Ilene W. Devlin Libri

Imagine how you would feel if you woke up one day and learned that your best friend was the most prolific serial killer in America and most of his victims looked like you. That was the start of a forty-year quest to understand the mind of a killer and friend. The search led to others like him and their dark compulsions. How can they murder multiple human beings without remorse? The Ripper's Children: Inside the World of Modern Serial Killers examines how their murderous drives may originate. Can serial murderers control their killing sprees? Are the causes social, genetic, or biochemical? The book sheds light on the blackest corner of the human mind. This book may cause you to take a closer look at your relatives, friends, and neighbors.

Real life is often more fascinating than fiction. This book of essays presents life growing up in small Midwestern towns from the early 1950s to mid-1960s. People from my small towns had distinct characteristics. They were open, nosy, friendly, helpful, and urged community conformity. My heart will always rejoice in my childhood experiences, which included trying to keep my active imagination entertained and learning to understand the adult world around me. My journey included happiness and sorrow, the spectrum of life that many children encounter. Come explore the mysteries of life through my "Cherry Tree Dares" at age eight, my black eye from "The Chartreuse Monarch" bicycle, and "The Last Kiss" between my mother and me.