, through far-ranging and disturbing interviews, he tells the stories of the mass murderers who provided the inspiration for some of cinema's most shocking films.
This was a very interesting read I’m enjoying reading his opinions and his outcomes on research. There are certain a few films from this to add to the list and also some to rewatch with new eyes.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated A Special Place in Hell: The World’s most Depraved Killers in Books
Nov 15, 2021
189 of 250
Book
A Special Place in Hell: The Worlds Most Depraved Killers
By Christopher Berry-Dee
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
Christopher Berry-Dee is the man who talks to serial killers. A world-renowned investigative criminologist, he has gained the trust of murderers across the world, entered their high security prisons, and discussed in detail their shocking crimes. The killers' pursuit of horror and violence is described through the unique audiotape and videotape interviews which Berry-Dee conducted, deep inside the bowels of some of the world's toughest prisons.
Christopher Berry-Dee has collated these interviews into this astounding, disturbing book. Not only does he describe his meetings with some of the world's most evil men and women, he also reproduces, verbatim, their very words as they describe their crimes, allowing the reader a glimpse into the inner workings of the people who have committed the worst crime possible - to mercilessly take the life of another human being.
As compilations go it wasn’t too bad. I got a feeling it wasn’t a book he wanted to write he seemed a little wushu washy in parts of that makes sense. There were a few I’d never heard of in this and that’s why it’s a 3 star instead of a 2 as he seemed quite animated about these select few. I do have a few more of his book in my tbr pile so I will give him an go.
Book
A Special Place in Hell: The Worlds Most Depraved Killers
By Christopher Berry-Dee
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
Christopher Berry-Dee is the man who talks to serial killers. A world-renowned investigative criminologist, he has gained the trust of murderers across the world, entered their high security prisons, and discussed in detail their shocking crimes. The killers' pursuit of horror and violence is described through the unique audiotape and videotape interviews which Berry-Dee conducted, deep inside the bowels of some of the world's toughest prisons.
Christopher Berry-Dee has collated these interviews into this astounding, disturbing book. Not only does he describe his meetings with some of the world's most evil men and women, he also reproduces, verbatim, their very words as they describe their crimes, allowing the reader a glimpse into the inner workings of the people who have committed the worst crime possible - to mercilessly take the life of another human being.
As compilations go it wasn’t too bad. I got a feeling it wasn’t a book he wanted to write he seemed a little wushu washy in parts of that makes sense. There were a few I’d never heard of in this and that’s why it’s a 3 star instead of a 2 as he seemed quite animated about these select few. I do have a few more of his book in my tbr pile so I will give him an go.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Perfect Child in Books
Dec 29, 2023
208 of 235
Kindle
The Perfect Child
By Lucinda Berry
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Christopher and Hannah are a happily married surgeon and nurse with picture-perfect lives. All that’s missing is a child. When Janie, an abandoned six-year-old, turns up at their hospital, Christopher forms an instant connection with her, and he convinces Hannah they should take her home as their own.
But Janie is no ordinary child, and her damaged psyche proves to be more than her new parents were expecting. Janie is fiercely devoted to Christopher, but she acts out in increasingly disturbing ways, directing all her rage at Hannah. Unable to bond with Janie, Hannah is drowning under the pressure, and Christopher refuses to see Janie’s true nature.
Hannah knows that Janie is manipulating Christopher and isolating him from her, despite Hannah’s attempts to bring them all together. But as Janie’s behavior threatens to tear Christopher and Hannah apart, the truth behind Janie’s past may be enough to push them all over the edge.
This was so good and a so upsetting. How many warning signs do you need? The girl and her mother were failed on so many levels by those we are supposed to rely on for help that it caused a ripple affect of damage. Really good read.
Kindle
The Perfect Child
By Lucinda Berry
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Christopher and Hannah are a happily married surgeon and nurse with picture-perfect lives. All that’s missing is a child. When Janie, an abandoned six-year-old, turns up at their hospital, Christopher forms an instant connection with her, and he convinces Hannah they should take her home as their own.
