Just as Deadly
The Psychology of Female Serial Killers

A riveting scientific account of why and how female serial killers commit murder—and often get away with it.

Marissa A. Harrison (Author)

9781009158206, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 February 2023

280 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.2 cm, 0.59 kg

'Just as Deadly: The Psychology of Female Serial Killers firmly establishes Dr Marissa Harrison as the preeminent authority on the female serial killer. As an evolutionary psychologist, Dr Harrison brings a much-needed perspective to understanding the inner workings of a subset of serial murderer who have been underacknowledged for centuries. To gain such insight, Dr Harrison compiled decades' worth of data and discerned the who, what, when, where, why, and how related to female serial murderers by giving attention not only to their lives and crimes but also to the often misunderstood psychosocial and behavioral drives behind their motivation. Dr Harrison's research proves how ill-equipped typologies are to classify female serial murderers, given that those systems were designed by men who were interested only in the mindset of the male serial sexual killer. Among other important findings, Dr Harrison draws an interesting distinction between the victim acquisition tactics of both genders: female serial murderers maintain a 'gatherer' style, while their male counterparts adhere to their 'hunter' nature. Just as Deadly is a welcome and necessary addition to the small but growing body of literature that scrutinizes age-old preconceptions about serial murder.' Enzo Yaksic, author of Killer Data: Modern Perspectives on Serial Murder

You've heard of Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy. But have you heard of Amy Archer-Gilligan? Or Belle Gunness? Or Nannie Doss? Women have committed some of the most disturbing serial killings ever seen in the United States. Yet scientific inquiry, criminal profiling, and public interest have focused more on their better-known male counterparts. As a result, female serial killers have been misunderstood, overlooked, and underestimated. In this riveting account, Dr. Marissa A. Harrison draws on original scientific research, various psychological perspectives, and richly detailed case studies to illuminate the stark differences between female and male serial killers' backgrounds, motives, and crimes. She also emphasizes the countless victims of this grisly phenomenon to capture the complexity and tragedy of serial murder. Meticulously weaving data-based evidence and insight with intimate storytelling, Just as Deadly reveals how and why these women murder—and why they often get away with it.

Preface
1. Introduction: what is a serial killer?
2. Why are we interested in serial killers?
3. The lives in female serial killers (FSKs)
4. Mental health and substance use among FSKs
5. FSK crimes and outcomes
6. FSK motives and profile
7. Comparing FSKs and MSKs: backgrounds and mental illness
8. Comparing FSKs and MSKs: crimes and victims
9. The behavioral neuroscience of serial murder
10. Pyschosocial factors that make a serial murderer
11. Evolutionary and converging perspectives of serial murder
12. Our understanding of serial killers evolves.

Subject Areas: Popular psychology [VSP], Physiological & neuro-psychology, biopsychology [JMM], Criminal or forensic psychology [JMK], Crime & criminology [JKV], True crime [BTC]