The Devil You Know

A SUNDAY TIMES, NEW STATESMAN & IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

A perspective-shattering work into the minds of violent criminals that reveals profound consequences for human nature and society at large.

Serial homicide. Stalking. Arson. Gang crime. Who are the people behind these acts of terrible violence? What are their stories? And what is it like to sit opposite them?

Dr Gwen Adshead is one of Britain’s leading forensic psychologists. She has spent over thirty years providing therapy inside secure hospitals and prisons for violent offenders. Whatever her patient’s crime – serial homicide, stalking, arson – she helps them to better know their minds. Case by case, she takes the reader into the treatment room and reveals the complex and vulnerable humans behind these acts of terrible violence. These are stories of cruelty and despair, but also change and hope. The Devil You Know speaks to our shared humanity and makes the case for compassion over condemnation, empathy over fear.