A Killer by Design: Murderers, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher the Criminal Mind
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- Create Date：2022-02-12 06:52:24
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Ann Burgess
- ISBN：1802790829
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Summary
A behind-the-scenes look at the creation and development of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit， written by the pioneering forensic nurse who transformed the way the FBI studies， profiles， and catches serial killers
Directly beneath the progressive activism and sex positivity of the 1970s， a dark undercurrent of violence rippled across the American landscape， resulting in the alarming rise of sexual assault and homicide cases nationwide。 Under a shroud of secrecy， the FBI created a specialized， top-secret team-the Behavioral Science Unit-to track down the country's most dangerous and violent criminals and bring them to justice。 But narrowing down a seemingly infinite list of potential suspects seemed daunting at best and impossible at worst-until Dr。 Ann Burgess stepped on the scene。
In A Killer By Design， Burgess reveals-for the first time-how her pioneering research into the assessment and treatment of trauma and sexual abuse victims caught the attention of the FBI， and launched her right into the middle of a pivotal murder investigation in Nebraska。 As the brilliant mind behind the now common practice of criminal profiling， she teamed up with the BSU and helped them identify， trace， and interview hundreds of terrifying serial killers and notoriously violent criminals， including Ed Kemper （"The Co-Ed Killer"）， Dennis Rader （"（"BTK"）， Henry Wallace （"The Taco Bell Strangler"）， Jon Barry Simonis （"The Ski-Mask Rapist"）， and many more。
Featuring never-before-seen interview transcripts and crime scene drawings， A Killer By Design pulls us directly into the investigations as Burgess experienced with them， providing readers with unprecedented insight into the minds of these deranged killers， the victims they left behind， and the agents who were forced to reconsider everything they thought they knew about crime。 As one of the first female consultants for the FBI， this memoir also sheds light on the evolving culture of not just the agency itself， but the criminal justice system nationwide。 Thanks to her keen observations and invaluable intuition， Burgess became one of the most sought-after experts， male or female， in a male-dominated field， breaking through the bureaucratic glass ceiling and clearing the path for generations of talented women to follow in her wake。
Combining a riveting personal narrative of fearless feminism and ambition， bone-chilling encounters with real-life monsters， and a revealing portrait of our ever-evolving criminal justice system， A Killer By Design will inspire， terrify， and enlighten you in equal measure-and begs the question， "What drives someone to kill， and how can they be stopped？"
Directly beneath the progressive activism and sex positivity of the 1970s， a dark undercurrent of violence rippled across the American landscape， resulting in the alarming rise of sexual assault and homicide cases nationwide。 Under a shroud of secrecy， the FBI created a specialized， top-secret team-the Behavioral Science Unit-to track down the country's most dangerous and violent criminals and bring them to justice。 But narrowing down a seemingly infinite list of potential suspects seemed daunting at best and impossible at worst-until Dr。 Ann Burgess stepped on the scene。
In A Killer By Design， Burgess reveals-for the first time-how her pioneering research into the assessment and treatment of trauma and sexual abuse victims caught the attention of the FBI， and launched her right into the middle of a pivotal murder investigation in Nebraska。 As the brilliant mind behind the now common practice of criminal profiling， she teamed up with the BSU and helped them identify， trace， and interview hundreds of terrifying serial killers and notoriously violent criminals， including Ed Kemper （"The Co-Ed Killer"）， Dennis Rader （"（"BTK"）， Henry Wallace （"The Taco Bell Strangler"）， Jon Barry Simonis （"The Ski-Mask Rapist"）， and many more。
Featuring never-before-seen interview transcripts and crime scene drawings， A Killer By Design pulls us directly into the investigations as Burgess experienced with them， providing readers with unprecedented insight into the minds of these deranged killers， the victims they left behind， and the agents who were forced to reconsider everything they thought they knew about crime。 As one of the first female consultants for the FBI， this memoir also sheds light on the evolving culture of not just the agency itself， but the criminal justice system nationwide。 Thanks to her keen observations and invaluable intuition， Burgess became one of the most sought-after experts， male or female， in a male-dominated field， breaking through the bureaucratic glass ceiling and clearing the path for generations of talented women to follow in her wake。
Combining a riveting personal narrative of fearless feminism and ambition， bone-chilling encounters with real-life monsters， and a revealing portrait of our ever-evolving criminal justice system， A Killer By Design will inspire， terrify， and enlighten you in equal measure-and begs the question， "What drives someone to kill， and how can they be stopped？"
Reviews
BAM Endlessly Booked
，
This was excellent！ But there are sooo many trigger warnings。 Serious warnings。 It’s very open， honest， and in your face。 But I was so glad to have a BSU book that didn’t focus on John Douglas。 Or wasn’t written by John Douglas。 Very hard to come by since he’s such a sell out。
