Law enforcement professionals and criminologists long have been challenged to arrive at a consensus over the most accurate ways to classify serial killers. With predators as diverse as the lesser-known William Zamastil to slick con artists such as Ted Bundy, one description certainly does not fit all when it comes to grouping the depraved minds that comprise America’s most prolific murderers.

Veteran criminal profiler Steve Daniels takes a detailed look into the behavioral intricacies that separate contract killers from sexual deviants, highly organized planners from low-functioning opportunists. Daniels advances the notion that current classification models fall short of the reality faced by law enforcement and prosecutors, offering an additional profiling tool in the battle against violent crime. GAZING INTO THE ABYSS: Serial Killer William Zamastil, The Victims, and Other Killers-Steve Daniels