True crime Books

Book SynopsisONE OF THE GUARDIAN''S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY''This House of Grief, in its restraint and control, bears comparison with In Cold Blood'' KATE ATKINSON ''It grabbed me by the throat in the same way that the podcast series Serial did'' GILLIAN ANDERSON''Utterly gripping'' MARK HADDONFather''s Day, 2005. Just after nightfall, a discarded husband drove his three young sons back to their mother, his ex-wife.On that dark country road, barely five minutes from the children''s home, the old white car swerved off the highway and plunged into a dam. The father freed himself and swam to the bank, but the car sank to the bottom, and all the children drowned.The court case that followed became Helen Garner''s obsession, one that would take over her life until its final verdict. The resulting book is a true-crime classic and literary masterpiece, which examines just what we are capable of and how

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Book SynopsisTHE MULTI AWARD-WINNING #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Gripping' NEW YORK TIMES'At last, the Ripper's victims get a voice... An eloquent, stirring challenge to reject the prevailing Ripper myth' MAIL ON SUNDAY____________Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane are famous for the same thing, though they never met.They came from Fleet Street, Knightsbridge, Wolverhampton, Sweden and Wales. They wrote ballads, ran coffee houses, lived on country estates, they breathed ink-dust from printing presses and escaped people-traffickers.What they had in common was the year of their murders: 1888.Their murderer was never identified, but the name created for him by the press has become far more famous than any of these five women.Now, in this devastating narrative of five lives, historian Hallie Rubenhold finally sets the record straight, and gives these women back their stories.____________Awards for The Five include:- Winner of the BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE for Non-fiction- HAY FESTIVAL Book of the Year 2019- Winner of the Goodreads Choice Awards for HistoryPRAISE FOR THE FIVE'Devastatingly good. The Five will leave you in tears, of pity and of rage.' LUCY WORSLEY'Fascinating, compelling, moving.' BRIDGET COLLINS, author of The Binding'An angry and important work of historical detection, calling time on the misogyny that has fed the Ripper myth. Powerful and shaming.' GUARDIAN'Haunting' SUNDAY TIMES'What a brilliant and necessary book' JO BAKER, author of Longbourn'Beautifully written and with the grip of a thriller, it will open your eyes and break your heart.' ERIN KELLY'An outstanding work of history-from-below ... magnificent' SPECTATOR'Deeply researched' THE NEW YORKERTrade ReviewFIVE STARS: At last, the Ripper's victims get a voice... An eloquent, stirring challenge to reject the prevailing Ripper myth. -- Gwen Smith * Mail on Sunday *How fitting that in the year when we celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, dignity is finally returned to these unfortunate women. * Professor Dame Sue Black, author of ALL THAT REMAINS *A Ripper narrative that gives voice to the women he silenced; I’ve been waiting for this book for years. Beautifully written and with the grip of a thriller, it will open your eyes and break your heart. * Erin Kelly, author of HE SAID/SHE SAID *What a brilliant and necessary book * Jo Baker, author of LONGBOURN *Devastatingly good. The Five will leave you in tears of pity and of rage. * LUCY WORSLEY *Forests have been felled in the interests of unmasking the murderer, but until now no one has bothered to discover the identity of his victims. The Five is thus an angry and important work of historical detection, calling time on the misogyny that has fed the Ripper myth. . . This is a powerful and a shaming book, but most shameful of all is that it took 130 years to write. -- Frances Wilson * Guardian *By collating these five deeply affecting biographies ... Rubenhold has given these women the immortality that their murderer does not deserve. * Daily Mail *Stupendous. The sort of work that keeps history vital. * IMOGEN HERMES GOWAR, author of THE MERMAID AND MRS HANCOCK *Fascinating, compelling, moving, The Five makes a fierce, passionate argument about the ethics of how we engage with murder. A brilliant,properly thoughtful, responsible piece of political writing. * BRIDGET COLLINS, author of THE BINDING *‘Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly deserve to be thought of as more than eviscerated bodies on an East London street. This haunting book does something to redress that balance. * Sunday Times *A highly readable work of rigorous scholarship that plunges the reader into the claustrophobic world of late 19th-century London... The story of these five women – Mary Ann “Polly” Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly – is not one of death, but one of life. -- Rebecca Rideal * NewStatesman *A Sunday Times must-read. * Sunday Times *Fascinating and hugely important book acts as a timely reminder of what happens when society ceases to care for its most vulnerable residents. * Herald Scotland *This confidently written book gives a rich insight into the world of the wretched in the late Victorian period. Rubenhold writes in a compassionate but unsentimental style… * Literary Review *An outstanding work of history-from-below … magnificent * The Spectator *Urges us to look beyond the familiar stories... The Five challenges the accepted view of the five canonical victims of Jack the Ripper, and tells the untold stories of their lives. * History Revealed *THE FIVE has received deservedly rave reviews. It's gripping. * New York Times *A brilliant and important book that will reshape how this case is studied - anyone interested in social history or the history of crime owes a debt to @HallieRubenhold * EMMA FLINT *Becomes a passionate indictment of the true-crime genre, with its fixation on the minds of murderers and its shallow, glancing sympathy for the dead. Hard-edged and heartbreaking * Washington Post *Our fascination with true crime means we often focus on the perpertrator, such as Ted Bundy, rather than the victims. It's time to stop focusing on the killer and start remembering the victims: Polly, Annie, Catherine and Mary-Jane * Stylist *

