True crime Books

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Book SynopsisVirginia (Roberts) Giuffre's all-American childhood came to an abrupt end by sexual abuse at the age of 7. After her mother exiled her to a school for troubled youth, she ran away to a life on the streets. The FBI rescued her when she was 14 from a violent pedophile and her life seemed to return to normal with a job as spa attendant at Donald Trump's exclusive Mar-a-Lago in Florida. It was there that the teenager was approached by the elegant jet-setter Ghislaine Maxwell who said her millionaire partner Jeffrey Epstein would like to sponsor her to become a professional masseuse... This is the first book to tell Virginia's own extraordinary, tale as an abused penniless high-school drop-out and how she was able to outsmart her rich underage-sex predators and forced an end to their crimes.Trade ReviewPrevious praise for Nigel Cawthorne; 'A strong book.' WASHINGTON POST; 'An irresistible story.' NEWSWEEK; 'Royal watcher tells all.' NEW YORK POST; 'Explosive expose.' GLOBE; 'Controversial.' Omid Scobie; '[A] psychological portrait.' DAILY MAIL; 'Excruciating details.' SUNDAY TIMES; 'Raises deep questions.' A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE WEEK; 'As forensic in detail... as salacious in delivery.' TLS; A must-read.' JEWISH CHRONICLE BOOK OF THE YEAR; 'One of the most explosive investigations to be seen in print in many years.' ON MAGAZINE; 'What makes this biography so powerful is the painstaking detail the book goes into. An investigative look behind the key players, allegations, and counter-allegations... a different departure from the royal family to the others in this round-up.' THE I NEWSPAPER; 'Goes behind the headlines, documentaries, and mini-series to expose... the painstaking detail.' INDEPENDENTTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 A Troubled Childhood 2 Exploited 3 Drug Treatment 4 A Picture of Innocence 5 Flying High 6 Employed 7 Drugs Reunited 8 Training 9 Abortion and Sadomasochism 10 Belgravia, 2001 11 Sweet Seventeen 12 A Golden Cage 13 Virginia's First Victory 14 Thailand 15 Australia 16 The Real FBI 17 Start of a Campaign 18 Justice Is Served 19 Reckoning Epilogue

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Book Synopsis THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED THE HIT SERIES THE CROWDED ROOM STARRING TOM HOLLAND From the author of million-copy bestseller Flowers for Algernon, the shocking true story of the first person in US history to be found not guilty due to multiple personality disorder.''Fascinating'' LA Times''Absorbing'' CosmopolitanBilly Milligan was a man tormented by twenty-four distinct personalities battling for supremacy - a battle that culminated when he awoke in jail, arrested for the kidnap and rape of three women. In a landmark trial, Billy was acquitted of his crimes by reason of insanity caused by multiple personality disorder - the first such court decision in history.Among the twenty-four are: Philip, a petty criminal; Kevin, who dealt drugs; April, whose only ambition was to kill Billy''s stepfather; Adalana, the shy, affection-starved lesbian who ''used'' Billy''s body in the rapes that led to hiTrade ReviewFascinating * L A Times *[Keyes] has carried it off brilliantly, bringing not only a fine clarity but a special warmth and empathy * Washington Post *An absorbing, often heart-rending exploration of the human mind * Cosmopolitan *Will rivet even the casual reader -- Flora Rheta Schreiber, author of SYBIL

