Talking with Serial Killers: Sleeping with Psychopaths: A Chilling Study of the Innocent Lovers of Savage Murderers

by Christopher Berry-Dee

Bestselling writer and criminologist Christopher Berry-Dee turns his attention to a new kind of the wives or partners of serial murderers who remained unaware of exactly who they had fallen for until after their other half's arrest or, in some cases, conviction, for multiple murders.

Sonia Sutcliffe first discovered that her husband, Peter, was leading a secret existence as 'the Yorkshire Ripper' only when he was arrested.

The wife of the 'Hillside Strangler' only learned of her husband's crimes when state police smashed down her door in search of him.

On finding out the truth, these innocents often experience a strange kind of guilt for not having recognised the killer in their home, as well as having to face the grim reality of betrayal and deceit.

Christopher Berry-Dee speaks directly to killers and their oblivious loved ones to get inside the minds of the men and women who fall for murderers.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Crime, Audiobook

Audible Audio

Published January 6, 2022

About the author

Chris was a former Royal Marine intelligence officer. He is now a criminologist who has interviewed over 30 serial killers.

Reviews

[Nikola · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful !
It started quite decent but then it just went downhill.
Clearly has not been proof read and it seriously needs it! There is absolutely no structure and there's random stories and information just in middle of chapters that are completely irrelevant.

Book is all over the place, there is actually no evidence or research to back the author up and no actual interviews with the wives or killers. Plenty of repetition, self serving and promoting other books instead. I actually wasted my time. Why mention a killer but not really tell us what they've done because it's in another book - well I'm reading this one aren't I!

Guy is very judgemental about the victims and the way he refers to some women is appalling. Then bragging that he pissed off the locked up killers for his pleasure. Why?

Didn't even end up finishing the book so it must have been very bad because I can't leave any book unfinished. Do yourself a favour and don't waste your time on it! Book is going charity shop...

[Rachael Moriarty · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the book is pretty decent I just want to point out if you actually want to read this there is no actual talking with serial killers or their partners. Very misleading. There are a few quotes from some of them thrown in, but if you are expecting interviews… nope! Sorry! I was very much looking forward to getting to grips with a new book series to read, but after reading the reviews about Christopher Berry-Dee’s other books I’m giving them a miss. Every review I read was about how awful the books are.

Sorry for any fans out there, but if you want to read something gripping from start to finish I would put this one back on the shelf.

[lucy♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

this entire book be like source: trust me bro.

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Christopher Berry-Dee loves the sound of his own voice. He ruins his book by constantly having to inflate his own ego.

[Sally · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t like this. I didn’t like the author’s tone when writing about the people in the book. It also didn’t really look at what it promises it would. I thought the book would be about the people who lived with serial killers, about how they viewed things, interviews with them, etc. It was really more about the killers themselves, a recap of their crimes and modus operandi, and a quick - “how did the person living with them not notice?” Condescending and disappointing. Maybe his other books are better...

[Marge Urquhart · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Imagine calling the wife of a psychologically abusive serial killer, ‘pathologically subservient, dim and gullible’?!

There is so much wrong with this book, from the typos to the blatant victim blaming - but my biggest issue is that the writer states that Ann Rule had a sexual relationship with Ted Bundy. Anyone who knows even a tiny bit about true crime knows this isn’t true. He also attributes her success solely to the book she wrote about this (The Stranger Beside Me) and yet she was a very prominent writer before and after the fact.

I wanted to finish this book out of pure stubbornness, but just couldn’t go on. The writer’s self promotions, random tangents and constant typos were just too much for me. This book feels like a cash grab, created regardless of the feelings of those mentioned in its pages.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to admit I was very disappointed in this book. I have read other books by this author and thoroughly enjoyed them, but this book felt like it missed its mark entirely.

There is very little content about the main focus of the book, the partners of serial killers, but a lot of rehashing of info found in his other books. Each chapter also seems to go off on different tangents and talk about other killers rather than the one the chapter is meant to be about!