But Janie is no ordinary child, and her damaged psyche proves to be more than her new parents were expecting. Janie is fiercely devoted to Christopher, but she acts out in increasingly disturbing ways, directing all her rage at Hannah. Unable to bond with Janie, Hannah is drowning under the pressure, and Christopher refuses to see Janie’s true nature.
Hannah knows that Janie is manipulating Christopher and isolating him from her, despite Hannah’s attempts to bring them all together. But as Janie’s behavior threatens to tear Christopher and Hannah apart, the truth behind Janie’s past may be enough to push them all over the edge.
This was so good and a so upsetting. How many warning signs do you need? The girl and her mother were failed on so many levels by those we are supposed to rely on for help that it caused a ripple affect of damage. Really good read.
Ross (3282 KP) rated Christopher Robin (2018) in Movies
Aug 27, 2018
Great coming-of-age story of leaving behind childish things (a la Toy Story 3), weighed up with the perils of growing up (responsibilities and prioritising work over family). Christopher Robin leaves the Hundred Acre Wood to grow up and somehow loses his way as the stresses of adult life take hold.
I really hated the trailer for this film, thinking it looked like they'd taken the plot of The Smurfs or Paddington and just swapped in the different characters. It really didn't do it justice as this is not your average CGI creatures madcap adventures in the real world film. There are real poignant moments in the Hundred Acre Wood before any of the toys have really made it to the real world. Also I did not like the look of Pooh, he seemed just wrong on so many levels. But as with any 2D character, nothing 3D will quite look right and you soon become to like him and appreciate his facial expressions.
Ewan McGregor is OK as Christopher Robin (though interesting that he somehow lost his North English accent as he grew up), though is somehow neither truly believable as the curmudgeon nor as the eventual (spoiler alert) happy, funloving Dad.
The cast of the Hundred Acre wood seem quite familiar to me, as Jim Cummings continues his reign as Pooh and Tigger, but we (briefly) have Peter Capaldi (doing an impression of Gary Oldman) as Rabbit and Toby Jones as Owl.
Enjoyable cameo appearances from Mackenzie Crook and Matt Berry in one scene.
Some real poignant moments at the start of the film, but this wasn't reflected in the finale as that was not as emotive as it could have been.
Not really a film for under-10s, more for the older children, who ironically may think it is more babyish than it really is (my eldest is 10 and was refusing to go and see it but I think she enjoyed it more than her younger siblings).
I really hated the trailer for this film, thinking it looked like they'd taken the plot of The Smurfs or Paddington and just swapped in the different characters. It really didn't do it justice as this is not your average CGI creatures madcap adventures in the real world film. There are real poignant moments in the Hundred Acre Wood before any of the toys have really made it to the real world. Also I did not like the look of Pooh, he seemed just wrong on so many levels. But as with any 2D character, nothing 3D will quite look right and you soon become to like him and appreciate his facial expressions.
Ewan McGregor is OK as Christopher Robin (though interesting that he somehow lost his North English accent as he grew up), though is somehow neither truly believable as the curmudgeon nor as the eventual (spoiler alert) happy, funloving Dad.
The cast of the Hundred Acre wood seem quite familiar to me, as Jim Cummings continues his reign as Pooh and Tigger, but we (briefly) have Peter Capaldi (doing an impression of Gary Oldman) as Rabbit and Toby Jones as Owl.
Enjoyable cameo appearances from Mackenzie Crook and Matt Berry in one scene.
Some real poignant moments at the start of the film, but this wasn't reflected in the finale as that was not as emotive as it could have been.
Not really a film for under-10s, more for the older children, who ironically may think it is more babyish than it really is (my eldest is 10 and was refusing to go and see it but I think she enjoyed it more than her younger siblings).
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated Inside the Mind of Jeffrey Dahmer: The Cannibal Killer in Books
Mar 12, 2022
Jeffrey Dahmer is one of the serial killers that I didn’t know too much about and this book was definitely a revelation. It takes you through from Dahmer being born right up to his death and a lot of the in between.
