Twisted Minds: A True Account of Serial Killers from Around the World

True crime fanatics, have you ever wondered how the minds of notorious serial killers work? What drives them to commit heinous acts and behave in an antisocial manner? Why are these individuals irresistibly drawn to a life of crime?

These questions have haunted forensic psychologists, criminologists, and armchair detectives alike. Experts who analyse criminals’ psyche believe there are some common socio-psychological elements associated with serial offenders. Could it be their family environment, a childhood trauma, or a mental disorder that influences their unfathomable violent behaviour? Or is the answer darker still—a convergence of fractures, for any single theory to contain?

In Twisted Minds, the author traces the darkly fascinating lives and crimes of some of history’s most notorious criminals. This meticulously researched book attempts to decode the complex mind and behaviour of these individuals. ?

Each chapter is a deep dive into the motives, modus operandi, and psychology of everyday individuals: neighbours, colleagues, and other strangers who walk among us.

The book chronicles 20 killers and traverses diverse geographies: from the quiet college towns of California to the bustling streets of Bangkok, and from the pavements of Mumbai to the windscoured fields of Iran.

Among others, you will meet the charismatic outlaw Charles Sobhraj, also known as the ‘Bikini Killer’; the brilliant Ed Kemper, aka the ‘Co-Ed Killer’, who killed his own mother; Colombia’s ‘Monster of the Andes’ Pedro Alonso López, who confessed to murdering over 300 young girls across three countries; and Iranian serial killer Hoshang Amini, who decapitated his victims.

Drawing from chilling testimonies, astute psychological insights, and sharply reconstructed events, Twisted Minds is a must-read for anyone brave enough to stare into the abyss and curious to learn about the lives of some of the worst predators of our times.

Anisha Dutta is a reader, traveller, and dog mom who is drawn to quiet places, lingering questions, and untold stories. A BTech graduate with a master's from IIM Udaipur and Purdue University, she has worked across marketing and creative writing, with a deep fascination for psychology and criminology. Storytelling has always been her truest compass.

Her debut novel, Embers for None, explores the silent spaces between people and the quiet persistence of grief. Twisted Minds, her first non-fiction book, channels her lifelong curiosity about the human mind into its most demanding form.