Book Review: “Camouflaged Killer” by David A. Gibb

Those of you who have been reading my all too infrequent blogs are aware that I have never before authored a book review.  During my studies on the subject of murder I have read hundreds of books, scholastic journals, law enforcement training publications, and other sources.  There’s a lot of great material out there on the subject, as dark and disturbing as it can be, but I want to take this opportunity to recommend to you my most recent read, “Camouflaged Killer” by David Gibb.

The subject is Canadian serial killer and former Canadian Air Force Colonel Russell Williams.

I became fascinated with the Williams case from the beginning.  Here is a serial killer who seemed to have begun his rapid and progressive degeneration into a sexually-motivated serial offender much later in life than average.  He also seemed to have progressed very quickly from being a voyeur (peeping tom),  to a fetish-burglar (women’s panties), to a home-invader/sexual attacker, and finally to a murderer acting out his violent, controlling fantasies all while unbelievably maintaining a stoic mask of normalcy as the local Canadian Forces Air Base Commander.

At first, when the book was released a little more than a year after Williams was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes, I was skeptical that this was some quickie pulp-sensation book full of speculation and based entirely on media reports.  I was, happy to say, quite wrong.

David Gibb has clearly been deeply involved in investigating this case as a journalist from the very beginning.  Using police investigative reports and the input of witnesses, law enforcement sources, criminal profilers and psychologists, he has written a chronological description of the events that occurred and provided insightful analysis into just how Russell Williams may have developed into a cruel and sadistic rapist and murderer.

The Author recreates the crimes in detail, a process made fairly easy by the fact that Williams kept video, photographic, and written records of all of his crimes. The reader is taken through Williams’ life story and his stellar rise through the ranks of the Canadian Air Force.  The police investigation and the subsequent arrest and interview of Colonel Williams are recreated.

For me, however, the best part of this book begins with Chapter 24, entitled “Character Unbecoming.”   In this chapter the Author uses experts such as former FBI profiler Roy Hazelwood (The Evil that Men Do) to meticulously dissect and analyze Williams criminal behavior to closely examine his motivation.  It is, to me, the most enlightening part of the book and, quite interestingly, the part of the book Mr. Gibb’s publisher suggested that he not include.

If you are one of my “Study of Murder” students, or if you are a student of criminal behavior, I commend this book to you as an extremely well-written and though provoking case study of an absolutely fascinating, and at the same time, evil, serial murderer.