Tangled Web UK Review February 2004
Mapping Murder: Secrets of Geographical Profiling by
David Canter
pbk out November 07
(Virgin)
at £7.99
'Places are never without significance,' Professor David Canter maintains, and in this follow-up to his
Gold Dagger-winning Criminal Shadows he applies that principle to the detection of serious crime that
often (but not always) has a violent sexual component. Canter argues that 'the secret of geographical
profiling is ...to understand the significance of the places to the offender, and the meaning to him of the journey he is making.' The book is based on a television series, and this shows in the rather diffuse structure of the narrative. However, a good deal of the material is presented in a fresh and challenging manner. In one of the most thought-provoking passages, Canter discusses 'strategies for detection' before concluding that 'the most successful detectives are those who adjust their strategy to the style and patterns of movements of their prey': note the reference to 'patterns of movement', the recurring theme of this text. Canter discusses various cases, including the murder of Jill Dando, the Washington
sniper killings and cases in Las Vegas (I found this section especially interesting), Newfoundland and
New Zealand. He comments illuminatingly on the James Maybrick's alleged 'Ripper Diary' and pays
proper respect to the early work in this field by the late Stuart Kind, author of The Sceptical Witness.
From time to time he refers to the work of crime fiction writers, and for my part I found much in his
analysis that seems worth considering and utilising in the development of a fictional murder case. I am
confident that other novelists will take a similar view, while general readers will find a good deal in the book that is not only entertaining but also memorable.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
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