This feels a lot like a money-making book rather than enlightening the reader with new insights into serial killers and their lives.

[Kade Hendry · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting book covering several examples of the oddity mentioned in the title: comprehensive look into the mind of those who love or are loved by killers (whether they know it, or not) other than the MANY not so subtle self plugs for the author's other works (seriously, alot) I really enjoyed it. I'm sure his other books are worth reading, I'm just fussy with my marketing I guess.

[Robin :] · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is a jumbled and unsubstantiated account of various killers and their partners - and despite the title, contains no actual "talks" with either the serial killers or their partners. he provides no sources or evidence, EXCEPT for the constant shilling and self promotion of his other books, making one off references to other killers and saying "but I won't talk about them here because I already did in this other excellent book of mine." THIS book (and it appears to be a common issue with Berry-Dee in general) is riddled with grammatical and syntax errors, lazy writing, and clunky narratives. he throws in references to shows, movies, and random quotes - there is no consistent form. there is, however, a large helping of self-serving ego stroking, outdated terms, a dash of misogyny, and heavy tones of victim blaming. the way this is written is wholly unpleasant, lazy, and crudely formatted - clearly not proofread because the man probably believes he is god and doesn't need moses to spell check the ten commandments. honestly, do not waste your time with any of these books, as the issues mentioned above seem to permeate all of his works.

[Samantha Oswald-Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book of course containing interesting, shocking and despicable stories of some of the most disturbing serial killers out there (not recommended to the faint-hearted). what made this book not get a higher rating was the style in which it was written. the chapters seemed jumbled up at times, with different stories getting thrown in the middle of other ones. i just dont think berry-dee’s writing is for me.

[anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

funny & informative as always, best true crime author fr fr 💗

[Miss J Woodward · Rating 2 out of 5]

Misleading title, it appears to be a lazy rehash of previous works. A few quotes thrown in from people who were the partners of, or knew, the killers.

I expected this book to be based on psychology and a proper analysis of criminology. Instead I found this to lack dispassion and be tasteless in parts. I wasn’t surprised when the writer stated he used to work for the Mail.

There is judgement (mainly of women) for their choices, and the author is critical unfairly in certain places. The complexities of situations, especially when women are dependent on men, do not seem to have been contemplated properly.

As someone who has been involved in the criminal justice system, on both sides, I was surprised at some of the comments and opinions within this book, which are not a fair representation and seems to want to take a ‘dig’ at ‘lefties’, for things that are not accurate. It seems that the principles of innocent until proven guilty are not always reflected.

[Victoria Harding · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely terrible! Manages not to explain any of the murders the people are responsible for, and not to actually have any interviews or quotes from the wives or girlfriends of the murderers.

Each chapter is written with a 'if you want to know more about this killer, you can buy the other book I've already written about them' comment. No thanks, I wish I hadn't wasted my money buying this book that you wrote! I didn't even manage to finish this one.

The author also likes to name drop how he's personally spoken to each killer and annoyed them on purpose by sending sarcastic postcards or visited in prison and put his hand on their knee while everyone else was scared of their outbursts.
So self obsessed, the book is more about the author than the subject matter. I'll be avoiding his other books like the plague!

[Paige Cripps · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the new interviews were captivating, the poor grammar and repeating elements of the book ruined the experience. There were lots of mentions of the authors previous books and tangents made some parts hard to follow, especially if the reader lacks knowledge of the specific case.

I enjoyed listening to the POV of the partners but felt there could have been more - the interviews and information directly from the partners was the most interesting. I feel these interviews could have been included in previous book rather than a book dedicated to the alone.

[Heather H · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the overall concept of this book was really interesting, I found that the author often went off on tangents that weren't overly necessary.

I generally watch true crime documentaries and this is the first book I've read on the subject. It was worth reading as it was a different take on these crimes. We don't often think about the people that once loved these psychopaths and the fall out for them after the truth comes out.

[Elleigh Cockroft · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a few spelling mistakes, blatant advertising of other works, and weird kissing up to Russia.

All in all, an enjoyable and informative read.

