Killing for Company: The Case of Dennis Nilsen - Brian Masters

Dennis Nilsen, who died in May 2018, admitted to killing at least 15 people before his arrest in 1983. This ground-breaking criminal study of his killings was written with Nilsen's full cooperation, resulting in a fascinating - and horrifying - portrait of the man who worshipped death. In February 1983, residents of Muswell Hill had been plagued by blocked drains.

When a plumber was called to investigate, he discovered a large blockage of biological material. To his horror, it appeared to be formed of human flesh and bones. The next day, local resident Dennis Nilsen was arrested.

'Are we talking about one body or two?' a detective asked. Nilsen replied 'Fifteen or sixteen, since 1978. I'll tell you everything.' Within days he had confessed to fifteen gruesome murders over a period of four years.

His victims, mostly young gay men at a time when society cared little for them, had been overlooked. Killing for Company is a unique study of a murderer's mind, essential reading for true crime aficionados.

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The definitive story of the Dennis Nilsen case featured in BBC's The Nilsen Tapes, and the book behind ITV's Des, starring David Tennant.

Winner of The Gold Dagger Award for Crime Non-fiction and the number one Sunday Times bestseller

'You really have to read this extraordinary book to get a full flavour of the weirdness of Nilsen and his crimes' - Sunday Times

'The book is a perceptive and at times coldly brutal assessment of Nilsen's psychology' - Mirror

'Brian Masters can rest assured that the job he undertook with such obvious doubts was one worth doing' - Spectator

'Probably the best thing of its kind since In Cold Blood . . . a classic study in criminal mentality' - Yorkshire Post