Secrets can be murder : what America's most sensational crimes tell us about ourselves
(Book)

"Touchstone book."

Includes bibliographical references (pages [319]-330).

Television journalist Velez-Mitchell asks a disturbing question: Are killers like Scott Peterson and Andrea Yates all that different from the rest of us? When journalists break the story of a kidnapping, a brutal rape, or a family slaughtered, we ask: What kind of monster would do this? This book exposes the hidden motivations behind 21 recent crimes. People lie to protect secrets, big and small--but leading a double life can land you in prison, and failing to spot a liar can get you killed. Many of us possess the same trusting nature as victims and carry around the same secrets as criminals--whether it's debt, infidelity, or fetishes. With new insights from investigators and psychologists plus friends and family of both victims and perpetrators, this book illustrates just how little separates our so-called normal lives from that of a sociopath--and how you can stay out of harm's way.