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Book SynopsisPaul Williams is Ireland's leading crime writer and one of its most respected journalists. For over three decades his courageous and ground-breaking investigative work has won him multiple awards. He is the author of twelve previous bestselling books and has also researched, written and presented a number of major TV crime series. His first book, The General, was adapted for the award-winning movie of the same name by John Boorman. He is a former presenter on Newstalk Breakfast and currently writes for the Irish Independent. Williams holds an MA in Criminology and is a registered member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists based in Washington, DC.

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Book SynopsisA searing account of corruption, racism and mismanagement inside Britain's most famous police force Barely a week goes by without the Metropolitan Police Service being plunged into a new crisis. Demoralised and depleted in numbers, Scotland Yard is a shadow of its former self. Spanning the three decades from the infamous Stephen Lawrence case to the shocking murder of Sarah Everard, Broken Yard charts the Met's fall from a position of unparalleled power to the troubled and discredited organisation we see today, barely trusted by its Westminster masters and struggling to perform its most basic function: the protection of the public. The result is a devastating picture of a world-famous police force riven with corruption, misogyny and rank incompetence. As a top investigative reporter at the Sunday Times and The Independent, Tom Harper covered Scotland Yard for fifteen years, beginning not long after the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, an innocent Brazilian killed by Met Police officers after being mistaken for a terror suspect in 2005. Since then, reporting on Scotland Yard has been akin to witnessing a slow-motion car crash. Using thousands of intelligence files, witness statements and court transcripts provided by police sources, as well as first-hand testimony, Harper explains how London's world-famous police force got itself into this sorry mess - and how it might get itself out of it.

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Book Synopsis'I wrapped duct tape around her mouth and her nose and watched her suffocate to death . . . then I went back to work' - former Colonel David Russell Williams of the Royal Canadian Air Force, 2010Sunday Times-bestselling author Christopher Berry-Dee is back with a companion volume that delves even deeper into the savage world of psychopaths and their hideous crimes. This time, however, he combines sections on killers whom he has known, interviewed or corresponded with, with studies of psychopathic serial killers from the past, including Peter Kürten, the 'Düsseldorf Monster', John Christie, responsible for the killings at 10 Rillington Place; and Neville Heath, a ladykiller in every sense of the word.The result is a chilling narrative that sets the forensic examination of killers and their crimes within the context of murder in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, an examination of the evil mind set against the insoluble problem of identifying psychopaths who kill. This is not a book for the squeamish, but it is undeniably fascinating in its portrayal of just what one human being will do to others - while all too often moving among us unnoticed and unhindered. If their crimes seem as incomprehensible as they are horrific, it is undeniably true that the world's most savage killers may be much closer than we think . . .

