The Killer Inside Me

· Hachette+ORM
48 reviews
Ebook
243
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

The deputy sheriff of a small Texas town hides a dark secret in this classic 1952 crime novel from the author of The Grifters .

"Probably the most chilling and believable first-person story of a criminally warped mind I have ever encountered." —Stanley Kubrick

Everyone in the small town of Central City, Texas, loves Lou Ford. A deputy sheriff, Lou's known to the small-time criminals, the real-estate entrepreneurs, and the rest of his fellow townsmen as the nicest guy around. He might not be the brightest or the most interesting man in town but he's the kind of officer you're happy to have keeping your streets safe.

But behind the platitudes and glad-handing lurks a monster the likes of which few have seen. A monster with a sickness that urges him to hurt others. A sickness that almost got Lou put away when he was younger, and that is about to surface again.

In The Killer Inside Me, Jim Thomspon goes where few novelists have dared to go, giving us a pitch-black glimpse into the mind of a serial killer years before Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, or Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho, in a novel that will forever be known as his masterpiece.

"A twisted tale, told by a sociopath from his point of view. How twisted? This book leaves Silence of the Lambs in the dust." — Huffington Post

The deputy sheriff of a small Texas town hides a dark secret in this classic 1952 crime novel from the author of The Grifters . "Probably the most chilling and believable first-person story of a criminally warped mind I have ever encountered." —Stanley Kubrick Everyone in the small town of Cent...

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Ratings and reviews

48 reviews
Andy Bruchey
March 29, 2026
Written like a freshman emulating Stephen King, this book is filled with cliched writing, uninteresting characters, and provides little motivation to the reader to finish it. If you're looking for a bedtime read to knock you out, this is your book.
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A Google user
October 9, 2012
A little slow at times, this story is captivating in its intense moments and intriguing in its plot developments and twists. Recommended for anyone looking for a good read that may not exactly be action packed.
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Ray Dean Parker
September 2, 2025
Thompson's Best!
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About the author

Jim Thompson was born in Anadarko, Oklahoma. He began writing fiction at a very young age, selling his first story to True Detective when he was only fourteen. Thompson eventually wrote twenty-nine novels, all but three of which were published as paperback originals.

Thompson also co-wrote two screenplays (for the Stanley Kubrick films The Killing and Paths of Glory). Several of his novels have been filmed by American and French directors, resulting in classic noir including The Killer Inside Me (1952), After Dark My Sweet (1955), and The Grifters (1963).
Jim Thompson was born in Anadarko, Oklahoma. He began writing fiction at a very young age, selling his first story to True Detective when he was only fourteen. Thompson eventually wrote twenty-nine novels, all but three of which were published as paperback originals. Thompson also co-wrote two ...

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