I have always, been a lover of true crime. I like to go into the psychological side, of the brain’s of killers.

I had never heard of Edward Rulloff, I’ve also, not heard of the author, Kate Winkler Dawson either. I will be reading more of her books. I would love to listen to her podcast as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it is historical true crime, based on the case of Edward Rulloff who was a complete enigma to all those involved in the case and to members of the public.
It is clear when reading this book, that the author has researched the information for many years
It was noted that Edward was quite a charmer just like Ted Bundy and could talk his way out of most things. He even managed to evade the death sentence.
I also loved the psychology side of the book as I am a psychology undergraduate, and loved looking into the manipulation mind of a monster.
Highly recommended

The formatting for this e-galley made it hard for me personally to read it and I couldn’t make it all the way through as a result though what I did read was certainly compelling.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review**

This title jumped out at me as I had already enjoyed the author's podcast about the same true crime story. It was very interesting to read about the story in more detail than was covered in the podcast.

I was also fascinated in the story's role in the development of neurology and the disproving of strong racial theories of the time.

This is a great read, digested it in one sitting! Such an easy book to follow, and did not want to put it down!

This is the story of Edward Rulloff; charming, intelligent, erudite, a supreme manipulator, & a killer. Introducing himself to William Schutt as a drifter looking for work, the young Rulloff ingratiated himself into the Schutt family & married one of the daughters, Harriet. Their marriage was reportedly tempestuous & the Schutts had become suspicious of Rulloff's behaviour behind the charming smiles, so when Harriet & their baby, Priscilla, both disappeared never to be heard of or seen again, they suspected foul play.

They were not his only suspected victims but Rulloff's ability to discern what the person in front of him wanted to see & hear, allowed him to talk his way out of most things. When he was finally on trial for murder, he devised his own defence so successfully he was acquitted. He was finally brought down when he accompanied two younger men on a burglary & one of the security clerks was shot dead. The second clerk identified & took the stand against Rulloff & he was faced with execution. Even then, he was not done, granting interviews to journalists & doctors from his jail cell to those that he thought would be helpful in proving his mind was to valuable to kill. It took decades for the Schutt family to finally get any kind of justice.

The information about the nineteenth-century beliefs about criminals is fascinating. Evil was believed to manifest itself physically in a person's looks, just as for someone to be declared insane then, it was believed that they had to 'look insane' - a smartly dressed, well-spoken man was unlikely to be declared insane or evil. The book also looks at the nineteenth-century 'science' of phrenology (reading the shape of the head/brain) & the racist connotations of this, before moving forward into the more recent schools of criminal psychology & neuroscience.

I mostly enjoyed reading this but I didn't get the sense of Rulloff being some criminal mastermind. Whilst he was undoubtedly extremely intelligent, in my view a great deal of Rulloff's 'genius', like Jack the Ripper, was down to the luck of committing his crimes before the advent of forensic science & the widespread use of photography. Furthermore, I know doctors in the nineteenth-century had no concept of the character of psychopaths, but it was maddening to read about person after person falling for his schtick. It also became a little repetitive in places. Overall it was interesting but I was left feeling a little disappointed. 3.5 stars (rounded up).

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Icon Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

There's something about the way the author writes that makes the words flow easily, and the pages turn themselves! For all lovers of true crime.

This a fascinating and well researched book. It starts with the story of Edward Rulloff, a serial murderer, and talks about the evolution of criminal profiling and science.
It was a pleasant and informative read.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This interesting piece of true crime Victorian history is not well known which makes this even the more intriguing. Balancing between the crimes of Rulloff and the psychiatric mega force of its day provides and well rounded account of the crimes and the process behind it.

It is interesting how something so horrific would have its basis in forensic psychiatry of today and though there seemed to be some outward ideas around the why there was some that seem to be better at pinpointing this age old question on what makes a serial killer.

The studying of the brain is an interesting idea as they still try to do this today. John Wayne Gacy’s brain was studied for a period of time to see why he did what he did. Although there is never been any proof within the brain on the how and why it is an interesting idea that it is all connected.

Thought provoking, intriguing and down right sickly which is what all great true crime is about and the author gives this that extra punch above the norm. Excellent

I’m a huge fan of Kate Winkler Dawson, having listened to her My Favorite Murder collaboration a few months back on the podcast. This was no exception to what I was expecting. Loved it. Informative, fascinating, educational.

A fascinating and chilling exploration of a historic serial killer and their mind set and psychology.
This covers a lot of subject areas that I’m very interested in including criminal psychology, neurology and history so it ticked a lot of boxes for my at synopsis level and didn’t disappoint thereafter. Not a killer I’d previously heard of so I took extra note and an excellent level of detail from contemporary sources and research this definitely impressed me. There was a lot of subject matter that spanned history to present day including exploring domestic abuse and coercive control and questions of what makes a psychopath and any notable physical characteristics that can present in terms of brain histology.
A very interesting read and I’d definitely recommend.

Compelling, Captivating, Chilling…
An utterly captivating and immersive account of the serial killer labelled “too intelligent to be killed” - Edward Rulloff. The ‘Victorian Hannibal Lecter’ was certainly a vicious, cold blooded killer and once captured scientists of all types were compelled to make the most of the opportunity to study him - more particularly, study his brain. Was Rulloff’s brain the key that held the answers to the apparent complexities of the criminal mind? A compelling and well crafted analysis - chilling and thought provoking. Aficionados of true crime, both historical and contemporary, will be sure to appreciate.

I really enjoy reading true crime books, and All That is Wicked by Kate Winkler Dawson is no exception. Highly recommend that you read this book

Until I came across this book on NetGalley, I had never heard of Edward Rulloff, but the Hannibal Lecter hook in the blurb caught my attention and so, while true crime is not a genre I usually read a lot in, I decided to give it a try. Overall, it was an interesting read. Rulloff was certainly an intriguing figure, and it was also fascinating to hear about the ways different 'experts' of the time attempted to explain him, as a precursor to modern forensic psychiatry and profiling. The story was told in an entertaining way, mingling Rulloff's history with the background and thoughts of those who met and tried to assess him, and when I finished I felt a desire to know more about criminal psychology, so I might check out a few of the books in the bibliography. It gets a solid 4 stars for me and I recommend it to both fans of true crime and those interested in criminal psychology.