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Book SynopsisThe gripping and shocking story of three generations of the Sackler family and their roles in the stories of Valium, OxyContin and the opioid crisis. The inspiration behind the Netflix series Painkiller, starring Uzo Aduba and Matthew Broderick.The Sunday Times BestsellerWinner of the 2021 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-FictionA BBC Radio 4 'Book of the Week'Shortlisted for the 2021 Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year AwardOne of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2021Shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction'I gobbled up Empire of Pain . . . a masterclass in compelling narrative nonfiction.' – Elizabeth Day, The Guardian '30 Best Summer Reads'‘You feel almost guilty for enjoying it so much’ – The TimesThe Sackler name adorns the walls of many storied institutions – Harvard; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Oxford; the Louvre. They are one of the richest families in the world, known for their lavish donations in the arts and the sciences. The source of the family fortune was vague, however, until it emerged that the Sacklers were responsible for making and marketing Oxycontin, a blockbuster painkiller that was a catalyst for the opioid crisis – an international epidemic of drug addiction which has killed nearly half a million people.In this masterpiece of narrative reporting and writing, award-winning journalist and host of the Wind of Change podcast Patrick Radden Keefe exhaustively documents the jaw-dropping and ferociously compelling reality. Empire of Pain is the story of a dynasty: a parable of twenty-first-century greed.'There are so many "they did what?" moments in this book, when your jaw practically hits the page' – Sunday TimesTrade ReviewThere are so many "they did what?" moments in this book, when your jaw practically hits the page * Sunday Times *This is no dense medical tome, but a page-turner with a villainous family to rival the Roys in Succession, and one where every chapter ends with the perfect bombshell. * Esquire *The story of the Sacklers and OxyContin is a parable of the modern era of philanthropy being deployed to burnish the reputations of financiers and entrepreneurs . . . [A] tour-de-force * Financial Times *Put simply, this book will make your blood boil . . . a devastating portrait of a family consumed by greed and unwilling to take the slightest responsibility or show the least sympathy for what it wrought . . . a highly readable and disturbing narrative. -- John Carreyrou, author of Bad Blood * New York Times Book Review *An engrossing (and frequently enraging) tale of striving, secrecy and self-delusion . . . Even when detailing the most sordid episodes, Keefe’s narrative voice is calm and admirably restrained, allowing his prodigious reporting to speak for itself. His portrait of the family is all the more damning for its stark lucidity. -- Jennifer Szalai * New York Times *A true tragedy in multiple acts. It is the story of a family that lost its moorings and its morals . . . Written with novelistic family-dynasty and family-dynamic sweep, Empire of Pain is a pharmaceutical Forsythe Saga, a book that in its way is addictive, with a page-turning forward momentum. -- David M. Shribman * Boston Globe *Explosive . . . Keefe marshals a large pile of evidence and deploys it with prosecutorial precision . . . Keefe is a gifted storyteller who excels at capturing personalities. * Washington Post *An air-tight indictment of the family behind the opioid crisis . . . [an] impressive exposé -- Harriet Ryan * Los Angeles Times *A damning portrait of the Sacklers, the billionaire clan behind the OxyContin epidemic . . . [Keefe] has a knack for crafting lucid, readable descriptions of the sort of arcane business arrangements the Sacklers favored. -- Laura Miller * Slate *Keefe has a way of making the inaccessible incredibly digestible, of morphing complex stories into page-turning thrillers, and he's done it again with Empire of Pain . . . equal parts juicy society gossip and historical record. -- Seija Rankin * Entertainment Weekly *

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Book SynopsisConsidered by many to be the first work of the true crime genre, this ground-breaking book reconstructs the murder of the Clutter family from information provided by newspaper articles and interviews. ''Dick became convinced that Perry was that rarity, a natural killer - absolutely sane, but conscienceless, and capable of dealing, with or without motive, the coldest-blooded deathblows''On 15 November 1959, the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, a wealthy farmer, his wife and their two young children were found brutally murdered. Blood all over the walls, the telephone lines cut, and only a few dollars stolen. Heading up the investigation is Agent Al Dewey, but all he has are two footprints, four bodies, and a whole lot of questions. Truman Capote''s detailed reconstruction of the events and consequences of that fateful night, In Cold Blood is a chilling, gripping mix of journalistic skill and imaginative power. ''The American dream turning into the American nightmare. A remarkable book'' Spectator''One of the most stupendous books of the decade'' Sunday ExpressTrade ReviewOne of the stupendous books of the decade * Sunday Express *The American dream turning into the American nightmare . . . a remarkable book * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisCharlie Bronson has spent three decades in solitary confinement, and yet has stayed as fit as a fiddle, gaining several world strength and fitness records in the process. Now, in this no-nonsense guide to getting fit and staying fit, he reveals just how he's done it. Forget fancy gyms, expensive running shoes and designer outfits, what you need are the facts on what really works and the motivation to get on with the job. From his cell at Wakefield Prison, Charlie has complied this perfect guide to show you the best way to burn those calories, tone your abs and build your stamina giving you the know-how you need to be at the peak of mental and physical form.

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Book SynopsisThe murders in London between 1888-91 attributed to Jack the Ripper constitute one of the most mysterious unsolved criminal cases. This story is the result of many years meticulous research. The author reassesses all the evidence and challenges everything we thought we knew about the Victorian serial killer and the vanished East End he terrorized.

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Book SynopsisDANNY ROBINS is an award-winning British writer, broadcaster and journalist. He created the hit BBC podcasts The Battersea Poltergeist, Uncanny and The Witch Farm, and the Olivier Award-nominated West End play 2:22 - A Ghost Story, which is now playing in countries around the world. He has created and written various shows for TV and radio, including the BAFTA-nominated series Young Dracula for BBC1. The TV series of Uncanny will be broadcast on BBC 2 later this year.Most impressively though, he came second in the UK Air Guitar Championship (he was robbed) and he bizarrely once had a Number 11 hit single by accident. Ask him about it when you see him.