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION 'A gripping, unputdownable masterpiece' Hallie Rubenhold, author of the Baillie Gifford prize-winning The Five 'Ingenious history writing' Mail on Sunday 'Extraordinary' Guardian 'A masterwork' Australian Book Review 'Imaginative and compelling, impassioned and powerful, and deeply, deeply moving' Matt Houlbrook, author of Prince of Tricksters Lydia Harvey was meant to disappear. She was young and working class; she'd walked the streets, worked in brothels, and had no money of her own. In 1910, politicians, pimps, policemen and moral reformers saw her as just one of many 'girls who disappeared'. But when she took the stand to give testimony at the trial of her traffickers, she ensured she'd never be forgotten. Historian Julia Laite traces Lydia's extraordinary life from her home in New Zealand to the streets of Buenos Aires and safe houses of London. She also reveals the lives of international traffickers Antonio Carvelli and his mysterious wife Marie, the policemen who tracked them down, the journalists who stoked the scandal, and Eilidh MacDougall, who made it her life's mission to help women who'd been abused and disbelieved. Together, they tell an immersive story of crime, travel and sexual exploitation, of lives long overlooked and forgotten by history, and of a world transforming into the 20th century.Trade ReviewOne of the great storytellers of her generation, Julia Laite provides a lens through which we can view the practices and experiences of sex trafficking in the early twentieth century. Along the way, Laite nudges us to think about the ethics of telling another person's story. Riveting, powerfully argued and emotionally moving. -- Joanna Bourke * Fear: A Cultural History *A careful, empathetic reconstruction of the early-20th-century vice trade, placing the victims at the heart of the narrative and returning their dignity to them. This is a moving and compelling work of great scholarship. -- Sarah Wise, author * The Blackest Streets *A gripping, unputdownable masterpiece of scholarly historical research and true crime writing. Julia Laite explores the sordid world of crime, sex and international policing in 1910 by focusing on the individuals caught up in an elaborate web of exploitation. Readers who loved The Five will find this story and its skilful telling equally as enthralling. -- Hallie Rubenhold, author * The Five *Historical writing does not get any better than this ... Working out from one trial at London's Old Bailey, Laite provides a vivid account of a globalising world at the start of the twentieth century. Imaginative and compelling, impassioned and powerful, and deeply, deeply moving, this book is also a signal example of the contemporary political stakes of writing about the past -- Matt Houlbrook, author * Queer London *Demonstrates how, with determination, sensitivity and a careful dose of imagination, extraordinary recoveries are possible ... Laite has taken her slim archival trace and immeasurably enriched it; she has reclaimed a woman's life and restored a more complex reality to the record. -- Sarah Watling * Guardian *With an inventive mix of sources, Laite brilliantly summons up one girl's life, dreams and suffering. It's ingenious history writing, but as the author says, it's a story being repeated daily for today's victims of traffickers. * Mail on Sunday *History at its most rigorous and imaginative. Laite provides an insightful account of the regulation of sex trafficking in the early twentieth century and an enthralling encounter with some of the people involved in one of its more salacious episodes. ...A history book that often reads more like a novel, and that challenges the clichés of villains, victims, and heroic rescuers that dominate writing on sex trafficking. ... A masterwork * Australian Book Review *A voice so arrestingly poignant that the hidden briefly becomes visible * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisHELP! I am addicted to this series! UnputdownableAlex Pine has done it again! Another excellent crime thriller? I was hooked from the first page. Read it ? you won?t be disappointedAbsolutely gripping? I was on the edge of my seatTrade Review Praise for Alex Pine: ‘I loved this book! It is dark, gritty and thrilling … It is fast-paced and has you hooked from the first few pages. I devoured this book in two sittings.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Dang! Now this was one heck of a story! If you want suspense, thrills and chills, then this is your book!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A chilling page turner’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘WOW! This book had me hooked from the first page, I didn’t want to put it down and this was one of the twistiest and most complicated murder cases I’ve ever read about.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Another fantastic book from Alex Pine!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I loved this book and enjoyed every minute of it. There were so many twists, turns and surprises on just about every page.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘DI James Walker is fast becoming a favourite of mine along with Alex Pine being one of my top authors.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Book SynopsisA three-year-old boy dies, having apparently fallen while trying to reach a bag of sugar on a high shelf. His grandmother stands accused of second-degree murder. Psychologist Susan Nordin Vinocour agrees to evaluate the defendant, to determine whether the impoverished and mentally ill woman is competent to stand trial. Vinocour soon finds herself pulled headlong into a series of difficult questions, beginning with: was the defendant legally insane on the night in question? As she wades deeper into the story, Vinocour traces the legal definition of insanity back nearly two hundred years, when our understanding of the human mind was in its infancy. "Competency" and "insanity", she explains, are creatures of legal definition, not psychiatric reality, and in criminal law, "insanity" has become a luxury of the rich and white. With passion, clarity, and heart, Vinocour examines the troubling intersection of mental health issues and the law.Trade Review"A chilling book … unquestionably a page-turner, and revealing the ending would be a spoiler … A satisfying courtroom drama that hits the sweet spot between good storytelling and sharp legal analysis.” – Kirkus

