The Killer (1970 novel)
Encyclopedia
The Killer is a 1970 novel by Colin Wilson
about Arthur Lingard, a mentally unstable man with a troubled history of crime
, incest
and extremely violent behavior. He is an inmate at the Rose Hill
experimental prison near Sedgefield
, serving the last years of an eight-year sentence for a second-degree murder. The minimum security is due to the inference of the state authorities that Lingard is a "harmless vegetable". The prison doctor Samuel Kahn (the novel's narrator) disagrees with this due to his deep insight into Lingard's unfathomable psyche. The doctor discovers that in addition to Lingard's known crimes he is also responsible for a number of unsolved sex murders.
The critics called it "a shattering novel about a modern Jack the Ripper
".
Colin Wilson
Colin Henry Wilson is a prolific English writer who first came to prominence as a philosopher and novelist. Wilson has since written widely on true crime, mysticism and other topics. He prefers calling his philosophy new existentialism or phenomenological existentialism.- Early biography:Born and...
about Arthur Lingard, a mentally unstable man with a troubled history of crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
, incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
and extremely violent behavior. He is an inmate at the Rose Hill
Rose Hill
-People:* Rose Hill , British actress* Rose Hill , British wheelchair athlete-England:* Rose Hill, Derby, inner city suburb in Derby* Rose Hill, Oxfordshire, city council estate near Oxford...
experimental prison near Sedgefield
Sedgefield
Sedgefield is a small town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It has a population of 4,534.Sedgefield has attracted particular attention as the Member of Parliament for the wider Sedgefield constituency was the former Prime Minister Tony Blair; he was the area's MP from 1983 to 2008,...
, serving the last years of an eight-year sentence for a second-degree murder. The minimum security is due to the inference of the state authorities that Lingard is a "harmless vegetable". The prison doctor Samuel Kahn (the novel's narrator) disagrees with this due to his deep insight into Lingard's unfathomable psyche. The doctor discovers that in addition to Lingard's known crimes he is also responsible for a number of unsolved sex murders.
The critics called it "a shattering novel about a modern Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
".