Are there people around you, maybe an old friend, a family member, or even a guy at work, who are a bit different ? We all know what psychopathy is. We have seen the cruel behaviours, the chilling words, the lack of empathy in characters play out on our screens. The men and women who get too close, who can't hold eye contact, and whose smiles don't reach their eyes. For decades, we have looked at psychopathy as something other - and certainly not existing side by side to us every day. But psychopaths don't just exist on our screens, they exist in our communities, within our work offices, our social circles and, sometimes, within our very own families. The Psychopath Effect is the story of the psychopaths who manage to remain embedded within our society. Those who are searingly antagonistic yet still have a job. Those who approach empathy as an optional extra yet still have a family.

Those whose temper rests on the most sensitive of hair triggers, yet who still have friends. This ground-breaking new book from expert psychologist Dr Emma Kavanagh exposes the psychopath effect on us, in all areas of life. Through case studies and new research, we track the psychopath as a stranger, moving closer through acquaintanceship, meeting them as colleagues, all the way up to being the partner and child of a psychopath. They affect our ability to function, and can even change the very idea of our selves. Psychopaths are closer than you think.