David Canter's 'Criminal Shadow: Inside The Mind Of The Serial Killer'

How do the police find a single person when there are seven billion people in the world? Before psychological profiling, the police would have only the physical evidence found at the crime scene to analyze. With so little information it can be hard to find the exact person you’re looking for. Through David Canter’s book Criminal Shadow: Inside the Mind of the Serial Killer, a person can see the process a psychologist goes through to find the culprit. His detailed perspective of his own criminal profiling allows the reader to have an in depth understanding of what happens in an investigation and how a profile can be created from little information. When Canter talks to the reader and explains the information, he uses basic vocabulary and simple writing, this allows the reader to grasp the

It gives you a whole new perspective on life and how to look at people. The nice lady you sit next to on the nus could be a serial killer and you wouldn’t even know. It also makes you think about everything you do. How the way you walk or the way you hold your phone can tell so much about you. It also gave me perspective on the importance of detail. If you don’t look close enough and only focus on the big picture you may never solve anything. Vince McFadden states “ Sometimes we cast our net so wide that the fish swim through the holes”(p30 Canter). The quote spoke to me because it is applicable in so many ways. Its important to focus on one thing at a time to make sure you can get everything done correctly but also in the sense of psychology. It shows how these police officers focus on basic things like green eyes, short, comes from abusive family. This information is important but with only this much info how can you narrow down the playing field. Focusing on important things that the criminal leaves behind is what matters. The specific “shadows” they leave at the crime scene is what lets the police catch the