Nobody understands murder like Elliott Leyton.

Known in his home province of Newfoundland as "The Murder Guy," Leyton is a pioneer in the academic study of murder--a man who has devoted his career to studying the many reasons people kill each other, and our reaction to the breaching of this worst of all taboos.

In The Man Who Studies Murder, Leyton takes us through the underbelly of humanity: a Jack the Ripper tour of London; death row, where we meet two convicted killers; a stretch of Nevada desert notorious as a dumping ground for murder victims; a gated American community where all residents are fully armed; and the NBC offices of a Las Vegas crime reporter for whom another murder is just another story.