Heidi Potenza
，
This book was like taking a peek behind the curtain of what goes into hunting the hunters aka serial killers。 Ann Wolbert Burgess was a pioneer in the movement to understand deviant human behavior through the point of view of the victims of serial offenders。 She basically used reverse psychology along with her team of coworkers at the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit to learn about profiling and then teach it。 The team's work led to much of the process that is still used today。 Her insights into th This book was like taking a peek behind the curtain of what goes into hunting the hunters aka serial killers。 Ann Wolbert Burgess was a pioneer in the movement to understand deviant human behavior through the point of view of the victims of serial offenders。 She basically used reverse psychology along with her team of coworkers at the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit to learn about profiling and then teach it。 The team's work led to much of the process that is still used today。 Her insights into these killers， what made them tick and how the victimology related to their violence was interesting。 Without being salacious， Ann presents their techniques and findings methodically。 What amazed me the most is how Ann could distance herself from the personal and view these cases as data points to be analyzed to understand trends。 Not that she is uncaring - just the opposite。 She was the first woman to actually become involved with all of this psychological profiling。 Fascinating read！ 。。。more
Ian
，
As you would expect from a book with chapters like "Patterns of Dismemberment，" there were some really unpleasant bits。 However， it was really fascinating to learn about how profiling got its start and the people involved with it。 I also think it struck the right balance of discussing crimes， and the criminals behind them， without sensationalizing individual serial killers。 As you would expect from a book with chapters like "Patterns of Dismemberment，" there were some really unpleasant bits。 However， it was really fascinating to learn about how profiling got its start and the people involved with it。 I also think it struck the right balance of discussing crimes， and the criminals behind them， without sensationalizing individual serial killers。 。。。more
Dave Chrisstoffels
，
Not at all what I expected 。 Don’t get me wrong ，it’s a good read ，however I found it to be more of a autobiography rather that the science involved in forensics and profiling。 Lot of people loved this book ，for me it as more of a like 。
Brittany McCann
，
Incredibly well-written and perfectly paced。 This book is a wonderful example of spectacular editing and writing。 Ann Wolbert Burgess gives her own account of the FBI's BSU （behavioral Science Unit）。 Having gotten into the MindHunter's show， it was great to see her voice is now joining those of her male counterparts。 It is great to have the female side of looking at things in a different perspective。 Ann seemed to be more affected by the violent crimes inflicted upon women， especially those invo Incredibly well-written and perfectly paced。 This book is a wonderful example of spectacular editing and writing。 Ann Wolbert Burgess gives her own account of the FBI's BSU （behavioral Science Unit）。 Having gotten into the MindHunter's show， it was great to see her voice is now joining those of her male counterparts。 It is great to have the female side of looking at things in a different perspective。 Ann seemed to be more affected by the violent crimes inflicted upon women， especially those involving rape。 This is just one more angle into psychoanalyzing killers and coming up with ways to identify culprits in local communities。 Worth a read， if this is a topic you are interested in。 It reads in a narrative flow。5 Stars。 。。。more
Scott
，
"[Serial killers] were often genuinely unable to explain why they killed。 They didn't have the answers， but this didn't mean their actions lacked cause。 They killed for a reason - and I was going to figure out that reason。" -- the author， on page 128I was mostly unfamiliar with the work of author Ann Wolbert Burgess - an accomplished forensic / psychiatric nurse who was part of the FBI's now-renowned Behavioral Science Unit （a。k。a。 the criminal profilers） from its rocky inception in the late 197 "[Serial killers] were often genuinely unable to explain why they killed。 They didn't have the answers， but this didn't mean their actions lacked cause。 They killed for a reason - and I was going to figure out that reason。" -- the author， on page 128I was mostly unfamiliar with the work of author Ann Wolbert Burgess - an accomplished forensic / psychiatric nurse who was part of the FBI's now-renowned Behavioral Science Unit （a。k。a。 the criminal profilers） from its rocky inception in the late 1970's until she departed for other work-related opportunities approximately 20 years later - prior to her career memoir A Killer by Design。 However， I did recall seeing her name before as she co-authored - along with notable FBI agent-profilers John Douglas and Robert Ressler （oft-credited with coining the term 'serial killer'） the textbook Sexual Homicide Patterns and Motives in 1993。 And speaking of the retired agent Douglas， Dr。 Burgess' memoir is reminiscent of his string of analytical bestsellers （including Mindhunter， Journey Into Darkness， and The Anatomy of Motive） that he churned out starting in the mid-90's。 However， Dr。 Burgess brings something a little new to the table with her book - she was initially the only woman affiliated with the unit （although the agents treated her well）， and she had a bit of outsider status at first because she was not a duly authorized law enforcement agent。 Burgess was requested to assist with various FBI investigations - which were showing an escalating number of rapes connected with murder sprees - due to her years of experience / background with sexual assault-based trauma and offenses。 She has crafted a straightforward yet still very readable true crime book， and I especially liked in a concluding chapter that she expressed disgust with the increasing lionization or celebrity status of serial killers starting in the late 20th century。 。。。more
