Reddit reviews Sex-Related Homicide and Death Investigation: Practical and Clinical Perspectives, Second Edition (Practical Aspects of Criminal and Forensic Investigations)

My reading recommendations include, mainly, a lot of textbooks! Unlike a lot of the true crime novels, I've found that criminal psychology, criminology, victimology, forensics and other academic textbooks and research journals are generally far less sensationalistic than the true crime novels tend to be. Here are some of the ones that I highly recommend. As a side note: they may be textbooks, but they are all highly readable while being incredibly fascinating and enlightening.

Serial Murderers and Their Victims by Eric W Hinkley is a fantastic resource for the latest studies concerning serial murder, focusing on both the perpetrators and the fantasies and compulsions that contribute to their drive to murder, as well as on their victims. Now in its seventh iteration, this text has some of the most up to date statistics on serial killers in the US and worldwide. It's a must-read for anyone interested in serial killers.

Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters by Peter Vronsky is another similarly great book full of real life case studies of serial and spree killers and delves into the motives behind such aberrant behavior.

The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers by Michael Newton has entries on hundreds of convicted serial killers.

Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters by Peter Vronsky explores the rare phenomenon of female serial killers.

Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives by Ressler, Burgess and Douglas is an important and easily-read psychological textbook on the sexual impulses that lead to violence.

Sexual Murder: Catathymic and Compulsive Homicides by Louis B Schlesinger is a similar book by a prominent forensic psychologist.

Sex-Related Homicide and Death Investigation: Practical and Clinical Perspectives, Second Edition: Practical Aspects of Criminal and Forensic Investigations by Vernon J Geberth is a manual for law enforcement professionals investigating sexually-motivated homicides by a renowned former-detective. The images and case studies are directly from the author's archive of case files. I will warn readers that some of the content in this book is highly disturbing, even for I, a person with an interest in the psychology of serial killers. All in all, a fascinating book for those who can stomach it.

Here's a quote from a textbook used by forensic psychologist:
"Sexologists had long dismissed voyeurs and all other fetishists as harmless, shy fellows who seldom if ever were dangerous. However, the fact is that, investigatively speaking, complaints about voyeurism must be treated as very serious offenses. The author cannot state than all voyeurs will become rapists or lust murderers; however, I can emphatically state that, in all of the lust murders that I have investigated, and/or consulted on, the offender had a history of voyeurism activities"