BOOKS AND MEDIA referral questions as well as clinical challenges. Many of the chapters address “unique assess- ment topics” in the subset of family . Family : Pathologies of These subsections provide an overview of how Love and Hate courts have traditionally conceptualized the homicidesaswellasaforensicapproachtosuch Edited by Susan Hatters Friedman, MD. New York: Group cases. for the Advancement of Psychiatry; 2019. 196 pp. $42.50. The role of mental health in each case of familial Reviewed by Renee Sorrentino, MD murder is addressed. In short, the authors conclude that the relationship between stressors and mental DOI:10.29158/JAAPL.210036-21 health is complex. Further, the motives in family mur- der are often extreme versions of emotions that every- Key words: ; family murder; homicide one has experienced. In some cases, mental illness is the direct cause of the murder, and in other cases it is related but not causal. The authors address common Family Murder: Pathologies of Love and Hate, a publi- biases in these evaluations such as age, gender, and race. cation from the Group for the Advancement of The chapters on , written by Susan Psychiatry’s Committee on Law and Psychiatry, Hatters Friedman, and by , writ- is a comprehensive analysis of the different types ten by Phillip Resnick, are particularly noteworthy. of murder within families. Each chapter begins These chapters are authored by the leading experts in with a high-profile media case to draw the reader the field and offer a summary of the authors’ research in, which serves as the starting point to consider as well as their clinical and forensic experiences. each different category of family murder. From A significant contribution to this book is the section the cases, the psychiatric understanding of each on prevention. The authors, recognizing the importance category of family murder is discussed, incorpo- of primary prevention, address possible approaches to rating research data. The chapters are organized prevent familial murder. For example, the chapter on similarly, with sections on epidemiology, moti- child murder by parents suggests that parenting capacity vations, unique assessment needs, and preven- should be routinely considered in evaluating psychiatric tion. A forensic psychiatrist with expertise on patients who are parents. Preventive strategies such as the particular subject matter writes each chapter. safe havens, anonymous delivery, and baby hatches are The book flows from what is known from data discussed in the chapter on neonaticide. and experience regarding forensic and clinical Family Murder: Pathologies of Love and Hate is val- evaluations to a larger conceptualization of the uable for anyone interested in understanding the topic, and to the ultimate goal of prevention. tragedy of family murder. Although this book The book begins with intimate partner homi- provides forensic and clinical guidance, it reaches cides and progresses thorough the life cycle of a broader audience because of the contributors’ the family. The chapters cover intimate partner wealth of experience, its readability, and its homicide by men, intimate partner homicide by debunking of societal misperceptions of such women, feticide, neonaticide, murder from fatal tragedies. The writing is compelling and engag- maltreatment and child abuse, child murder by ing, introducing readers to actual cases followed parents, siblicide, , intimate partner by an infusion of research data, and concluding homicide in elderly populations, and familicide. with forensic and clinical applications. This orga- nization provides the first comprehensive review In addition to the uniqueness of compiling fam- of the heterogeneity of family in one ily murder in one book, many of the chapters text and in doing so steps closer to prevention of address both forensic and clinical aspects of the such tragedies. specified homicide. Subsections covering legal matters, working with perpetrators, and mental health interventions identify common forensic Disclosures of financial or other potential conflicts of interest: None.

280 The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law