Devil You Know : Stories of Human Cruelty and Compassion

A SUNDAY TIMES, NEW STATESMAN & IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR'Exceptional.' VAL McDERMID'Extraordinary.' SEBASTIAN FAULKS'Gripping . . .ultimately enlightening.' PHILIPPE SANDS'Fascinating, erudite and beautifully written.' CHRISTIE WATSONA perspective-shattering work into the minds of violent criminals that reveals profound consequences for human nature and society at large. A BBC RADIO 4 and OBSERVER BOOK OF THE WEEK'Deeply moving.' JOANNA CANNON, GUARDIAN'Brilliant . .. a powerful myth buster.' SUNDAY TIMES'Unmissable.' OBSERVER'Shocking and unflinching.' i'Compulsive reading.' MIRRORSerial 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. 'Medical casebook memoirs are one thing: this window into the minds of the darkest criminals of all is another .. . Adshead's compassion is almost as shocking as the offences themselves .. . extraodinary.'JAMES McCONNACHIE SUNDAY TIMES (Books of the Year)'[The Devil You Know] has permanently recalibrated my empathy dial .. . Adshead quietly, humanely shows us that people remain people, despite their actions.'MELISSA HARRISON, NEW STATESMAN (Books of the Year)'A fascinating and deeply humane account of her work with people who have committed violent crime.'MARK O'CONNELL, IRISH TIMES (Books of the Year)'Urgent and invaluable.' DAVID LAMMY'Remarkable .. . suffused with extraordinary compassion.' GAVIN FRANCIS'Compelling .. . stories don't come any richer.' SARAH DUNANT'Meticulous, elegant, provoking.' MARINA CANTACUZINO