"Written in an engaging manner that challenges critical thinking throughout, the text is very readable and balances providing facts grounded in research with case examples."
—Minna Cirino, Shenandoah University
Now with SAGE Publishing, The Will to Kill: Making Sense of Senseless Murder explores extraordinary and seemingly inexplicable cases of homicide—not to sensationalize them—but to educate students about these crimes. Authored by renowned experts, the Fifth Edition places recent crimes in context by reviewing current homicide laws, introducing the latest theories that seek to explain murder, and presenting up-to-date statistical data that identify homicide patterns and trends. Students develop a foundational understanding of a variety of topics, for example, domestic and workplace homicide, cult and hate killings, murders committed by juveniles, and serial slayings. Students also examine various criminal justice responses to homicide, including the strategies and tactics employed to apprehend, prosecute, and punish killers.
New to the Fifth Edition
- Up-to-date research and data offers students the latest statistics on homicide patterns and trends in recent years.
- New illustrative cases cover various forms of homicide, focusing on crimes that drew significant interest from the public and policymakers alike and provide students with unique insights into violent behavior.
- Updated coverage of recent controversies, legislative changes, and Supreme Court decisions includes heightened concern over mass shootings, hate-motivated homicide and terrorism; new laws, shifting policies, and Supreme Court rulings pertaining to gun rights, juvenile offenders and the death penalty; and advances in surveillance technology, computer-aided investigation, and DNA forensic testing.
- Early introduction of theories helps students to understand the definition of homicide/homicide laws before developing a theoretical framework to explain violence.
Industry Reviews
"The Will to Kill offers a good introduction to trends and types of murder in America. The text is affordable for students, and it is written in an engaging manner that is interesting for students to read. The text is solidly grounded in research, but written in a manner that is appealing to wider audience, really for any person curious to learn about homicide." -- Minna Cirino "The Will to Kill: Making Sense of Senseless Murder provides an overall well-rounded approach to the discussion of various types of homicide and the motivations behind them. Writing style is fluent and readable. This text uses numerous examples of killers which makes it both shocking and enjoyable for students to read." -- Emily Strohacker "There are a number of texts available but I use The Will to Kill because of the breadth of subjects it covers and the positive feedback I have received from students...The breadth of topics covered is an important strength of the text. The use of interesting cases to illustrate points makes the text very enjoyable to read. The text includes a lot of the research on the topics in a way that still holds the readers interest." -- Clete Snell "The Will to Kill: Making Sense of Senseless Murder is a comprehensive text which describes different types of homicides within a limited frame. There are numerous aspects of homicide and it is difficult to compose all these various aspects within one book. The Will to Kill: Making Sense of Senseless Murder has successfully completed this difficult task." -- Dr. Fatematul Jannat "I selected this book because of the reputation of the authors and because the book does a good job of breaking homicide into meaningful portions without becoming too repetitive." -- Edward L. Powers "Very easy to read and comprehend." -- Alecia Schmidt
