Inside The Mind Of A Killer

Jean-Francois Abgrall

sept 2010 · Profile Books

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True crime at its most potent: a riveting account of tracking down and convicting an evil serial killer by the detective who trapped him. "In the duel between a small-town cop and France's most dangerous serial killer, the advantage appeared heavily in favour of Francis Heaulme, the criminal known as the 'man from nowhere', who may have killed more than to 50 men, women and children. "Heaulme left few ordinary clues during a career of crime spread across the country. Faced with a master of ingenious alibis and innate resistance to interrogation, all his gendarmerie opponent could count on was instinct. This psychological hunt for a killer has echoes of Dostoevsky. "Heaulme never spoke murders. He referred to pepins - bothersome details, before noting days when pepins coincided with killings he had supposedly witnessed. He gave the impression he was an accidental observer of events in which women were beaten to death or children repeatedly stabbed. He had no criminal record and was scrupulous in living in the law. While he is thought to have been involved at least 50 murders, Heaulme once said that 'every time I visited somewhere there was a pepin.' So far 400 towns and villages have been identified where Heaulme stayed." Paul Webster in the Observer, reviewing the French edition This is the best, clearest, most decisive account of the work of a detective possible. It shows how deadly criminals can only be caught by a combination of luck, patience - and most important of all skill and determination. It is frightening stuff.

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Jean-Francois Abgrall was an adjutant in the Rennes homicide squad when he started investigating the murder of Aline Perez. By the time it was over he was famous throughout France. His book, Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer, was made into a successful drama by French television, with the actor Thierry Fremont winning an Emmy for best international actor. After leaving the police force, Abgrall he set up as one of the only French private detectives licensed to investigate serious crime. He has worked on other celebrated cases since the Heaulmes affair - including tracking down another serial killer in the South of France - and also lectures on criminal psychology at the University of Rennes.