This is a great collection of true crime stories--some you've heard before and some you never knew. What I truly liked and set this book apart from all other true crime books was the delve into psychology behind the crimes. This was well written, well researched, and full of expertise.

I have been following Emma online for a number of years and have always admired the way she explored serious cases with the dignity they deserve. This book shows Emma's knowledge and expertise, including cases that I hadn't heard of before, it was definitely chilling and makes you wonder about your neighbours more than you may have previously. Overall a very well informed read that I would recommend for anyone interested in true crime and the psychology behind it.

True crime written the way it should be. But....not for the faint of heart.....it would get at least an R in a movie ranking. Killers live among their victims, travel the same roads, shop at the same grocery store. Whole neighborhoods are surprised when they find a killer lives down the street. Emma Kenny writes in a straight forward manner. Each killer is exposed for their crimes and their victims identfied. The discussion on outside influences and childhood traumas as triggers for their horrific crimes is interesting but cringeworthy too. This book is written to be read and shared, starting conversations that could help identify those who would use humans as prey.

I had a hard time with this one. Not because of the subject matter, which I found very interesting, but because of the writing. It felt like a collection of high school essays compiled into a book.
It was written to sound like a lot of opinion and conjecture, and I don’t think it sounded very fact-based. Each telling also was two or more paragraphs too long, rather than a summary the end of each killer’s story felt like she was trying to reach a word-count-minimum and was very repetitive.
I also think it was a big mistake putting the Toy Box Killer and Bundy toward the beginning of the book, TBK being the very first story you encounter. These are some of the most absolutely brutal torturers and killer, and many won’t be able to stomach them. Putting them at the beginning of the book will turn people off of reading the rest, and I think it would’ve been better to put them at the end.

I received a free copy of, The Serial Killer Next Door, by Emma Kenny, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I could not imagine living next door to a serial killer. This book lists serial killers, men and women, who blended into society, lived among us, worked with us, went to church with us, and killed, multiple people. I am not listing the names of the serial killers, because they are not good people. This was a good read.

The facts presented here are accurate. Some may enjoy the dramatic and wordy style the author writes in. There are a couple things I’m uncomfortable with, one is the over emphasis on the traumatic childhoods of many of these serial killers. There are hundreds of thousands of severely abused children in the world today who do not grow up to be serial killers. Shitty parents do not bar someone from happiness.. It seems like there’s some shifting of responsibility here, which is problematic at best. The second is that in the epilogue the author asserts that we can avoid serial killers by being vigilant and aware. Situational awareness is fantastic for personal safety. However, you and I can’t (and shouldn’t) go around expecting to identify accurately who in the community is (might be) a serial killer. That’s as false as claiming that watching Criminal Minds makes you a behavioral profiler. In an already crowded true crime market, there are better things to read.

As a fan of true crime, I absolutely could not put this book down!

I really enjoyed the way this author delved into the psychology behind these heinous killers, but did so in a way that made it easy for the everyday person to understand. And while I had heard of most of these killers before, I had no idea of the things they went through in their own childhoods, not that this excuses their actions by any means, but it certainly provided food for thought. Could any of these crimes have been stopped had they gotten help when they were younger? Or in some cases, not been exposed to the horrific things they were exposed to during their formative years?

One thing that made this book stand out to me, was the fact that the details of these killers did not romanticize them or their crimes in any way, in fact, the author calls out the “rise to fame” of Ted Bundy for that exact reason. I felt they did a really good job at balancing their writing to reflect not only upon the crimes, but also by shining a light on the victims of these horrible tragedies, ensuring that they are not forgotten as simply another victim (in fact there is a whole section in the back of the book dedicated to each and every known soul that was taken at the hands of these ruthless individuals).

A word of warning however, this author does not hold anything back, shining a bright light on the gruesome brutality of these people’s crimes, so if you are squeamish in any way, you might want to give this one a pass. As for me, I look forward to reading more from this author in the future as they continue to study what separates man from monster.

Who have I met that may be a violent criminal, or has committed some sort of equally immoral act? Is it the checker at the grocery story? The old neighbor who was friendly but a little "off"? This is what constantly bounced around my mind as I read Kenny's book. I was familiar with many of the people she has chosen to profile, but what really got to me were the stories of people that I didn't know, the lesser known but equally disturbing killers who, at least for some period of time, was able to pull it off.

The book does not shy away from the details, for some, that may be hard to get past. Rather than see it as exploitative, readers should look at it as an accurate exploration of the killers' actions, helping us to see deeper into their depravity and lack of moralism. If you don't know most of the people in the book, you can read it from cover to cover; but it would equally work to start with the chapters who have more familiarity with and move to those you don't. Don't read it before bed, and I might recommend it not being the greatest vacation read.

I don't feel like I have a better grasp on what exactly makes a serial killer or how to identify one, but I'm not sure that there's any sort of ethical and/or accurate test for that. What Kenny does is seem to imply is that anyone, given the right experiences and opportunities may find themselves down a path of becoming something inhuman

This book read like an encyclopedia, discussing different serial killers in the United States and the U.K. Some stories didn't feel like there was enough information given, and others felt like there was too much information given. These crimes described are gruesome and evil. Instead of glorifying or romanticizing serial killers, it is the victims we should be remembering.

This was a scary concept and worked well overall with the true crime element. Emma Kenny was able to create a unique collection of stories and worked respectfully and was researched well.

304 pages

5 stars

This book details brief biographies of several serial killers and includes their methods. I appreciated that Ms, Kenny included the names of their victims.

Suffice it to say that these people, both men and women, suffered great tragedies in their childhoods. Their crimes are described in “living color,” so to speak, and some readers may be sensitive to such material.

The book is very well written and easy to read. It is not at all dry or inaccessible. I applaud Ms. Kenny for her clear descriptions.

Of course the central question is not answered. For it cannot be. Why do some abused people turn to crime and others do not? We cannot answer this question because we just don’t know.

I like that Ms. Kenny closed her book with a discussion about the indomitable human spirit. It is this resiliency that makes some rise above their childhoods. Nature versus nurture? Perhaps they both play a part. Some abusers start misbehaving at a very early age. Is that nature? For a child who is predisposed to misbehavior, does nurture then play a larger part in the formation of their personality? Interesting question.

I want to very much thank NetGalley and Hachette Book Group - Mobius for forwarding this wonderful book to me so that I may read, enjoy and review it. The opinions cited in this review are solely my own.

interesting set of stories about serial killrs. i am not a huge serial killer fanatic, but i did find this one interesting.

"Would you know if you lived next door to a serial killer?"
The Serial Killer Next Door is taking readers on a journey into the dark side of humanity as we read about the chilling true stories of killers who hide in plain sight. The stories in here are dark and disturbing. I had never heard about most of these killers but one. I look foward to checking out the author's YouTube channel now. This one was written well and is a must read for anyone who likes true crime books. Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for this ARC read in exchange of my honest review of The Serial Killer Next Door by Emma Kenny.

This book was pretty good, but it was not my favorite. It was about serial killers, and it was pretty dark. It was more informative than story like so if that’s what you’re looking for I would recommend it. If you like, listening to true crime, you would also like this book.


Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

A deep dive into some of the most notorious serial killers. Definitely not for the faint of heart (if you recognize the names David Ray Parker and Richard Chase, then you know how bad it gets), but if you enjoy true crime, this book is for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.