DANGEROUS INSTINCTS

A retired FBI profiler teaches you how to steer clear of psychopaths, con artists and other assorted evildoers.

O’Toole’s crime-fighting expertise has helped crack some of the most heinous murder and abduction cases in U.S. history. But the author is the first to admit she couldn’t correctly peg a real-life serial killer just by looking at him. To do that, she has always employed a clear, cerebral-based methodology, ruthlessly jettisoning anything even remotely resembling a “sixth sense.” Her first order of business is demonstrating (through blood-curdling case references) just how faulty our everyday assessments of people generally are, which will leave many readers relieved that the odds of actually encountering a serial killer are similar to being struck by lighting. However, writes the author, there are still plenty of other villains out there intent on doing harm. Crooks, connivers and crackpots of all stripes know how to put targeted victims at ease with the right words, disarming them with charm and never hinting at their true colors until it’s too late. The author's learned counsel has been proven right consistently, but her mode of instruction is often tedious; readers will hardly enjoy constantly being told that they’ll learn this or that vital piece of information in a subsequent chapter. Regardless of the stilted prose, O’Toole’s profiling system should prepare readers to uncover the disturbing behavior and attitudes of all the people in their lives.  Beneficial though chilling course in personal safety.