Hearts of Darkness

Serial Killers, the Behavioral Science Unit, and My Life as a Woman in the FBI

By: Jana Monroe, Joe Navarro - foreword

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

For fans of Mindhunter and Criminal Minds, a chilling account of a woman facing down serial killers as one of the first female profilers of the FBI Behavioral Sciences Unit and real-life model for The Silence of the Lambs’s Clarice Starling

"Jana Monroe is the single most influential woman to ever serve in the FBI."—Joe Navarro, bestselling author of What Every BODY Is Saying

Jana Monroe was no ordinary cop: a cofounder of—and, at the time, the only female agent in—the world-renowned FBI Behavioral Sciences Unit at Quantico, over the course of her career she consulted on more than 850 homicide cases. Through her work, she and her BSU colleagues crossed paths with Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Edmund Kemper, Aileen Wuornos, and hundreds of other murderers; were at the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco; traced the Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh’s tracks; and, in the wake of 9/11, headed up a new and expanded FBI headquarters in Las Vegas.

But to the people who know her best, Monroe is the BSU analyst upon whom the film character of Clarice (Jodie Foster) in The Silence of the Lambs was modeled; she even helped train Foster for the role. Over the course of an utterly astonishing and, until now, relatively anonymous career in shaping law enforcement and intelligence analysis, her legacy is without parallel yet not known to the public. Hearts of Darkness is Monroe’s incredible story and will have Monroe—now retired from the FBI—finally stepping out from the shadows to tell the range of gripping, sometimes gruesome, and always remarkable tales from the top moments of a life chasing the monsters among us. Hearts of Darkness will shock, enthrall, educate, and examine both extremes of human behavior—good and evil—as well as the daily norm found in the middle of this spectrum.

©2023 Jana Monroe,Joe Navarro (P)2023 Spotify Audiobooks

Interesting memoir

Interesting learning about the inner workings of the FBI and law enforcement especially from the first woman assigned to tge behavioral unit

honesty

loved everything!!! Amazing book and a very inspirational life. persistence, perseverance and resiliency goes a long way.

Good story

Interesting profile of a courageous life of action. Hard to imagine the prejudices that existed and happy she was able to break them down!

Apologetics for Waco, and Ruby Ridge.

The information regarding Serial Killers was interesting, as was Jana’s personal history.

Never the less, it turned out feeling like an apologetic treatise for the atrocities of Waco, and Ruby Ridge-absolutely disgusting. Jana may truly believe what she wrote, only she knows.

What I remember about Waco was:
-Federal Agents in the area brutalized female Escorts, and never paid them. One poor soul called them “Bastards.” Jana should look into that.
-The blaze in the compound started quickly as if an Incindiary (White Phosphorous) shell was fired into it. These get a raging fire started real quick. WP burns clear to the bone and you need specialized chemicals to put it out.

I could go on and on, but that is enough. I regret buying this book for the above reasons. Sorry Jana.

What she had to do to get to almost the top

I enjoyed your accounts and your ride in the orgination. Hope your cats and husband are all well.

Interesting and intelligent

Fascinating inside look at women in the FBI personally and professionally. History of wine s developing role in a historically male profession

That the FBI is always lying and manipulating.

It’s a little slow. I expected better stories with details of actual events in her career.

Insightful and captivating

Remarkable agent, woman and story . I really enjoyed this book and the narrator was excellent

Interesting stories within the FBI

I enjoyed hearing the perspective from a young agent through the seasoned agent that became frustrated with the bureaucracy of a political machine.

OK, at best.

Details of cases were interesting. However, the constant theme of “a woman” here, there, and everywhere was tiring.