William Bernhardt - Dark Eye

It would be impossible to write a book about a criminal behaviorist without becoming familiar with the work of the two best-known names in the field: John Douglas and Roy Hazelwood. Douglas developed criminal profiling techniques during his twenty-five years with the FBI and subsequently wrote fascinating books based on his experiences, such as Mindhunter and The Anatomy of Motive. Hazelwood built on and expanded his work; his psychological insights are perhaps the best recorded in his book Dark Dreams. I also must thank my friend Dave Johnson for his insight and information about the inner life of a police station and those who work there. If the characters in this book do not always behave as model police officers, however, it’s not Dave’s fault; it’s because these characters, like most people I know, are not perfect.

And those who want to know more about card counting and other blackjack techniques developed at MIT and elsewhere may wish to read Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich, and the classic Beat the Dealer by Edward Thorp. If you’re thinking card counting will allow you to go to Vegas and get rich quick, though, please think again.

I also want to thank the many fellow writers who agreed to read an early draft of this book, indulging my friendship, not to mention my insecurity about a book I knew was a departure from my previous work. Many thanks to Jodie Nida, John Wooley, K. D. Wentworth, James Vance, and my wife, Kirsten. The worst of it is, the only compensation they received was having characters in the book named after them. But at least none of their namesakes were tortured by poisonous leeches.

Very special thanks to my agent, Dan Strone, who believed in this book from the start, and my long-standing friend and editor, Joe Blades, who supported this effort just as he has everything else I’ve tried for the past fifteen years. No writer could possibly be more fortunate than I’ve been.

I invite readers to send me their thoughts via email at WB@williambernhardt.com. You can also visit my website at www.williambernhardt.com.

As the academician in the book says, Edgar Allen Poe’s contributions to American literature are enormous, and if you haven’t read any of his work, this might be a good time to start. Just don’t take it too seriously, okay?

– WILLIAM BERNHARDT

WILLIAM BERNHARDT is the author of many novels, including Primary Justice, Murder One, Criminal Intent, Death Row, and Hate Crime. He has twice won the Oklahoma Book Award for Best Fiction, and in 2000 he was presented with the H. Louise Cobb Distinguised Author Award “in recognition of an outstanding body of work in which we understand ourselves and American society at large.” A former trial attorney, Bernhardt has received several awards for public service. He lives in Tulsa with his wife, Kirsten, and their children, Harry, Alice, and Ralph. Readers can e-mail him at WB@williambernhardt.comor visit his website at www.williambernhardt.com.