
A Killer by Design
Murderers, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher the Criminal Mind
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Narrated by:
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Gabra Zackman
About this listen
A vivid behind-the-scenes look into the creation of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit and the evolution of criminal profiling, written by the pioneering forensic nurse who transformed the way the FBI studies, profiles, and catches serial killers.
Lurking beneath the progressive activism and sex positivity in the 1970 to '80s, a dark undercurrent of violence rippled across the American landscape. With reported cases of sexual assault and homicide on the rise, the FBI created a specialized team - the “Mindhunters”, better known as the Behavioral Science Unit - to track down the country's most dangerous criminals. And yet narrowing down a seemingly infinite list of potential suspects seemed daunting at best and impossible at worst - until Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess stepped on the scene.
In A Killer by Design, Burgess reveals how her pioneering research on sexual assault and trauma caught the attention of the FBI, and steered her right into the middle of a chilling serial murder investigation in Nebraska. Over the course of the next two decades, she helped the budding unit identify, interview, and track down dozens of notoriously violent offenders, 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 others. As one of the first women trailblazers within the FBI’s hallowed halls, Burgess knew many were expecting her to crack under pressure and recoil in horror - but she was determined to protect future victims at any cost. This book pulls us directly into the investigations as she experienced them, interweaving never-before-seen interview transcripts and crime scene drawings alongside her own vivid recollections to provide unprecedented insight into the minds of deranged criminals and the victims they left behind. Along the way, Burgess also paints a revealing portrait of a formidable institution on the brink of a seismic scientific and cultural reckoning - and the men forced to reconsider everything they thought they knew about crime.
Haunting, heartfelt, and deeply human, A Killer by Design forces us to confront the age-old question that has long plagued our criminal justice system: “What drives someone to kill, and how can we stop them?”
©2021 Ann Wolbert Burgess and Steven Matthew Constantine (P)2021 Hachette BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“Of all the colleagues I’ve worked with, Ann is one of the sharpest - and one of the toughest. Ann’s behind-the-scenes work had a profound impact on the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit, since she taught us how to harness the chaos of serial killers’ minds and helped us decipher the undecipherable. I’d recommend that everyone read A Killer by Design, not only is it a great page-turner, but it’s about time Ann’s story was heard.” (John E. Douglas, former FBI criminal profiler and best-selling author of Mindhunter)
“My career was shaped after reading the seminal text on sexual homicide co-authored by Dr. Ann Burgess - one of the original Mindhunters. Now, in A Killer by Design, Burgess shows how she helped refine the criminal profiling process, with an acute eye for detail and heartwarming compassion for the victims. This book has quickly become a permanent fixture on my bookshelf and is a must-read for anybody who wants to understand the history of exploring the predator's mind. Burgess is truly a hero in the fight against evil.” (Paul Holes, FBI Task Force officer, retired cold case investigator, and cohost of Jensen and Holes: The Murder Squad podcast)
“Countless investigators and detectives around the world do work every single day that is based on the research and discoveries of Dr. Ann Burgess - myself included. But here, for the first time, we are able to experience the fascinating - and often heart-wrenching - stories behind these facts, figures, and procedures alongside Ann as she worked the cases that would serve as the foundation of criminal profiling. This is a riveting book and will become a staple on the shelves of both experts, and armchair detectives.” (Sarah Cailean, criminal behaviorist)
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A boy vanishes on his way home from school. His frantic mother receives a ransom call: pay or else. It’s only hours before the deadline, and the police have no leads. Enter Timothy Blake, an FBI consultant with a knack for solving impossible cases but whose expertise comes at a price. Every time he saves a life, he takes one, trying to satisfy an urge he fears he can only control for so long. And this time Blake may have met his match. The kidnapper is more cunning and ruthless than any he’s faced before.
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Off kilter kind of mystery...
- By shelley on 06-19-18
By: Jack Heath
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The Great Successor
- The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un
- By: Anna Fifield
- Narrated by: Olivia Mackenzie-Smith
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Anna Fifield reconstructs Kim's past and present with exclusive access to sources near him and brings her unique understanding to explain the dynastic mission of the Kim family in North Korea. The archaic notion of despotic family rule matches the almost medieval hardship the country has suffered under the Kims. Few people thought that a young, untested, unhealthy, Swiss-educated basketball fanatic could hold together a country that should have fallen apart years ago. But Kim Jong Un has not just survived, he has thrived.
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Great book
- By WPD on 06-26-19
By: Anna Fifield
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This Idea Is Brilliant
- Lost, Overlooked, and Underappreciated Scientific Concepts Everyone Should Know
- By: John Brockman
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Charles Constant
- Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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As science informs public policy, decision making, and so many aspects of our everyday lives, a scientifically literate society is crucial. In that spirit, Edge.org publisher and author of Know This, John Brockman, asks 206 of the world's most brilliant minds the 2017 Edge Question: What scientific term or concept ought to be more widely known?
