John E. Douglas, the FBI criminal profiler whose work inspired the Netflix show Mindhunter, details the case of Larry Gene Bell, a serial killer who murdered two girls (Shari Smith, 17; and Debra May Hemlock, 9) in South Carolina in the mid-1980s. Douglas shares the details about how he concocted a profile of Bell and how that profile led to his arrest.

The profiling portion of this book is a fascinating look at the meticulous process and the emotional/psychological/situational information the is considered to create these dossiers of killers. Douglas is a master and even the part where he sets up the killer to incriminate himself is especially interesting.

Yet the part that intrigued me most was Douglas's specific experience with the Smith family. His analysis of them also, in a sense, uses his powers of emotional/behavioral assessment to show that while the killer's actions could be predictable those of a very faithful family devastated by unimaginable could not be predicted. Their strength in the face of tragedy was especially commendable.

The prose is propulsive and keeps you interested as law enforcement ferrets out and nails the killer. This true-crime is definitely a standout in the genre.