Journey into Darkness

By: John E. Douglas, Mark Olshaker

Narrated by: Danny Campbell

New York Times bestselling author of Mindhunter John Douglas reveals more unique cases from his time as head of the FBI’s elite Investigative Support Unit.

In Mindhunter, John Douglas—who headed the FBI’s elite Investigative Support Unit—told the story of his brilliant and terrifying career tracking down some of the most heinous criminals in history. Now, in Journey into Darkness, Douglas profiles vicious serial killers, rapists, and child molesters. He is straightforward, blunt, often irreverent, and outspoken, but takes pains not to glorify any of these murderers. Some of the unique cases Douglas discusses include:

-The Clairemont killer
-The schoolgirl murders
-Richmond’s first serial murderer
-The brutal and sadistic murder of Suzanne Marie Collins
-Polly Klaas’s abduction and murder by Richard Allen Davis
-The tragedy that lead to the creation of Megan’s Law

With Journey into Darkness, Douglas provides more than a glimpse into the minds of serial killers; he demonstrates what a powerful weapon behavioral science has become. Profiling criminals not only helps to capture them, but also helps society understand how these predators work and what can be done to prevent them from striking again. Douglas focuses especially on pedophiles and child abductors, fully explaining what drives them, and how to keep children away from them. As he points out, “The best way to protect your children is to know your enemy.” He includes eight rules for safety, a list of steps parents can take to prevent child abduction and exploitation, tips on how to detect sexual exploitation, basic rules of safety for children, and a chart, based on age, which details the safety skills children should have to protect themselves.

Journey into Darkness continues the perilous trip into the psyche of the serial killer, but also offers a glimmer of hope that profiling may enable law enforcement to see the indicators of a serial killer’s mind and intervene before he kills, or kills again.

Disturbing,the amount of evil inside of people

This is not a scary or frightening detailing of the vileness of people in society.It is disturbing in the fact that these are real cases.There are real Michael Myers out there and Freddies.

Excellent Peek into the Criminal Mind & Motivation!!!

I L❤️ved the story, the delving into specific cases & the important tips & strategies to safeguard children!! I thought the narrator did a decent job relaying Journey Into Darkness, but it may have been better if he could have paused, or used a bit of a different voice at times to emphasize an important detail or fact. His voice was too like a freight train running 🏃‍♀️
I wish I could talk to the two authors, as I have a lot of questions regarding Ted Bundy... His case interests me the most. Great job!!!

Great content, boring narrator

This book is an experience. At times it got a bit “dark” and I had to turn it off due to how well it depicted the pain of the victims and their loved ones. John Douglas again delivers another book that is not an entertainment thriller but should also be utilized by parents and anyone working as a social worker.

However the narration is terrible, Danny Campbell sounds as if he is in his last breath and put me to sleep more than once. I wish they had used another narrator otherwise you are better off reading this book yourself instead of listening to it.

Always interesting

I always love John Douglas's books, they're fascinating. He had the most interesting, horrifying job in the world and I'm glad I can be a part of it for a little while. I struggled with this narrator, however. He mispronounced words and names once in a while, and I swear when chapter 12 was recorded he had a cold or a sinus infection as the entire chapter came out stuffy and nasally.

Excellent Writing

Probably one of his best books, unfortunately taken down a notch by the narration. The narrator is talented, but not suitable for this particular book. His voice brought a frailty to an otherwise robust story. Overall, still a solid 4 stars.