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Condensed Brilliance in Digestable Chunks
- By Andrew on 02-15-18
By: John Brockman
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Conviction
- The Untold Story of Putting Jodi Arias Behind Bars
- By: Juan Martinez
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Juan Martinez, the fiery prosecutor who convicted notorious murderess Jodi Arias for the disturbing killing of Travis Alexander, speaks for the first time about the shocking investigation and sensational trial that captivated the nation. Through two trials, America watched with bated breath as Juan Martinez fought relentlessly to convict Jodi Arias of murder one for viciously stabbing her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, to death.
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Never Understood His Questioning Technique Before
- By Dennis on 02-22-16
By: Juan Martinez
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Little Things
- Why You Really Should Sweat the Small Stuff
- By: Andy Andrews
- Narrated by: Andy Andrews
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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The Little Things embodies Andy Andrews' own approach to life and work, detailing for the first time some of the exclusive material that he uses to teach and coach some of the most successful corporations, teams, and individuals around the world. In his unique humorous style, Andy shows how people succeed by actually going against the modern adage "don't sweat the small stuff". By contrast, Andy proves that it is in concentrating on the smaller things that we add value and margin.
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A homerun for Andy!!
- By JustDisGuy on 03-11-17
By: Andy Andrews
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The Spy Who Knew Too Much
- An Ex-CIA Officer’s Quest Through a Legacy of Betrayal
- By: Howard Blum
- Narrated by: Steve Hendrickson
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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On a sunlit morning in September 1978, a sloop drifts aimlessly across the Chesapeake Bay. The cabin reveals signs of a struggle, and “classified” documents, live 9 mm cartridges, and a top-secret “burst” satellite communications transmitter are discovered aboard. But where is the boat’s owner, former CIA officer John Paisley? One man may hold the key to finding out. Tennent “Pete” Bagley was once a rising star in America’s spy aristocracy, and many expected he’d eventually become CIA director.
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The, too long, story of an obsession
- By Tony on 10-30-22
By: Howard Blum
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The Other Talent
- The Curiously Complex Role of Mental Health in Athletic Greatness and Why It's Never Too Late to Harness Your Potential
- By: Matt Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Gregory Abbey
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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On the playing field, natural talent isn’t enough—there’s a mental component that determines whether athletes win the race or wipe out before the finish line. But what separates standout sports stars from the rest? In a paradigm-shifting new theory, acclaimed sportswriter Matt Fitzgerald identifies two key traits behind athletic success: strict self-regulation over thoughts and emotions and an unquenchable psychological need to pursue victory—even when it means enduring extreme mental and physical suffering.
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Excellent
- By CC Coach Mike on 12-18-24
By: Matt Fitzgerald
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The Quiet Room: A Journey out of the Torment of Madness
- By: Lori Schiller, Amanda Bennett
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Gregory Abbey, Cheryl Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Moving, harrowing, and ultimately uplifting, Lori Schiller's memoir is a classic testimony to the ravages of mental illness and the power of perseverance and courage. At 17, Lori Schiller was the perfect child - the only daughter of an affluent, close-knit family. Six years later she made her first suicide attempt, then wandered the streets of New York City dressed in ragged clothes, tormenting voices crying out in her mind. Lori Schiller had entered the horrifying world of full-blown schizophrenia.
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Mental Health Care in America
- By Dee Garza on 02-29-20
By: Lori Schiller, and others
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Hurts So Good
- The Science and Culture of Pain on Purpose
- By: Leigh Cowart
- Narrated by: Leigh Cowart
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Masochism is sexy, human, reviled, worshipped, and can be delightfully bizarre. Deliberate and consensual pain has been with us for millennia, encompassing everyone from Black Plague flagellants to ballerinas dancing on broken bones to competitive eaters choking down hot peppers while they cry. Masochism is a part of us. It lives inside workaholics, tattoo enthusiasts, and all manner of garden variety pain-seekers.
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I can't recommend this highly enough
- By K. Reay on 12-10-21
By: Leigh Cowart
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The Devil You Know
- Stories of Human Cruelty and Compassion
- By: Gwen Adshead, Eileen Horne
- Narrated by: Gwen Adshead
- Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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What drives someone to commit an act of terrible violence? Drawing from her thirty years of experience in providing therapy to people in prisons and secure hospitals who have committed serious offenses, Dr. Gwen Adshead provides fresh and surprising insights into violence and the mind. Through a collaboration with coauthor Eileen Horne, Dr. Adshead brings her extraordinary career to life in a series of unflinching portraits.
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Extraordinary book about the power of an outstanding psychiatrist
- By Lucy D on 10-29-24
By: Gwen Adshead, and others
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The Secret War
- Spies, Ciphers, and Guerrillas, 1939-1945
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 30 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Spies, codes, and guerrillas played unprecedentedly critical roles in the Second World War, exploited by every nation in the struggle to gain secret knowledge of its foes, and to sow havoc behind the fronts. In The Secret War, Max Hastings presents a worldwide cast of characters and some extraordinary sagas of intelligence and resistance, to create a new perspective on the greatest conflict in history.
