Book review: The Road to Murder: Why Driving Is the Occupation of Choice for Britain’s Serial Killers
| Author | Laura Adams |
| Published date | 01 March 2018 |
| Date | 01 March 2018 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0264550517752750a |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
observed, ‘good stories’ help to make the issues ‘more readily comprehensible (and
emotionally resonant) to the wider public’ (p. 124). At the same time, there are
good reasons for practitioners to be protective of their clients given the reliance on
gender stereotypes when selecting and presenting stories. Media, Politics and
Penal Reform appears to have been written primarily for an academic audience;
it will appeal to those interested in policy-making, for whom the punishment of
women is an illustrative case study, as well as those with specific interests in female
offenders and penal reform.
References
Corston J (2007) The Corston Report. London: HMSO.
Women in Prison (2017) The Corston Report: Ten Years On. London: Women in Prison.
The Road to Murder: Why Driving Is the Occupation of
Choice for Britain’s Serial Killers
Adam Lynes
Waterside Press; 2017; pp. 266; £22.50; pbk
ISBN: 978-1909976375
Reviewed by: Laura Adams, Probation Officer, National Probation
Service (SW)
Arguably, this book is both thought-provoking and resourceful with the intentions to
aid and supportthose measuring and investigating the behavioursof serial killers. The
fundamentalpurpose of this literature is to identifythe significance of the occupational
camouflage of Britain’s serial killers to date. It is an amalgamation of the criminal
and psychological theoretical frameworks which objectively offers insight into the
occupation of choice relating to the case studies of different serial killers.
The introduction to this book sets the scene, giving a history of how serial killers
have been socially constructed through film and media. This study of such a micro
offender group is an interesting read in how a serial killer is distinguished from a
murderer who kills more than one victim, defined by both time and space between
each murder. Using a predefined search field, data was collected from conven-
tional means such as crime accounts, court transcripts and newspapers. Due to the
profile and associated behaviours of serial killers, interviews were not used in the
commission of this research as it was assessed that such data would not be reliable
due to the level of deviance with this offender group.
Chapters 2, 3 and 4 offer insight into the theoretical frameworks utilized, from
the sociological approach to the psychodynamic perspective. The occupation of
choice for serial killers is assessed linking the personality to the employment. Factors
include the transience of an occupation such as driving, which offers solace, a lack
of supervision, and the potential to commute across vast distances. Chapter 4
identifies the choice of theoretical framework. Out of preference the research
Book reviews 107
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