An essential and empowering resource.
Droban provides an escape route for those trapped in toxic relationships with people exhibiting psychopathic behavior.
If readers know who Edmund Kemper, Jodi Arias, or Robert Shinn are without Googling, chances are that they thrive on a diet of true-crime books and TV documentaries. Psychopaths are calculating and compelling characters, and it’s satisfying to see these evildoers being held accountable for their actions. But not all psychopaths are remorseless serial killers like Ted Bundy or Hannibal Lecter—they are (mostly) normal-seeming people who cunningly and manipulatively trap their victims and control their lives. The author, a lawyer, former prosecutor, and capital defense attorney (and true crime author herself) here presents what might be thought of as a field guide to psychopaths. Designed to educate, the book provides real-world examples of psychopathic behavior and “practical tools for litigating against manipulative, calculating adversaries.” A chilling prologue that takes the form of a Hannibal Lecter/Clarice Starling-type interview attempts to peek under the psychopath’s mask: “Guilt is for people who want to play by someone else’s rules. I make my own,” the subject proclaims. Through interviews, shared text messages, and cautionary tales, Droban cuts through therapy-speak to accessibly identify telling traits (lack of guilt, fearlessness, insensitivity to punishment), define psychopath-speak (“You’re overreacting” means they’re invalidating your feelings to gain control), and offer intervention and coping strategies, such as “set and enforce clear boundaries,” “manage emotional reactions,” and “document everything.” Seven appendices include resources for victims in and out of courtrooms: “Recognizing and Documenting Psychological Abuse” includes a red-flag checklist for relationships, workplace and professional settings, and legal proceedings. Journal prompts help to identify manipulative behavior, emotional and behavioral changes, and control and isolation tactics. While the layout of the book is somewhat cluttered, the information here is revelatory and may be lifesaving—just don’t let the possible psychopath in your life catch you reading it.
An essential and empowering resource.Pub Date: June 15, 2025
ISBN: 9789697292783
Page Count: 297
Publisher: Zhivago Press
Review Posted Online: June 6, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorkerstaff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace.
The former iCarly star reflects on her difficult childhood.
In her debut memoir, titled after her 2020 one-woman show, singer and actor McCurdy (b. 1992) reveals the raw details of what she describes as years of emotional abuse at the hands of her demanding, emotionally unstable stage mom, Debra. Born in Los Angeles, the author, along with three older brothers, grew up in a home controlled by her mother. When McCurdy was 3, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Though she initially survived, the disease’s recurrence would ultimately take her life when the author was 21. McCurdy candidly reconstructs those in-between years, showing how “my mom emotionally, mentally, and physically abused me in ways that will forever impact me.” Insistent on molding her only daughter into “Mommy’s little actress,” Debra shuffled her to auditions beginning at age 6. As she matured and starting booking acting gigs, McCurdy remained “desperate to impress Mom,” while Debra became increasingly obsessive about her daughter’s physical appearance. She tinted her daughter’s eyelashes, whitened her teeth, enforced a tightly monitored regimen of “calorie restriction,” and performed regular genital exams on her as a teenager. Eventually, the author grew understandably resentful and tried to distance herself from her mother. As a young celebrity, however, McCurdy became vulnerable to eating disorders, alcohol addiction, self-loathing, and unstable relationships. Throughout the book, she honestly portrays Debra’s cruel perfectionist personality and abusive behavior patterns, showing a woman who could get enraged by everything from crooked eyeliner to spilled milk. At the same time, McCurdy exhibits compassion for her deeply flawed mother. Late in the book, she shares a crushing secret her father revealed to her as an adult. While McCurdy didn’t emerge from her childhood unscathed, she’s managed to spin her harrowing experience into a sold-out stage act and achieve a form of catharsis that puts her mind, body, and acting career at peace.
The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace.Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-982185-82-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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