Mass murderers

Students looking for a heart-pounding set of books to read may latch onto the True Crime Library series, with its stories of murder, kidnapping, and terror. The series is remarkably up-to-date, even including information on the Sandy Hook shootings, and while the people featured may be unsavory, the research is solid and thorough. Mass Murderers talks briefly about the typical profile of a mass murderer and then spends most of its pages on detailed descriptions of famous murders. It stretches as far back as 1927 and as recently as Adam Lanza. The maps, photographs, and real-life stories make for compelling reading, with lots of specifics about the methods of combating today's pirates. Each title features photos and case files, and includes good lists for further reading. For better or worse, this series features very few women.--Dove Lempke, Susan Copyright 2010 Booklist

Gr 7-10-Each volume starts with a brief introduction to the subject and places it in historical context. The authors then look at known and notorious figures in the particular area being considered, such as the BTK killer (Serial Killers), the Columbine shooters (Mass Murderers), and the various leaders of al-Qaeda (Infamous Terrorists), while considering the work of law enforcement and government agencies. Notable in these discussions are the history of terrorist organizations and the relationships between governments, not only when fighting terrorists but also when fighting piracy and cartels. All of the books include a boxed case file of the profiled individual and a sidebar with pertinent facts about the main subject. The books have an open format enhanced by many photos and will be accessible to reluctant readers and of interest to students looking for fairly detailed information about crime and criminals. Readers looking for more general information about forensic science would be better served by Melissa Langley Biegert's "Crime Solvers" series (Capstone).-Betsy Fraser, Calgary Public Library, Canada (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.