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Book Synopsis‘Fabulous. I read this in a single weekend and I didn’t want it to end. Scammers, con-artists, catfishers – you have met your match’ Jeremy Vine‘A brilliant read. Moves effortlessly between hilarious and informative and back again’ Ed Byrne, comedian and actor'Astonishing' Daily MailOnline romance fraud is a problem across the globe. It causes financial and emotional devastation, yet many people refuse to take it seriously. This is the story of one middle-aged woman in a cardigan determined to understand this growing phenomenon.No other woman has had so many online romances – from Keanu Reeves to Brad Pitt to Prince William – and Becky Holmes is a favourite among peacekeeping soldiers and oil rig workers who desperately need iTunes vouchers. By winding up scammers and investigating the truth behind their profiles, Becky shines a revealing, revolting and hilarious light on a very shady corner of the internet.Featuring first-hand accounts of victims, examples of scripts used by fraudsters, a look into the psychology of fraud and of course plenty of Becky’s hysterical interactions with scammers, this is a must-read for anyone who needs a reminder that Keanu Reeves is NOT in love with them.Trade Review ‘I knew Keanu Reeves Is Not in Love With You by Becky Holmes would be hilarious because I’ve been following her interactions with romance scammers on Twitter for a while. What I wasn’t prepared for was that it would also be eye opening and sometimes heartbreaking. A fabulous and – dare I say it – important read’ Jane Fallon, bestselling author of Worst Idea Ever ‘Fabulous. I read this in a single weekend and I didn’t want it to end. Scammers, con-artists, catfishers – you have met your match. At last the web-bastards get their just deserts’ Jeremy Vine, TV and radio broadcaster ‘This book is a total blast! Vitally informative and extremely funny, it had me gripped like a very fine thriller’ Peter James, bestselling author ‘An extraordinary book, where a solid comic concept transforms into a thoughtful examination of the scammers and the scammed and how our need for love can be exploited. I thought I was getting a book I could laugh at on the toilet, but was instead forced to examine the human condition and my own frailties. What a scam!’ Richard Herring, comedian and writer ‘I knew this book was going to be really funny, but I hadn’t expected it to also be such a thoughtful and disturbing examination of the sad, seedy and scary world of online romance scammers. Becky’s a brave woman, taking on these pests so we don’t have to’ Charlie Higson, author and comedian ‘A funny, sweary, absurd delight that knows just when to take the subject seriously too. I loved it’ Dave Gorman, comedian and presenter ‘A hilarious and timely guide on how to fend off online scammers from someone prepared to take them on at their own game and deliver some richly deserved justice’ Simon Kernick, thriller writer ‘A brilliant read. Moves effortlessly between hilarious and informative and back again’ Ed Byrne, comedian and actor ‘Clever, pertinent and very, very funny ... Striking journalism’ Daniel Finkelstein, columnist for The Times 'Astonishing' Daily Mail 'A revealing, revolting look into the world of romance fraud . . . Entertaining . . . Holmes writes in the sort of jolly, happily vulgar register popularised by Caitlin Moran' Daily Telegraph