[Ballari-May Conner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read some of the author's previous works, I was rather looking forward to delving into this book.
As the title suggests, this book is about the partners and spouses of serial killers & murderers, who have mostly all had a horrendous shock to discover their loved ones' heinous crimes.
Each chapter focuses on a different case, and indeed all cases are chilling. Berry-Dee examines the psyches of the partners and spouces- focusing less on the crimes committed by the offenders and more on the absolute nightmare their loved ones abruptly and unwittingly found themselves in the centre of.
I found the case studies fascinating and appreciated an alternative take on victimology, for of course the murdered are victims but so are those duped by the killers examined in this book.
This book was easy to follow and the chapters were not overly long which made for smooth reading as one is not overloaded with information. My only criticism is, compared to his earlier works, the author does express a lot of anger- which is obviously warranted, especially in the cases where he has physically interviewed the killer. However, I found the swearing and insults a little unprofessional- it gave the impression he is very bitter after years of working in this field. In terms of humanity, it is entirely understandable as he is the antithesis of these killers, however in terms of journalistic writing, I found myself slightly taken aback with the verocity of his opinions which are not present in his previous works.
Berry-Dee repeatedly talks about red flags and I feel this is an extremely important message- one can never assume they entirely know somebody, warts and all.
I did enjoy this book, but it's the opinionated writing that loses 2 stars for me as I just wasn't a fan of the swearing.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read! I have had this author's books on my wish list for a long time now, and never got chance to read one, but spotted the latest book in my library and picked it up. It was a fascinating account.

Christopher is a criminologist who has had a long career writing, making documentaries, interviewing, serial killers, sex offenders, murderers and this is just another side of those stories, this time with extracts from interview with the serial killers partners, essentially the message is "Do we really know who we are sleeping next to?" I found it fascinating, although he doesn't go into extreme detail about the offenders, as he has already covered them in his previous books, we do get a background on each crime, and then we read interviews from their partners, after the arrest and how they feel, how they couldn't know what their significant other had done etc.

I think it would be best had I read all the previous books first to gain more of an understand of each offender and their crime, it wasn't completely necessary as he did give an overview, but I would probably have got more benefit having already heard of some of the offenders and their crimes, given that in this book it was based on UK and American offenders, and the American ones I hadn't really heard of as I enjoy True Crime UK and don't really know of anything in America.

It was very well written, and also opinionated in that Christopher asks questions throughout to the reader, and whilst reading you would answer in your mind how you would feel, or how you would think of certain circumstances, this guy has had an impressive career and I'm glad he has put the stories into books we can read about them!

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This book starts well, it's structured well and you feel yourself flying through it...I feel like towards the last end of the book though it changes more from the facts of each partnership to more of the authors opinion. It loses that structure and makes reading it a chore.

The author keeps shoehorning why the partner of the killer should have left after seeing the red flag like it's THAT easy. I felt the same reading this authors book on Jeffrey Dahmer. The opinions aren't needed ALL THE TIME. Especially when you're writing about some of the hellish experiences these people had to go through. It feels like you're trying to blame them for staying when the first red flag arose without acknowledgement of how manipulative their partner actually is or how they've conditioned their partner to accept what's happening to them. Also in the beginning Berry-Dee just kept referring to his other books rather than re-explaining what happened.

Apart from this I found the book, without the needless opinions, very interesting.

[Ellie 🪐 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Christopher Berry-Dee his books are fascinating, I love his bluntness, he doesn’t make serial killers seem cool, he calls them out on their bulls**t, which is something I’ve never seen before, his writing pulls you in, I will buy his books everytime I see them, as someone who has an interesting in the way serial killers think, Christopher Berry-Dee is perfect he understands the interest, he understands the difference that it’s not the serial killers it’s what made them him that makes it interesting, it’s an amazing book and if you haven’t read it and you own I highly suggest you read it because it is fantastic!

[Charlie Morris (Read, Watch & Drink Coffee) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talking with Serial Killers: Sleeping with Psychopaths is certainly an interesting idea as we all wonder how these infamous serial killers carried on living normal lives and how their families never knew. So there was certainly a few fascinating stories to tell here.

