Dangerous Women: Why Mothers, Daughters, and Sisters Become Stalkers, Molesters, and Murderers

By Larry A. Morris

Book Overview

Criminologists have noted a disturbing trend in the last few decades. Though men are still most often the perpetrators of murder, violent assault, and child molestation, more girls and women are becoming dangerous criminals. The news increasingly includes stories of mothers molesting or killing their children, female teachers having "affairs" with grade school boys, and young girls beating up or molesting other children. Simultaneously fascinated and repelled by these lurid accounts, people often wonder out loud: How could a mother or young girl do such a thing? This is the first book to explore the full scope of girls and women behaving badly. From inappropriate sexual behavior to brutal murders, forensic psychologist Dr. Larry A. Morris relies on thirty years of personal clinical experience with perpetrators and victims of interpersonal violence to reveal why an alarming number of girls and women are now walking down dangerous paths to destruction. But this book is much more than a walk through the forbidden side of femininity. It provides a fresh perspective on the complex biological, developmental, psychological, and sociocultural forces driving girls and women to molest and murder. Blending humanity with scientific rigor and evocative case material, the book draws readers into the direct experiences of dangerous girls and women, their families, and the professionals who try to understand and help them. Along the way, readers also learn practical ways to prevent these grievous acts from creeping into their lives.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591026334
• ISBN13: 9781591026334
• Release Date: August 2008
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Must Read

What a great book! Informative yet readable, intellectual yet approachable. Larry Morris understands why women are dangerous. He sees the necessity for understanding why people commit crimes and finds answers in the under-studied area of women's behavior and how it can lead to crime. Besides being relevant and informative, Dr. Morris touches on a subject that so badly needs our attention and focus-- the politically incorrect discussion of women as dangerous!

A book that had to be written

Larry Morris has approached a subject that is on the minds of everyone who watches true crime shows on TV or is one of the millions of readers of such stories who wonders: "How could a woman do this?" Tackling his subject with professional detachment, Morris, a forensic psychologist, takes a close look at the women in his collection--from Mary Winkler, who murdered her minister husband and was set free, to astronaut Lisa Nowak, who drove thousands of miles to do harm to a romantic rival. Morris explores roughly thirty "dangerous women" whose lives took a wrong turn to find out what turned them into stalkers, murderers, and molesters. Some may argue that Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan didn't quite reach this level, but as members of the "growing up dangerous" category who have all been jail bound for their behavior, they certainly belong in this book as examples of what NOT to do when bringing up a teenage daughter. I think the author has outdone himself with this book, and I can't wait to read his next one!