"In his attempt to understand the nature of his son's psychosis, Lionel Dahmer methodically scrutinizes every possible contributing factor to his son's madness. His desperation is palpable as he searches for clues in the emotional, psychological, and genetic landscape of his son's life." - Audible
Some people think that reading true crime is only for those with a morbid fascination with the macabre, and whilst there can be some truth in this, many of us enjoy reading true crime because of the insight it may, (or may not), be able to give us into the human condition. How does a human commit such heinous acts, often with no remorse? Sometimes it's only by observing the worst things in humanity that we can actually start to learn a little bit about ourselves.
Being a bit of a true crime fan, (not to be confused with being a fan of actual crime đł), I've read a few books featuring the horrible facts surrounding Jeffrey Dahmer's infamous killing spree, but none like this one. We often forget that these monsters have families, and many of them are victims too. Not necessarily in a physical sense, but, as Lionel Dahmer sincerely points out in this book, their family name is forever stained with the blood of the real victims, and there's little escape - even in old age.
I was honestly surprised by the book. After seeing the Netflix series, I expected the book to be a shameless use of the Dahmer name to make money and profit from his son's terrible crimes. But it wasn't really like that at all. I felt that it was sincerely written by a father who blames himself for the way his son turned out. He questions himself and his past actions honestly and openly. In fact, since reading it, I'm probably more confused about Jeffrey Dahmer than ever - usually a serial killer comes from a childhood of torment and neglect, but Jeffrey Dahmer's childhood, although difficult in some respects, doesn't seem 'out of the norm' for a lot of children, and they don't all grow up to mercilessly butcher people...
I'd recommend the Kindle version because it is essentially a re-print that has also, in parts, been rewritten by the author, (in 2021, I believe), in order to reflect changes in thoughts and feelings over the years.
Please remember that all of the insight into these books is my own, which is why I will never leave a rating for #sBookyClub books. Never turn down a book because of one person's opinion - every book is an opportunity to learn and grow! đ
Please feel free to use the #sBookyClub hashtag on IG and Twitter to share your own reads, find people to chat to who like spooks and books, and if you're an indie author, share your books with us and we'll share them to our stories!
Tag us @sbookyclub