I posted below paragraphs somewhere else but thought this was a pretty good summary for the Psychopath inspite of its rush writing.

Keith Ablow is a forensic psychiatrist. Pyschopath is his second best-seller book. It is about the psychopathological characteristics of a serial highway killer.

The novel is not for thrilling (although inexperienced readers may find the killing scary), instead it seems a teaching material to me. There are many good examples on how to interpret other people’s minds.

Ablow is not good at plot, unfortunately. Nevertheless, this weakness is compensated by his professional handling of psychopathological analysis. There are myriads of examples about child abuse, as the murderer is a child psychiatrist. It is a good reading about child development and how abuse may lead to violence.

Admittedly, the novel belongs to psychoanalysis, but in a modern way. In fact, this is probably the way current FBI and other psychoanalysts are using to crack down criminals, as Ablow himself had served as chief psychiatrist in justice department.

The following blog is lengthy (1700 words). Anyone interested may keep reading on for a detailed recount of the plot, and some of my reflections on our own dealing with kids. I also unearthed my childhood memory and glad to discover that there are not much traumas severe enough to trigger my dark side. Obviously, they still had profound influences on my personality development, and to some extent, on my life till now.

The more I read psychology, the more I know myself, the more I appreciate my life, and the more I love my son.