Elizabeth
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Starts out with a list of taggers so this might not Be for those who have problems。 The author brings to live how the BAU works （ or as she calles it the BSU）， and how the Mindhurts as some people would come to call them came to be。She also talks about how her research helped bring to life the way they and the people know work the cases 。
Melanie
，
If you have read （or watched） Mindhunter this is a very similar story。 This is interesting but really nothing new。
Mam
，
Fascinating！ The author was instrumental in developing a body of knowledge about motives and methods of murderers that assisted law enforcement personnel in apprehending them and stopping the carnage。 I'm sorry they haven't been able to stop all of it。 Fascinating！ The author was instrumental in developing a body of knowledge about motives and methods of murderers that assisted law enforcement personnel in apprehending them and stopping the carnage。 I'm sorry they haven't been able to stop all of it。 。。。more
Cynthia Nicola
，
If you loved the Mindhunter series on Netflix， read this book！ This is Dr。 Ann Wolbert Burgess's story and how she became involved with the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit。 It is an overlapping story and she speaks well of the two FBI agents she worked alongside。 If you loved the Mindhunter series on Netflix， read this book！ This is Dr。 Ann Wolbert Burgess's story and how she became involved with the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit。 It is an overlapping story and she speaks well of the two FBI agents she worked alongside。 。。。more
BookStarRaven
，
A Killer by Design by Ann Burgess and Steven Matthew Constantine is a must-read for any true crime lover。 Ann Burgess was part of the original team of profilers at the FBI。 More importantly， she was one of the only women involved in profiling at the time。 If you’ve watched or read Mindhunter， this is an excellent companion book。 While there are similar cases in this book as in Mindhunter， I appreciated hearing Ann’s unique perspective。 I also appreciated hearing her firsthand experiences as a wo A Killer by Design by Ann Burgess and Steven Matthew Constantine is a must-read for any true crime lover。 Ann Burgess was part of the original team of profilers at the FBI。 More importantly， she was one of the only women involved in profiling at the time。 If you’ve watched or read Mindhunter， this is an excellent companion book。 While there are similar cases in this book as in Mindhunter， I appreciated hearing Ann’s unique perspective。 I also appreciated hearing her firsthand experiences as a woman working with the FBI in the 1970’s。I would recommend this book to any true crime lover or fan of Mindhunter。Trigger Warning: violence， murder， kidnapping， sexual assault， domestic abuse， sexism/misogyny， racism， and mental health。 。。。more
Steve Ellerhoff
，
Professor Burgess's stories about helping the FBI develop criminal profiling of dangerous people from the '70s into the '90s are interesting for many reasons。 This book takes us chronologically through milestones in the work she did with the Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico， by way of the cases that helped refine the process they developed。 It's an interesting peek behind the curtain for anyone curious about how profiling came to be and stages in its development。 What I find most enlightening Professor Burgess's stories about helping the FBI develop criminal profiling of dangerous people from the '70s into the '90s are interesting for many reasons。 This book takes us chronologically through milestones in the work she did with the Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico， by way of the cases that helped refine the process they developed。 It's an interesting peek behind the curtain for anyone curious about how profiling came to be and stages in its development。 What I find most enlightening here， however， are her descriptions of being the only woman on the team and the shifts in the culture at the FBI。 。。。more
Sarah
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Interesting history， but not well organized， lots of repeated information， and geeze this lady has an inflated sense of her self and work。 I don't trust a lot of her conclusions because it was so 。。。 self congratulatory。 Interesting history， but not well organized， lots of repeated information， and geeze this lady has an inflated sense of her self and work。 I don't trust a lot of her conclusions because it was so 。。。 self congratulatory。 。。。more
Amy
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the topic was interesting but unfortunately it was too dark for me （sad）
Michele Smith
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For fans of the Netflix series Mindhunters。 Ann Wilbert Burgess provides her perspective of the creation of the FBIs Behavioral Science Unit。
Karrie S
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My Hero。 This is what I should have done with my Nursing degree and life。
