Aside from Berger's own earlier novels, some of which foreshadow Meeting Evil, the book has obvious precursors in sophisticated popular fiction about violence and, in particular, serial killers. Just as Berger's earlier novel Killing Time was influenced by the sudden prominence of an actual murderer, so Meeting Evil is undoubtedly in part a response to the increasing fascination with serial killers on the part of electronic journalism and print reporters. The novel is also probably obliquely influenced by the popularity of such novels as Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs (1987; please see separate entry) and the films made from them. Berger may also have been responding to the popularity of Elmore Leonard's crime novels.

However, there are strong contrasts between Berger's work and these authors. In contrast to Thomas Harris's Gothic serial killers, Berger's Richie Maranville is not a bizarre and conscienceless monster; and while...