Carol Anne Davis

Includes stories by 21 of the world's leading crime writers on the theme of identity: identity theft, identity twists, whodunits that turn on the question of 'who indeed'. This work features Grand Masters, Diamond, Silver and Gold Dagger winning writers.

In Parents Who Kill, renowned crime expert Carol Anne Davis explores the motives behind the act which flies in the face of all reason and instinct. This timely study examines some of the most harrowing cases documented in recent legal history, ranging from tragic negligence to more culturally specific instances of religious honour killings for 'sexual deviancy'. Updated to include analysis of the most recent case of Mick and Mairead Philpott, who killed six of their children after setting fire to their own home, Davis casts a forensically objective eye over powerful themes encompassing jealousy, insanity, greed and everything in between. But this is more than jut a study in the macabre. Davis shows great compassion and insight to reveal the psychology behind disability, mercy killings and post-natal depression, whilst in the final conclusion she proposes solutions to these issues and potentially life-saving avenues of help. Parents Who Kill is the complete compendium for anyone seeking to answer the hardest question: 'What could possibly turn a parent into a killer?'

From Beverley Allitt, the attention-seeking nurse who preyed on the children in her care, to the infamous Dr Harold Shipman, who was responsible for the deaths of at least 218 of his patients, history has been littered with examples of healers who have done anything but. In a comprehensive study of violent crimes perpetrated by health care professionals, Davis offers valuable insights into 34 case studies involving doctors and nurses who have crossed the line from healer to killer. These in depth analyses include interviews with experts in the fields of mental health and criminology.

Why does a young woman lure teenagers into her car then participate in their horrific rape and torture? What makes a nurse lethally inject the healthy babies in her care? Women, statistically, aren`t a violent breed ... but the female of the species can be just as deadly as the male. From the mass poisoner to the sexual sadist, from profit killings to crimes committed just for twisted thrills, Carol Anne Davis sets out to explore the dark and disturbing world of the female serial killer. In depth analysis of individual cases, including new information from the minister who heard Myra Hindley`s confession, provides an invaluable insight into the psychology behind these atrocities.