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Book SynopsisAs featured on The Joe Rogan Experience______________________________A journalist's twenty-year obsession with the Manson murders leads to shocking new conspiracy theories about the FBI's involvement in this fascinating re-evaluation of one of the most infamous cases in American history.Twenty years ago, reporting for a routine magazine piece about the infamous Manson murders, journalist Tom O'Neill didn't expect to find anything new. But the discovery of horrifying new evidence kick-started an obsession and his life's work. What had he unearthed and what did it mean: why was there surveillance by intelligence agents? Why did the police make these particular mistakes and why did Tom's greatest ally in this fight turn into his biggest foe? Chaos is an explosive read that will shock, grip and change our understanding of a case that has haunted the world for over fifty years.______________________________'Riveting ... Sensational revelations ... True crime fans will be enthralled.' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY'[Full of] scandalous findings ... to me it seems only too plausible. O'Neill's intricately sinister 'secret history' often sounds incredible; that doesn't mean that it's not all true.' OBSERVER'Tantalizing ... Founded on prodigious research ... O'Neill's 20-year investigation reads like a thriller.' LOS ANGELES TIMESTrade ReviewO’Neill's investigations started twenty years ago…and they have continued ever since … His research monomaniacally took over his life … [Full of] scandalous findings … As it develops, O'Neill's tale embroils an increasingly stellar cast of accomplices or enablers … No unified field theory of malfeasance would be complete without a link to the JFK assassination and the ensuing cover-up. O’Neill supplies one, and to me it seems only too plausible. Inevitably there are contemporary resonances … O’Neill's intricately sinister ‘secret history’ often sounds incredible; that doesn't mean that it's not all true. * Observer *Chaos explodes a bomb under Manson’s Helter Skelter race war … Tantalizing … Founded on prodigious research, it convincingly impugns key tenets of Bugliosi’s [Helter Skelter] narrative and exhumes a trove of provocative data … Explosive revelations … O’Neill’s 20-year investigation reads like a thriller with overtones of Philip Marlowe. * Los Angeles Times *A kaleidoscope swirl of weird discoveries and mind-bending hypotheticals that reads like Raymond Chandler. * New York Times *A 20-year quest for the truth may have not found any definitive answers — but it definitely changes the story … Chaos offers a slew of newly reported information that proves one thing: There’s more to it than we thought. * Rolling Stone *Whatever you think you know about the Manson murders is wrong. Just flat out wrong. Tom O’Neill’s twenty years of meticulous research has unearthed revelations about the murders, the murderers, the prosecutors who tried them and a rogues gallery of cops, drug dealers, bent doctors, famous celebrities, grotesque government research, secret agents and shadowy figures in a conspiracy/cover up so sweeping and bizarre, you’ll be as astounded as you are terrified. If your friends call you paranoid, maybe they’re just ignorant.

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Book Synopsis'I love puzzles, and finding answers is the only truly enjoyable part of what I do.'This is because Professor Patricia Wiltshire is a forensic ecologist, her days spent at crime scenes collecting samples, standing over dead bodies in a mortuary, or looking down her microscope for evidence. Nature has given us a messy, imperfect world, but her job is to help make sense of it when we need it to most. A pioneer of forensic ecology - using the natural world to help solve crimes - Patricia has been involved in some of the most high-profile murder cases. Not only does she help the police solve crimes and give answers to the most bemusing circumstances, she can help to exonerate the innocent and enable confessions from the guilty. Working at the interface of where the criminal and natural world interact, Patricia will show us how she finds the answers to some of the worst crimes imaginable.Through a study of her most infamous cases, we join Patricia in putting the puzzle together, teasing the evidence out of her cases - 'a garden came out of his hair' - and showing us all how life and death have always been, and always will be, intertwined. But how do you find justice for a mother who has lost her daughter in the most horrific of circumstances? How does she face the very worst of humanity's crimes, and the weight of responsibility to the victims and those they leave behind?

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Book Synopsis________________________________THE SHOCKING FOLLOW-UP TO MINDHUNTER, NOW A SMASH-HIT NETFLIX DRAMAJohn Douglas is the world's top pioneer and expert on criminal profiling. His lifelong work to understand and combat serial killers is legendary among law enforcement circles. Now, following up on his first book, Mindhunter, Journey Into Darkness delves further into the criminal mind in a range of chilling new cases.Profiling suspects from OJ Simpson to the Unabomber, and investigating the assassination of John Lennon and the Waco tragedy, Journey Into Darkness explores the crimes of the century – as well as cases you've never heard of – with the peerless eye of one of the FBI's finest.Douglas, famously the inspiration for Special Agent Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs, reveals the fascinating circumstance of each crime in detail as he explores the larger issues, from crime prevention and rehabilitation to the reasons behind escalating violence in society. A must read for all true crime fans.

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Book SynopsisHe is fond of enigmas, of conundrums, hieroglyphics; exhibiting in his solutions of each a degree of acumen which appears to the ordinary apprehension praeternatural.

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Book SynopsisThe UK's top-selling true crime writer and author of the #1 bestselling The Suspicions of Mr Whicher takes on the notorious murders at 10 Rillington Place

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Book Synopsis''Broken Blue Line is a rollercoaster of a ride depicting the realities of twenty-first-century policing on the front-line. Its well written, honest and informative. Alistair Livingstone put his life on the line, and now he''s put his heart on the line. Courageous and human. Highly recommended.''Mike Pannett, author of Now Then Lad . . . and Crime SquadAs a police officer, Alistair Livingstone was dubbed Supercop by the media for making more arrests than any other officer in the UK. But then Ali broke down. Broken Blue Line is the vividly told story of what brought him to that point, and the beginning of his slow, painful recovery.Ali was dubbed Supercop for making more than 1,000 arrests over one eighteen-month period, when the average arrest rate for officers in England and Wales is just nine a year. In his work as a police officer, he dealt with life-and-death situations on an almost daily basis: saving lTrade ReviewBroken Blue Line is a rollercoaster of a ride depicting the realities of twenty-first-century policing on the front-line. Its well written, honest and informative. Alistair Livingstone put his life on the line, and now he's put his heart on the line. Courageous and human. Highly recommended. -- Mike Pannett, author of Now Then Lad . . . and Crime Squad

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Book SynopsisThis compelling work of truecrime explores the aftershocks of Killer Clown John Wayne Gacy's crimes with auniquely intimate slant, as the daughter of a key witness probes her mother's personalexperiences and the legacy of murder within a family, a community, and the Americanpsyche.

