The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers by Brian Lane and Wilfred Gregg (July 1995)

An International Guide to Serial Killers
Review by Kim Cantrell

Whether or not you consider Brian Lane and Wilfred Gregg‘s Encyclopedia of Serial Killers is going to depend on reading style.

This 408 page book is a just-the-facts guide to Serial Killers from around the world; including those from the latter part of the Middle Ages to the early 1990s.

The following is my thoughts on this book.  Please remember that some of these points are personal preferences and are included as a reference for those who share the same:

• I personally am not a fan of crime that occurred before 1800.  Fortunately, less than one third (1/3) of the stories are from that particular time frame; most actually being from 1920-1985.




• Call me uncultured, but I prefer domestic dialect.  Reading slang dialect from abroad tends to slow me down; which was the case in this book with the British terms gaol (jail) and flat (apartment).




• Being published in 1995, some of the information about cases (i.e., BTK Killer) is outdated. 




• I was very impressed with Selected Bibliography section of the book which contained references to over 200 true crime books by a host of authors.  I found numerous new books to add to my reading list.

The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers is an okay book.  There’s some interesting tales between the covers.  I’d recommend it most for when short stories are in order, not when you’re looking for a good book to delve into.