Laura
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I made a compromise with myself and updated this book to a 2 star rating， because it was competently written。 I'm a fan of psychology and I particularly enjoyed reading other books about criminal behavior。 I expected some memoir combined with science about an inspirational woman profiler working with the FBI to break ground。 That's not what I got。 Because I abandoned this book at the 70% mark I feel confident in giving it a review。Here are the reasons why this book angered me and made me abandon I made a compromise with myself and updated this book to a 2 star rating， because it was competently written。 I'm a fan of psychology and I particularly enjoyed reading other books about criminal behavior。 I expected some memoir combined with science about an inspirational woman profiler working with the FBI to break ground。 That's not what I got。 Because I abandoned this book at the 70% mark I feel confident in giving it a review。Here are the reasons why this book angered me and made me abandon it:- Disruptive authorial intrusion meant to congratulate the author: I expect indeed that a person working in this field needs to be tough and resilient。 So the author made sure we understood how unfazed she was。 She constantly tells us how she was being 'tested' by the agents and how she passed the tests。 It sounded more like she lacked empathy however。 Another problem: some of 'tests' are clearly not tests， but the author congratulating themselves again。 For e。g。: the author woke up at 6 am after a short night sleep while at Quantico because the firing range opened at 6 am and the noise woke her up。 The author concludes: the agents tested her to see if she's resilient。 Real conclusion: the firing range opened at 6 am。 Whether she complained or not。 And not even asking if she can get a room somewhere further from the range is just illogical self-torture。 Operating on too little sleep means being less cognitively competent the next day。 Science says so。 Way to congratulate a toxic system just so that the 'boys' can see our female author as one of them。 （PS: If a male author had been going on and on about how he passed brutal tests I'd have quit the book even sooner。 This is not the type of writing I want to read， but I kept hoping the female perspective will bring something new and raw。）- Exaggerated appraisal of the importance of her work: we have one chapter where the author interviews a young child and gets her to draw the abduction of her friend。 The author tells us those drawings and states that this interrogation was crucial to catching the killer。 We are then walked through the history of how the killer was caught。 The little girl's contribution is so minor it's not even mentioned。 If the contribution was more significant， then the author failed to clarify this。 If not， this sounded like more self-lip service。 The work should have been impressive enough that exaggerations were not necessary。 - The science is never properly explained: the author tells the agents early in their collaboration that they need to conduct their interviews in a scientific manner。 How where some scientific hypothesis generated？ How where they tested？ Why does one behavior means this and not that？ I understand an element of gut feeling is required at the beginnings of a field， but this sounded like pure guess work。 - Bad science not even addressed: polygraph tests？ Bite marks？ Yes， they are discussed as if they are key， reliable， investigational methods。 Except， whoops， they've come under so much scrutiny that convictions are now being overturned when such methods were used。 This made me again doubt the scientific accuracy of the author's conclusions。- What about those moments when profiling failed spectacularly？ Well， at the 70% mark they had not yet been properly addressed。 There were only two cases given that presumably had baffled the profilers， but a clear explanation as to a） how far the predictions deviated from the truth， b） what lessons were learned is not given。 。。。more
Chloe
，
Really four stars， but she deserves extra credit for highlighting the roles of women， the ways in which they are overlooked or blamed for the crimes of others， and the fact that they are most always the victim of crime。 This is a super smart book written by a super smart woman。
Casey
，
Ann Wolbert Burgess is the trailblazing woman who led groundbreaking research on sexual assault and trauma and created the FBI’s approach to investigating serial killers。 In this book， she describes how the Behavioral Science Unit built its methodology to the art and science of criminal profiling。I appreciated how Burgess gave historical context about the FBI and spoke to her experience as a woman in the field。 At the time， FBI agents didn’t learn about sexual violence because men “didn’t get it Ann Wolbert Burgess is the trailblazing woman who led groundbreaking research on sexual assault and trauma and created the FBI’s approach to investigating serial killers。 In this book， she describes how the Behavioral Science Unit built its methodology to the art and science of criminal profiling。I appreciated how Burgess gave historical context about the FBI and spoke to her experience as a woman in the field。 At the time， FBI agents didn’t learn about sexual violence because men “didn’t get it。” What？！She also points out how disturbing it is when serial killers are glorified as cultural icons。 Burgess always keeps the victims at the heart of her work and fought against harmful misconceptions around sexual violence。While much of this is conceptual about profiling and the author’s experience， it also describes several true cases。 You should know this includes graphic detail about violent crimes and consider that before reading。I did a mix of the physical and audio。 I would recommend both if you’d like to learn about a pioneering woman， criminal profiling， an a touch of history about the FBI。 。。。more