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Book SynopsisA feast for the senses, this sumptuously illustrated book will introduce you to some of the most infamous women throughout world history, united by their shared taste for poison. Welcome to the League of Lady Poisoners. This riveting and well-researched volume by Lisa Perrin weaves together the stories of more than 25 accused women poisoners, exploring the circumstances and skill sets that led them to lives of crime. You might find yourself rooting for some of them - like Sally Bassett, who helped poison her granddaughter's enslavers in Bermuda, or Giulia Tofana, who sold her name-brand concoction to women wanting to be rid of their abusive (or otherwise undesirable) husbands. Other stories, though - including that of Yiya Murano, one of Argentina's most notorious swindlers and serial killers, or the terrifying Nurse Jane Toppan - may prove less palatable. Organized into thematic chapters based on the women's motives, the book also includes an illustrated primer that delves into the origins and effects of common poisons throughout history, as well as a foreword by Holly Frey and Maria Trimarchi, creators and hosts of the podcast Criminalia. It is a treat for true crime fans, feminist history buffs, and any curious readers fascinated by the more macabre side of human nature.

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Book SynopsisHarriet Wistrich is the founder and director of the Centre for Women's Justice and a solicitor of over 25 years' experience. She has worked for many years with civil liberties firm Birnberg Peirce, acting in many high-profile cases around violence against women, including on behalf of women who challenged the police and parole board in the John Worboys case, women deceived in relationships by undercover police officers and women appealing murder convictions for killing abusive partners. She is also a founder member of the campaign group Justice for Women. Among other accolades, she was named Liberty Human Rights Lawyer of the Year 2014, Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year 2018 for public law and Law Society Gazette personality of the year 2019, and awarded an honorary doctorate of laws by Kent University in 2022.

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Book Synopsis________________________________________The bestselling true story and inspiration behind the hit Netflix show of how one underfunded FBI team became the first to explore the dark world of serial murderers.John Douglas is a former FBI Special Agent and expert in criminal profiling and behavioural science. He made a career of looking evil in the eye - and understanding it. No wonder that he was the inspiration for Special Agent Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs, as well as the film's consultant on the reality of serial killers.Douglas invented and established the practice of criminal profiling, and submerged himself in the world of serial killers in a quest to understand why they killed, and to help prevent more innocent lives from being ended by future killers. As his serial crime unit developed from a derided two-bit operation in a dingy officer to one of the FBI's elite task forces, Douglas personally confronted the most terrible crimes of the age, including those of Jeffrey Dahmer, Charles Manson, Ted Bundy and the Atlanta child murderer.With the fierce page-turning power of a bestselling novel, yet terrifyingly true, Mindhunter is a true crime classic.________________________________________'John Douglas knows more about serial killers than anybody in the world' - Jonathan Demme, director of The Silence of the Lambs 'A cracker of a book' - Esquire Trade Reviewgripping * I Paper *A frightening look inside the mind of the depraved * JOE 100 books to read before you die *John Douglas knows more about serial killers than anybody in the world -- Jonathan Demme, Director of The Silence of the LambsA cracker of a book * Esquire *John Douglas is the FBI's pioneer and master of investigative profiling, and one of the most exciting figures in law enforcement I've had the privilege of knowing -- Patricia Cornwell

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Book SynopsisThe chilling true crime ''non-fiction novel'' that made Truman Capote''s name, In Cold Blood is a seminal work of modern prose, a remarkable synthesis of journalistic skill and powerfully evocative narrative published in Penguin Modern Classics.Controversial and compelling, In Cold Blood reconstructs the murder in 1959 of a Kansas farmer, his wife and both their children. Truman Capote''s comprehensive study of the killings and subsequent investigation explores the circumstances surrounding this terrible crime and the effect it had on those involved. At the centre of his study are the amoral young killers Perry Smith and Dick Hickcock, who, vividly drawn by Capote, are shown to be reprehensible yet entirely and frighteningly human. Truman Capote (1924-84) was born in New Orleans. He left school when he was fifteen and subsequently worked for The New Yorker, which provided his first - and last - regular job. He wrote both fiction and non-fiction - short stories, novels and novellas, travel writing, profiles, reportage, memoirs, plays and films; his other works include In Cold Blood (1965), Music for Chameleons (1980) and Answered Prayers (1986), all of which are published in Penguin Modern Classics.If you enjoyed In Cold Blood, you might like Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs'' And the Hippos were Boiled in their Tanks, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.''It is the American dream turning into the American nightmare ... By juxtaposing and dovetailing the lives and values of the Clutters and those of the killers, Capote produces a stark image of the deep doubleness of American life ... a remarkable book''Spectator

