Book Review: Flowers, R. B. (2006). Sex Crimes: Perpetrators, Predators, Prostitutes, and Victims (2nd ed.). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas. xii pp., 298 pp

• Date: 01 September 2008
• Published date: 01 September 2008
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016808319178
• Author: Robert M. Worley
• Subject Matter: Articles

interpretive (spinning the meaning or understanding of facts or events), and implicatory

(refuting or marginalizing the extent of consequences and harm done). He proposes that

denial in totalitarian regimes is overt, but is covert in democratic societies. The author

warns readers to be wary of politicians and governments that perpetuate a politics of fear

and culture of denial in the name of threats to national security. Welch asserts that they will

play this like a trump card and have us looking under every rock for evildoers, subtly trans-

ferring our fears to other spheres of society. This is an important lesson in a period before

national elections.

D. Lee Gilbertson

Mario L. Hesse

Saint Cloud State University, Minnesota

Flowers, R. B. (2006). Sex Crimes: Perpetrators, Predators,

Prostitutes, and Victims (2nd ed.). Springfield,

IL: Charles C. Thomas. xii pp., 298 pp.

DOI: 10.1177/0734016808319178

In this book, R. Barri Flowers provides a very comprehensive overview of various sex

crimes as suggested by the title. The author begins this work by discussing sex-related

homicides and provides the reader with many interesting statistics and facts. Some of these

may be somewhat surprising, even to scholars who have a research interest in sex crimes.

For example, according to Flowers, men were more likely than women to be victims of sex-

related murder in 2004. By the end of the chapter, the reader learns that the above finding

was attributable to the fact that Flowers considered homicides emerging from romantic love

triangles to be sex-related murders. Clearly, the author’s definition of a sex-related homi-

cide is very broad in this sense. Some scholars may believe that acts of sex that are con-

sensual in nature should not be placed in this category. At the very least, the author provides

an insightful discussion challenging our preexisting notions of sexual homicides.

Flowers also writes three very informative chapters on prostitution. In this section, the

author provides a typology of the various types of prostitutes. Flowers also provides alarming

statistics that truly give the reader a sense of the problems associated with this crime. For

example, the author cites a study finding that “5 percent of prostitutes die in the line of duty

every year” (p. 162). Also, according to the book, 70% of prostitutes have been victims of rape.

Finally, Flowers has a chapter in this section that is devoted exclusively to male prostitution.

It is very informative, and this alone is worth the price of the book.

Although the section on prostitution is very well written and well researched, some critics

may feel that it is inappropriate for Flowers to have included these chapters in the book.

Prostitution is indeed a sex crime, but many scholars may perceive it to be inconsequential

compared to offenses, such as rape, sex trafficking, and child pornography. Even though some

readers might believe that Flowers defines sex crimes too broadly by including victimless

Book Reviews 427