The Serial Killer Whisperer: How One Man's Tragedy Helped Unlock the Deadliest Secrets of the World's Most Terrifying Killers

Pete Earley

Jan 2012 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

From New York Times bestselling author Pete Earley—the strange but true story of how a young man’s devastating brain injury gave him the unique ability to connect with the world’s most terrifying criminals.

Fifteen-year-old Tony Ciaglia had everything a teenager could want until he suffered a horrific head injury at summer camp. When he emerged from a coma, his right side was paralyzed, he had to relearn how to walk and talk, and he needed countless pills to control his emotions.

Abandoned and shunned by his friends, he began writing to serial killers on a whim and discovered that the same traumatic brain injury that made him an outcast to his peers now enabled him to connect emotionally with notorious murderers. Soon many of America’s most dangerous psychopaths were revealing to him heinous details about their crimes—even those they’d never been convicted of.

Tony despaired as he found himself inescapably drawn into their violent worlds of murder, rape, and torture—until he found a way to use his gift. Asked by investigators from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to aid in solving a murder, Tony launched his own searches for forgotten victims with clues provided by the killers themselves.

The Serial Killer Whisperer takes readers into the minds of murderers like never before, but it also tells the inspiring tale of a struggling American family and a tormented young man who found healing and closure in the most unlikely way—by connecting with monsters.

Ratings and reviews

If it's one thing I have learned from reading this is that we, the public, create serial killers by giving them the notorious curiosity that they really do not deserve. Arthur Shawcross is a pathetic liar. He fooled you Tony. Sorry.

Ive been wanting to read this book for a while now. I know Tony personally he comes into my job (DQ) a few times a week. He's a super nice and a very respectful person. He used to show me and a few other coworkers some of the letters he recieved from the serial killers. The most recent one he showed us was his brand new letter from the zodiac killer. Awesome stuff!

Could not put this book down was gripped in the 1st few pages. Can be gory at times and make you feel very sick in the gut. Suppose that's true crime!

About the author

Pete Earley is the author of three New York Times bestsellers. He has won an Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2007. He lives in Fairfax, Virginia. Visit PeteEarley.com.