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Book Synopsis"As every amateur toxicologist knows, the difference between a poison and medicine is often simply the dose."There is no weapon as insidious, as seductive or as mysterious as poison. In this terrifying account of history's silent assassin, discover the gripping tales of users, abusers and victims of these mysterious substances, from Cleopatra and Catherine de' Medici to contemporary secret service agents and terrorists.Documenting royal scandal, political upheaval and personal tragedies, Poison details a gruesome thread that runs often undetected through human history.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Poison - a Recurring Story • Poisons of the Ancient World • Medieval and Renaissance Poisons • 17th and 18th Century Poisons • 19th Century Poisons • 20th Century Poisons • 21st Century Poisons.

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Book SynopsisUsing 21st century profiling techniques, it’s time to reveal the truth behind the men most likely to have been Jack the Ripper.

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Book SynopsisDuring the mid-1980s, a brutal killing spree began in Los Angeles as several women were murdered, having been sexually assaulted and shot in the chest with a .25 calibre gun. The man responsible was Lonnie David Franklin Jr. However, his identity wouldn't be revealed for almost thirty years, by which time he had become one of America's most prolific serial killers.At the time, Los Angeles was a city struggling under the weight of racial inequalities and a crack cocaine epidemic that was sweeping through its most deprived areas. Many in the communities of South Central felt that this caused a lack of interest on the part of the LAPD in properly investigating the these murders. In 2010, Franklin's escape from justice finally came to an end, and he was eventually convicted of the killings of nine women and one teenage girl in 2016, although it is suspected that he could be responsible for killing many, many more.In this book, investigative journalist Victoria Redstall delves into the mind of America's most notorious serial killer to discover the truth, in his own words, behind his appalling actions as well as speaking to neighbours, family members, victims' family members and police connected to the case. By visiting Franklin in prison and gaining his trust, she allows Franklin to reveal a terrifying lack of empathy for the victims whose lives he so brutally ended. This is a chilling and fascinating look into the crimes of the Grim Sleeper.

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Book Synopsis'Kenny's story shows us that we all have the potential to achieve extraordinary things. What a hero.' Bear Grylls'If you are compelled by a hero's journey, then Kenny Imafidon is a hero for this generation.' Simon SinekFor fans of Poverty Safari and Skint Estate, That Peckham Boy is a real-life manifesto calling for positive change for those on the fringes of society.'When you're writing the story of your life, make sure you're holding the pen. In this life you can be whoever you want to be.'Two days after his eighteenth birthday, Kenny Imafidon was charged with the murder of a seventeen-year-old boy in south-east London. The middle child of a single mother with ambitions for her children, Kenny grew up near an estate in Peckham where deprivation and hopelessness were rife, and gang culture flourished in his community. Kenny faced a minimum of thirty years behind bars - longer than the life he had lived.When the case against Kenny collapsed, he quickly realised that his name was still inextricably linked with a horrific crime he hadn't committed. He decided to rewrite his story. It began with The Kenny Report, which he delivered to the House of Commons and which detailed the experiences of marginalised young people who drift into gangs, and has led to extensive work with charities, communities and policy-makers that is helping to change the narratives of other young people just like Kenny.A candid and unfiltered take on some of the most challenging topics that define our times, That Peckham Boy is a personal manifesto exploring what it means to be young, Black and poor in the city. It is shaped by Kenny's difficult childhood, his transformative time in prison, and the people and conversations that took him from being on trial for murder into the company of some of the most successful people in the world.Trade Review'A clean-hearted guy, even through the BS' -- Giggs'A very real, honest and inspiring book that demonstrates an understanding of the real world while providing hope and inspiration for a better one. Kenny Imafidon's real-life experiences and hardships growing up in the hood of south London are tragic but enlightening. In his inspiring new book, That Peckham Boy, Kenny openly and honesty shares the obstacles, disadvantages and devastating consequences that typically accompany those who grow up on the streets in poverty and need. From drug deals to racial targeting to being wrongly accused of murder, Kenny reveals the flaws and weaknesses of a broken system that we all pay into. But most importantly, he exemplifies how one person's determination and resolve against all odds can triumph and succeed! A remarkable read!' -- Stephen M. R Covey * The New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Speed of Trust and Trust & Inspire *If you are compelled by a hero's journey, then Kenny Imafidon is a hero for this generation. His story is an inspiration to anyone who dreams of making a better life for themselves and having a positive impact on those around them. -- Simon Sinek * New York Times Bestselling author of Start with Why and The Infinite Game *'Shows that sometimes the hardest choices lead to the biggest and brightest outcomes... Kenny's story is now part of the solution that stops stereotypes limiting potential.' * Tim Campbell MBE *Breathtaking * The Observer *