John
，
Dr Ann Wolbert Burgess documents the development of the Behavioral Science Unit （BSU） at the FBI。 The team she worked with were pioneers of criminal profiling。 There work in helping understand serial killers helped police catch them。 The examples of Kemper， BTK， unabomber and others were interesting in the methodology they developed。 Disorganized versus organized killers and studying the victims。 It seems to me that since the BSU began advances in DNA analysis， CCTV and using mobile phone locati Dr Ann Wolbert Burgess documents the development of the Behavioral Science Unit （BSU） at the FBI。 The team she worked with were pioneers of criminal profiling。 There work in helping understand serial killers helped police catch them。 The examples of Kemper， BTK， unabomber and others were interesting in the methodology they developed。 Disorganized versus organized killers and studying the victims。 It seems to me that since the BSU began advances in DNA analysis， CCTV and using mobile phone location have all helped。 Yet， serial killers still escape。 Here in the UK Dr Harold Shipman murdered 250 elderly people。 He only got caught when he forged a will of one of his victims。 Yes， up to 250 victims。 It raises the question in any country in the world how many doctors are doing similar murders。 He did not fit the profile of a serial killer。 Though profiling is excellent it is a tool and there will be exceptions。 Police in the US during the 70s， 80s and 90s also were unable to solve the crimes until many victims had been murdered。 The Unabomber was caught due to his brother recognizing his prose in a article newspapers published from him。 Profiling will always have limitations although it is a valuable tool in detection and hopefully prevention。 。。。more
Rachel Dean
，
Fascinating， I loved hearing her perspective and thought process。 If you enjoy true crime/psychology it’s definitely worth the read。
Jas Merrick
，
It was okay， started strong but starts to drag in the back third。 Too much repetition。
Brittany
，
As a lover of Criminal Minds， I knew I would like this。 Ann does an amazing job telling the story of how the BSU came to be， while using cases from her time at the FBI。 A little disturbing， and a lot interesting， this is absolutely for True Crime lovers out there。
Naomi
，
10/5 Stars！ What a phenomenal listen this was by the #BossBabe of the BSU of the FBI。 My gosh this book was such a treat。 Do yourselves a favor and grab the audiobook version。 The voice actor did a spectacular job bringing this book to life。 Then。。。listen to the author on Jensen and Holes podcast。
Jennifer
，
I really enjoyed this one。 It's one of the few books I've read that actually focus on the victims as opposed to the killer。 I really enjoyed this one。 It's one of the few books I've read that actually focus on the victims as opposed to the killer。 。。。more
PottWab Regional Library
，
SM
Kristen Kellick
，
I received an ARC as a GR giveaway over the summer of 2021。The ARC was a bit uneven in pacing at times， but overall provided a fascinating look at the development of criminal profiling， with some at times graphic examples。 No images or photos were included， and that’s frankly as it should be。 The authors also attempt to give the victims some degree of privacy; however， with the full names of the killers included， it was fairly easy to find the related information on Wikipedia。If you’re curious a I received an ARC as a GR giveaway over the summer of 2021。The ARC was a bit uneven in pacing at times， but overall provided a fascinating look at the development of criminal profiling， with some at times graphic examples。 No images or photos were included， and that’s frankly as it should be。 The authors also attempt to give the victims some degree of privacy; however， with the full names of the killers included， it was fairly easy to find the related information on Wikipedia。If you’re curious about criminal profiling， or a true crime fan， I would definitely recommend。 It might also give you some food for thought: WHY are you fascinated in these subjects？ 。。。more
Joan Nehls
，
I loooove true crime。 But this was so all over the place。
Megan
，
I would recommend this to any fans of Mindhunter。 This is written by the woman who inspired the character of Wendy Carr。 This is a behind the scenes look at how the Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI gained credibility。 It also explores how Ann Wolbert Burgess' research and deep interest in victims， particularly those of rape， caught the attention of the FBI。 I found it especially fascinating how intensely detailed they could get their profiles - - - they would even predict the type of clothing I would recommend this to any fans of Mindhunter。 This is written by the woman who inspired the character of Wendy Carr。 This is a behind the scenes look at how the Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI gained credibility。 It also explores how Ann Wolbert Burgess' research and deep interest in victims， particularly those of rape， caught the attention of the FBI。 I found it especially fascinating how intensely detailed they could get their profiles - - - they would even predict the type of clothing the un-sub would wear， not to mention their age， occupation， religion， etc。 So incredible how accurate they could be。 Now if only Mindhunter would come back for season 3！ 。。。more
Mary Chipman
，