Confronting Malice is a harrowing memoir by forensic psychologist Anna C. Salter, chronicling her forty-year journey working with sex and violent offenders. From courtrooms to treatment rooms, Salter offers an unfiltered view into the minds of those society fears most—psychopaths, child abusers, and sadistic killers. Through stories from her practice, including heartbreaking cases and courtroom battles, Salter explores not only the horrors inflicted by offenders but also her personal evolution—what drew her into this dark world, what kept her there, and what it cost her emotionally and spiritually.

I was riveted. Salter’s writing is clear, candid, and relatable. What she does is tell the truth—the jagged, uncomfortable truth most people would rather ignore. What makes this book hit so hard isn’t just the monstrous acts described, but how she takes readers inside the minds of these offenders without turning away. There’s rage here, for sure, but there’s also incredible restraint. She’s measured. Professional. But beneath that, you can feel the pain and the fatigue of someone who’s had to sit across from evil for decades. And yet, her voice never loses clarity. There are moments that hit like a gut punch because they’re so true, and because she’s saying the quiet part out loud.

What struck me most was Salter’s honesty about herself. This isn’t just a book about monsters, it’s also about survival. Her stories from childhood, especially her complex relationship with her mother, aren’t detours—they’re the roots of her tenacity, her toughness, and maybe even her calling. She writes like someone who has nothing left to prove and everything left to say. The chapter where she grapples with the raw presence of malevolence—staring across a courtroom at a boy who murdered and dismembered a child—shook me. That scene doesn’t leave you. Nor does the question she raises repeatedly: why can some people see malice when others can’t?

This isn’t an easy read. It’s not a comforting one either. But it’s important. I’d recommend Confronting Malice to anyone working in the justice system, social services, mental health, or anyone who wants to better understand the world we live in. It’s also for those of us trying to make sense of evil without flinching, and for those who wonder what it takes to stare it down and still come out standing.

Pages: 227 | ASIN : B0DVQ3KR8P