When Mark David Chapman assassinated John Lennon in December of 1980, he explained that he had to kill him in order to promote the reading of J. D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye. Chapman's belief that he could become Salinger's protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is the genesis for this research. The concept that a person could identify with a novel or character in a novel to such an extent that he or she would commit murder is an extraordinary allegation.In order to further explore this accusation, this research focuses on three novels: Alexandre Dumas, pere's The Count of Monte Cristo, J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, and Stephen King's Rage. Michael Sullivan, Mark David Chapman, John Hinckley, and Scott Pennington read one of these literary works before committing, or attempting to commit, murder.This project traces the cognitive processes of these men in an effort to understand why reading a specific novel lead to a murder. By delving into the minds of these murderers, it can be determined if the novel itself is a motive, an impetus, for the crime, or a scapegoat. / Department of English