This gripping hardback guide brings together shocking case histories of the most notorious serial killers and their egregious crimes, illustrated throughout with chilling full-colour photographs.

For most people, serial killers only come into view when their vile acts are reported on the news. But for the victims and their families, they are a terrifying and monstrous threat who change lives beyond repair. Whether driven by lust, greed, anger, or simple sadism, they commit unconscionable crimes, and their senseless violence continues until they are finally caught by the authorities.

This book features more than 30 cases of the worst killers ever to have walked the earth, including:

• Charles Manson, who led a cult of death and destruction in Los Angeles

• Ted Bundy, who charmed women into returning home with him before revealing his true self

• John Wayne Gacy, who worked part-time as a clown for children's birthday parties while in secret took home teenage boys to abuse and kill

• Jeffrey Dahmer, who stored a human head in his freezer

• Richard Ramirez, the 'Night Stalker' who slipped in through women's windows in the middle of the night to rob, rape and murder.

• and Tamara Samsonova, the 'Granny Ripper' who chopped up her victims and dumped them outside her apartment.

Fully illustrated with maps, photographs, illustrations, and information boxes with key facts on the killers and their crimes, this chilling book is the essential guide to those who decide to kill and kill again.

ABOUT THE SERIES: Arcturus Illustrated Case Files are striking, photo-filled hardbacks, delving into sinister cases of true crime, conspiracies and the paranormal, offering a powerful glimpse into darker side of life.