I’ve never read this author before but am aware of some of his other books and I think that this book was a good one to start with. I liked that we delved into Dahmer’s childhood and found some possible triggers from there but also that the author reinforced that not every child that suffers a specific trauma in their childhood becomes a serial killer, as I think it is important that the reader is reminded of this each time.
I also liked how there was a chapter for each of the victims and also in the appendix there were the charges in more detail for each victim too. Far too often when reading or watching documentaries about serial killers their victims are glossed over and forgotten while their killer’s name is remembered.
There were a few things that I disliked about this book, the main one being the whole chapter that seemed to be dedicated to slagging off psychiatrists and psychologists. While psychology is not an exact science and different people in the profession can come to different conclusions, I feel that the author spent too many pages trying to prove his point. I also felt that a lot of contempt for the profession was coming through in the writing, which, as somebody who wants to become a psychologist, is not something that I appreciated. I understand that everyone has their opinion on it, but I felt that far too much time was spent trying to get his point across.
There were also a few mistakes that made it hard to make sense of a few things, I understand that it has only just been published and there will be a few mistakes (there was a repeated word in a sentence that wasn’t needed) but when it is an obvious mistake with a date (in the Anthony Hughes chapter it says that he was last seen on 24th September 1991 and then 2 chapters below it says that his family were notified of his death on 5th July 1991) it makes for very confusing reading.
I also found that a lot of the time Christopher Berry-Dee referred to the book written by Brian Masters, I’m unsure if this was only because he hasn’t spoken to Dahmer in person while Masters did but at times I felt like I should have just picked up his book instead. I also found that sometimes the author seemed to boast about which serial killers he had met in real life when he didn’t need to.
Overall, I liked the humour in the book and found the writing style easy to get on with. It wasn’t a pleasant book (what book about a serial killer is?) but it was well written. I would pick up other books by this author in the future. Thank you to The Motherload book club on Facebook for the opportunity to win this book in a giveaway and the publisher Ad Lib for my copy!
I’ve never read this author before but am aware of some of his other books and I think that this book was a good one to start with. I liked that we delved into Dahmer’s childhood and found some possible triggers from there but also that the author reinforced that not every child that suffers a specific trauma in their childhood becomes a serial killer, as I think it is important that the reader is reminded of this each time.
I also liked how there was a chapter for each of the victims and also in the appendix there were the charges in more detail for each victim too. Far too often when reading or watching documentaries about serial killers their victims are glossed over and forgotten while their killer’s name is remembered.
There were a few things that I disliked about this book, the main one being the whole chapter that seemed to be dedicated to slagging off psychiatrists and psychologists. While psychology is not an exact science and different people in the profession can come to different conclusions, I feel that the author spent too many pages trying to prove his point. I also felt that a lot of contempt for the profession was coming through in the writing, which, as somebody who wants to become a psychologist, is not something that I appreciated. I understand that everyone has their opinion on it, but I felt that far too much time was spent trying to get his point across.
There were also a few mistakes that made it hard to make sense of a few things, I understand that it has only just been published and there will be a few mistakes (there was a repeated word in a sentence that wasn’t needed) but when it is an obvious mistake with a date (in the Anthony Hughes chapter it says that he was last seen on 24th September 1991 and then 2 chapters below it says that his family were notified of his death on 5th July 1991) it makes for very confusing reading.
I also found that a lot of the time Christopher Berry-Dee referred to the book written by Brian Masters, I’m unsure if this was only because he hasn’t spoken to Dahmer in person while Masters did but at times I felt like I should have just picked up his book instead. I also found that sometimes the author seemed to boast about which serial killers he had met in real life when he didn’t need to.
Overall, I liked the humour in the book and found the writing style easy to get on with. It wasn’t a pleasant book (what book about a serial killer is?) but it was well written. I would pick up other books by this author in the future. Thank you to The Motherload book club on Facebook for the opportunity to win this book in a giveaway and the publisher Ad Lib for my copy!