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Book SynopsisLondon's most notorious gangsters, in their own words . . .The Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller.The Kray twins were Britain's most notorious gangsters. Ruling London's underworld for more than a decade, as gang lords they were among the most powerful and feared men in the city. Photographed by David Bailey and even interviewed for television, they became celebrities in their own right and are infamous to this day.Ronnie and Reg's reign of terror ended on 8 March 1969 when they were sentenced to life with the recommendation that they serve at least thirty years. Ronnie ended his days in Broadmoor – his raging insanity only controlled by massive doses of drugs. Reg served almost three decades in some of Britain's toughest jails before being released on compassionate grounds in August 2000. He died of cancer eight months later.Compiled from a series of interviews with Fred Dinenage from behind prison walls, Our Story is the classic account that explodes the myths surrounding the Kray twins. In it, the twins set the record straight. In their own words they tell the full story of their brutal career of crime and their years behind bars.With an introduction from Fred Dinenage, this compelling, disturbing and highly readable book is the definitive story of two legendary criminals.

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Book SynopsisDid you know that many of Agatha Christie's best-selling detective stories have their basis in reality?Who killed Charles Bravo and why?' asks retired Superintendent Spence in Elephants Can Remember. He refers to an unsolved Victorian murder mystery, one of many allusions to real life crime and criminals in Agatha Christie's fiction. The infamous Dr Crippen, Jack the Ripper, John George Haigh, and many other real killers, fraudsters and spies, figure prominently in her plots, both explicitly and implicitly. Many of these cases belong to British criminal history, others originate from the USA and France. They cover a time frame from the eighteenth century to the 1960s, showing that Agatha Christie was not only an inspired writer of fiction but had a knowledge of true crime as well. There are even instances where she seems to have anticipated real life crimes, as in the case of the infamous poisoner Graham Young. This book explains the reality of these criminals and their crimes - some of which are well known, others largely forgotten - and how they are utilised in Agatha Christie's stories. Armed with this book, fans of the author's work will be able to gain new insights when reading her books either for the first time or on a repeat reading.

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Book SynopsisThe first book to make use of police archives to tell the story of how rampant corruption led to the downfall of the Met Police's infamous Flying SquadTrade Review"Root demolishes the excuses of corrupt police; that they cut corners for the greater good, to bang up criminals. As for sources, Root has gone to the National Archives for the Met's files on the investigations of the 1970s. One of the books in Root's list of books consulted, 'The Fall of Scotland Yard', is equally worth reading, to give a sense of the press sniffing at the corrupt squads and of the smell of the Seventies, including that aura (as exploited by the likes of Drury) that British police were the best (also pushed by The Sweeney on TV) and could not do wrong." * Professional Security Magazine *

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisIn this astonishing account, Iceberg Slim reveals the secret inner world of the pimp, and the smells, sounds, fears and petty triumphs of his world. A legendary figure of the Chicago underworld, this is his story: from defending his mother against the men in their lives to becoming a giant of the streets. A seething tale of brutality, cunning and greed, Pimp is a harrowing portrait of life on the wrong side of the tracks, and a rich warning from a true survivor.Trade ReviewSlim belongs to the knuckle-duster-in-the-face school of storytelling * * Sunday Times * *Slim always told it as it was, without compromise -- IRVINE WELSHPimp is hot and frantic, a remarkable tour de force of carnality and violence * * The Times * *This brutally honest memoir . . . is as shocking today as ever. A precursor of forty years of black-street culture, this is uncompromising and harrowing, but a landmark book nonetheless * * Big Issue * *Iceberg Slim does for the pimp what Jean Genet did for the thief * * Washington Post * *Pimp is an eye-boggling netherworld documentary, a tear-arse tale of ferocious emotion, expressed through action * * Q magazine * *Iceberg Slim always kept it real. It is blatant, uncompromising, and as close to the truth as you can get without going there yourself -- Ice-T

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