The Murderer Next Door
Evolutionary psychologist Buss conducted an unprecedented set of studies investigating the underlying motives and circumstances of murders, from bizarre cases of serial killers to those of the friendly next-door neighbor who one day kills his wife. Though we may like to believe that murderers are pathological misfits and hardened criminals, the vast majority of murders are committed by people who, until the day they kill, seem to be perfectly normal. He puts forth a bold new general theory of homicide, arguing that the human psyche has evolved specialized adaptations whose function is to kill. Taking readers through the surprising twists and turns of the evolutionary logic of murder, he explains exactly when each of us is most at risk, both of being murdered and of becoming a murderer.--From publisher description.