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Better read than listened to
- By B. In -t Veld on 03-25-17
By: Max Hastings
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Synchronicity
- The Epic Quest to Understand the Quantum Nature of Cause and Effect
- By: Paul Halpern
- Narrated by: Jeff Hoyt
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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By 100 years ago, it seemed clear that the speed of light was the fastest possible speed. Causality was safe. And then quantum mechanics happened, introducing spooky connections that seemed to circumvent the law of cause and effect. From Aristotle's Physics to quantum teleportation, learn about the scientific pursuit of instantaneous connections in this insightful examination of our world.
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Good enough for lay audience, but lacks depth
- By James S. on 10-12-20
By: Paul Halpern
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Expert Witness
- The Weight of Our Testimony When Justice Hangs in the Balance
- By: Ann Wolbert Burgess, Steven Matthew Constantine - contributor
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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For decades, when criminal cases of the most unprecedented nature went to trial, one woman took the stand to separate truth from fiction. Expert Witness is the extraordinary story of forensic and psychiatric pioneer Dr. Ann Burgess—inspiration for Hulu’s forthcoming docuseries Mastermind—and how she revolutionized what it means to be an expert witness in the American court system. Written through Burgess’ singular lens of compassion and lived experience, Expert Witness pulls back the curtain on some of the biggest cases in the last thirty years.
By: Ann Wolbert Burgess, and others
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Jellyfish Age Backwards
- Nature's Secrets to Longevity
- By: Nicklas Brendborg
- Narrated by: Joe Leat
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Recent advances in medicine and technology have expanded our understanding of aging across the animal kingdom, and our own timeless quest for the fountain of youth. Yet, despite modern humans living longer today than ever before, the public’s understanding of what is possible is limited to our species—until now. In this spunky, effervescent debut, the key to immortality is revealed to be a superpower within reach.
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Interesting for the non-scientist
- By Andrew Lim on 03-31-23
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Between Breaths
- A Memoir of Panic and Addiction
- By: Elizabeth Vargas
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Vargas
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Beloved former ABC 20/20 anchor Elizabeth Vargas reveals her alcohol addiction and anxiety disorder in a shockingly honest and emotional memoir. From the moment she uttered the brave and honest words, "I am an alcoholic," to interviewer George Stephanopoulos, Elizabeth Vargas began writing her story, as her experiences were still raw. Now, in Between Breaths, Vargas discusses her accounts of growing up with anxiety—which began suddenly at the age of six when her father served in Vietnam.
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Brave and Beautiful
- By LAFalls on 09-14-16
By: Elizabeth Vargas
What listeners say about A Killer by Design
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Mosey1989
- 04-14-23
Love Ann Burgess!
Great to finally get the woman’s perspective on serial criminals! Best book I’ve listened to this year!
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- KK
- 04-09-24
Knowledgable
I liked everything about the book! Love Anne Burgess she's very knowledgeable. Her work is very important to the future victims and helping these killers caught!
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- Nancy Farley
- 02-17-25
Ann Burgess is such an inspiration
This is a solid read for anyone curious about Ann Burgess or the criminal minds.
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- Melissa
- 01-09-22
Highly informative
Digging deep into the psychology of serial killers, Ann Burgess is an intuitive and educated scholar. I will be listening to this again and taking notes.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Dr. B
- 07-29-23
Excellent book by v smart scholar
The only thing I didn’t like was the narrator going into her “man voice”. The late Ressler and John Douglas’s voices aren’t even like that (I’ve heard Douglas lecture) so the dragnet voicing was just silly
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- ttwalsh
- 02-04-24
Excellent Nonfiction Book!
This was a well-written and extremely interesting depiction of the process involved in profiling serial killers today. Also, well narrated! Highly recommend!
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- Tia Steffen
- 01-06-22
If you like mind hunter- you will enjoy this
Best True Crime Book of the Year
It covered some of the same BAU cases from Mind Hunter etc but from a female perspective. Highly recommend.
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- Suzanne Grunenwald
- 12-31-22
An interesting listen.
Greatly read and written. Fantastic in compliment to John Douglas fans books if you enjoy them.
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- Kimberly G
- 02-25-23
Great Stories
I became interested in the book when I heard an interview with Burgess and Constantine, and I was so excited to read/hear it for myself. The narrator was distracting, though. One piece that bothered me is that they sound nothing like Burgess, in affect or personality.
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- Camille
- 06-19-23
Humility. Not so much.
Clearly, the author is brilliant, but the arrogant tenor ("I told her to leave the room") the redundant bragging--detracts from an otherwise excellent piece of work.
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