Gambling affected the mental apparatus that people employed to understand the world around them as well as their own desires and compulsions. Casino gambling established a psychological dynamic perfectly calibrated to drive people to the edge of madness. The “storm” of despair generated by a loss, never compensated by a corresponding elation coming with a win, can overwhelm the player and leave them incapable of self-direction. Descriptions of the psychological effects of addiction – not only how those behaviors were formed through repetition but also how they resulted in a person whose entire world had shrunk – indicate how the machinery of Blanc-style casino gambling affected people in new and profound ways.

The author concludes the book by discussing how we must detect female serial killers (FSKs), due to the typical covert nature of their crimes, but we catch male serial killers (MSKs), attending to the overt evidence they leave behind. She presents the case study of FSK Reta Mays, a nurse’s aide who murdered disabled veterans. At Mays’ sentencing, Judge Thomas Kleeh told Mays, “You’re the monster no one sees coming,” perfectly capturing the notion that FSKs may go undetected because they are typically individuals, such as nurses, nurse’s aides, or caregivers, whom no one would suspect of committing heinous crimes against vulnerable individuals. The author ends by challenging contemporary legal notions of sanity and stressing the need for greater mental health understanding, intervention, and treatment to promote wellness and, perhaps, prevent murder.

Sex-linked killing is based upon a combination of factors. Michael Apter uses the English killer Neville Heath to emphasize one of these: the irresistible lure of excitement. It is unclear what factors in life led Heath down this pathological route. A bomber pilot in World War II, Heath was reckless and disorganized, exemplifying not just sensation seeking but also sexual sadism. It would appear that Heath’s level of brain arousal had a tendency to be well below the optimal level for comfort. Therefore, he engaged in a range of daredevil reckless activities in an attempt to elevate arousal. Tall, charming and handsome, Heath exemplifies where sexual desire can combine with a desire to elevate arousal. Despite admitting that the evidence suggested his guilt, Heath reported having no memory of the killings, pointing to the possibility of dissociation. Heath was judged as sane and fit to plead and was executed.