I enjoyed reading about the cases, and why she made the determinations that she did. However I wish there had been more to the book. The ending was abrupt, and the book felt truncated. ( )

A very interesting look at mentally ill criminals through the eyes of a forensic psychiatrist. Dr. Paradis details many cases she was involved in and describes the methods she uses to determine whether these individuals are competent to stand trial, and whether they were insane or suffering from an "extreme emotional disturbance" at the time of the crime. Contrary to popular belief, most of these cases are not murders; one man Dr. Paradis evaluated was only in for misdemeanor assault.

The only fault I find with this book is that it's quite repetitive -- the same psychological tests, for instance the house/tree/woman one, are described over and over again in each chapter. I think people interested in psychology and criminology will find this book very useful and illuminating. ( )