However, I didn't feel like quite enough research went into it or that Berry Dee had any of his own input. It felt more like he was merely rounding up a few things that he already knew, whereas I was hungry for more shocking truths.

What I found most interesting, though, was learning about a man called Michael Sams who resided in my hometown of Newark, which is where he kept one of his victims. In my childhood, I was warned not to go down a certain alley, told that a woman was once found down there, hidden in a bin. But I had no idea that what I thought was an urban legend was actually true, so it was amazing to learn about what actually happened and the significance of this story.

Other than that, nothing much really gripped my attention.

[Hulda Rós · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took over a month to get through, skipped the summary. All over the place, a few spelling errors and why start writing a chapter about a specific person the in the middle talk about someone completely different. Author assumes the reader has read and knows everything about all the serial killers so not enough information given. Auther uplifts himself for having been in contact with some of these men and considers himself lucky to have gotten to keep some of their things like cars used to pick up victims in. Can't recommend.

[Between The Pages (Gemma M) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a bit of true crime now and again. This book contains some dark, twisted, sadistic killers. It also looks into how their partners and family did not know what they were up to or how they stayed with their partners after. It's a well researched, in-depth look into many cases both in the UK and USA. All true stories. Convicted. Absolute madness reading about it all when it's real, it happened. Gripping. Informative. Disgusting in parts with what some of them actually managed to do. A well-deserved four stars from me. A perfect read for true crime lovers.

[Tae Cobbold · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is by far the worst book I've ever read. I'm not normally one to comment on the abilities of others to write books as I've never written one myself.
But this. It's full of spelling/grammar mistakes, it repeats the same mundane phrases, it's incredibly judgemental to the victims, and the self promoting rubbish just makes me never want to pick up another book written by him.

It takes a lot to make me want to leave a negative review. I'm just so appalled that this made it into print. I don't even want to donate it to charity for fear someone else will read it. 😬

[Fay Babette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did think this would be more of the partners POV as advertised but it does lean more towards the killers and their crimes.. While important this would of been a brillaint and heartfelt if not factual book if it did stick to the actual partners ignoring the red flags or how they escaped.....

The author collecting his own trophies was strange I.e. the scooter or orange car but the sarcastic letters he wrote to the killers made me chuckle.

[Lacey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. Author clearly likes the sounds of his own voice. Full of basic errors like wrong words in places and plain wrong dates. Very sloppy editing. For example, saying someone was born in 1939 and later saying they got married at the age of 19…in 1961, not possible.

This is the second book I’ve read by the author and the other was just as terrible also. The only saving grace is that I didn’t spend money on either - one was from the library, and the other a gift. Avoid.

[Shelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very interesting subject matter and fascinating at times. The writing style is not great, the book is littered with spelling and grammatical errors. Random stories which are irrelevant seem to be thrown into the middle of chapters. I’m one chapter there was a lot of duplication of content. The author was also very judgemental when the individual was not available to respond or provide explanations.

[Michelle Machin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first true crime book I’ve read and it was slightly disappointing. Full of spelling and grammar errors and not gripping at all.

The author didn’t interview any of the partners as suggested but inputted quotes from other sources. He also went on random tangents.

He was slightly rude about some partners and came across as quite opinionated.

He used the book as a platform to promote all his other books. I didn’t enjoy the style of writing at all

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it a very interesting read, though for non-fiction and given the topic, I did feel the writing style was a little sloppy. Very informal, and in places absolutely distasteful, I was on occasion having to look past the writing to read the message. I was somewhat disappointed by this as he is such a well-respected real life crime author.

[Kemi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn’t wowed by this book. The author felt judgmental which whilst, yh I get it, made him feel bias and I wasn’t sure how much of his opinion was colouring the book. In addition, I don’t think it delved deep enough into potential psyche of certain people, such as those who seek out killers, or the effects of an abuse relationship etc… Also the constant self promoting got on my nerves