To most Americans, homicide appears to be a random act, one committed by a deranged and irrational killer in a haphazard, unpredictable manner. Murder is seen as a chaotic, disorganized act beyond the realm of reason. In Wicked Deeds, James O'Kane shows that homicide is actually rather predictable, and patterned with respect to its assailants and victims, the circumstances in which it takes place, the time and location where it occurs, and the motives which precipitate the murderous act. Engagingly written and solidly grounded in evidence, this is a definitive study of murder in the United...