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Book SynopsisA remarkable story of turning heartbreak into hope Life as we know it can change in an instant, in the blink of an eye. And it did for Martina Cox and her family in 2018. On an ordinary day in April of that year, Seán Cox travelled to Anfield to watch his beloved Liverpool play. But he never made it to the match. A vicious, unprovoked attack left him with a severe brain injury, unable to walk or talk.Here, Martina tells their remarkable story. It is a story of inner strength and determination, of dedication and commitment. By not taking no for an answer and with the help of their family, their community, the Liverpool spirit, and tens of thousands of people across the world who were touched by Seán's story, they have achieved what was thought to be impossible.With Hope in Your Heart brings Seán's story right to the present day, as he moved back to his family home for the first time in two years just as the coronavirus lockdown took hold

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Book Synopsis**SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**On the Saturday morning of January 9, 1993, while Jean Claude Romand was killing his wife and children, I was with mine in a parent-teacher meeting…With these chilling first words, acclaimed master of psychological suspense, Emmanuel Carrère, begins his exploration of the double life of a respectable doctor, eighteen years of lies, five murders, and the extremes to which ordinary people can go.Discover the true story that is ‘beyond the imagination of even the best crime writer' (Sunday Times)'A disturbing look at the dark side of human nature that is powerfully written and beautifully told' Louis Theroux'Mesmerising' Sunday Telegraph'Stunning' Evening Standard'Unputdownable' Washington Post'A masterpiece' New York TimesTrade ReviewA disturbing look at the dark side of human nature that is powerfully written and beautifully told -- Louis TherouxThe story told here is truly beyond the imagination for even the best crime writer * Sunday Times *The mesmerizing true crime tale of an apparently ordinary man whose life mutates in the space of a few blood-splattering hours from the realm of Renoir to that of Stephen King * People *He’s the best kind of writer, not just a bestseller but a man who is not afraid to leave the comfort zone of his desk, go out into the world, take risks, and get his shoes dirty * Observer *Unputdownable... Imagine a sleek, twenty-first century version of In Cold Blood * Washington Post *A triumph of insight and concision, brilliant both as a psychological study and as the portrayal of a community * Independent on Sunday *A masterpiece... It's a level of moral discomfort almost without equal in literature * New York Times *Savagely intense and utterly compelling... This is his paciest and cleanest-cut book...few books could better deserve a second chance to find new readers * Sunday Times *The Adversary is exactly the idea I have of a modern novel: struggling deftly with facts and with itselfAn absolutely stunning piece of work, totally involving and unforgettable * Evening Standard *This is the sort of story I dreamed of covering when I was a journalist. The sort of story for which the phrase You couldn’t make it up was invented. The Adversary takes a deep, mesmerising dive into the darkness of a human soul. There were moments when I truly could not believe what I was reading. But unlike other serial killer noirs sitting on my shelves, this horror is real. And so much more chilling for that.[A] book that fairly struck me over the head was The Adversary… it’s the coexistence of almost unimaginably variant realities within a family that haunts you. -- Megan Nolan * New Statesman, *Books of the Year* *A remarkably thoughtful and unnerving book...mesmerising * Sunday Telegraph *Profoundly disturbing...a remarkable and undoubtedly important book - perhaps even a necessary one * Daily Express *A fascinating meditation on Jean-Claude Romand and what his bizarre life might mean... Carrère's inquiry is highly personal, written in lucid prose...the narrative is often mesmerizing, and revealing about the fragility of human relationships * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisA #1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon Charts, USA Today, and Washington Post bestseller. #1 New York Times bestselling author Gregg Olsen’s shocking and empowering true-crime story of three sisters determined to survive their mother’s house of horrors. After more than a decade, when sisters Nikki, Sami, and Tori Knotek hear the word mom, it claws like an eagle’s talons, triggering memories that have been their secret since childhood. Until now. For years, behind the closed doors of their farmhouse in Raymond, Washington, their sadistic mother, Shelly, subjected her girls to unimaginable abuse, degradation, torture, and psychic terrors. Through it all, Nikki, Sami, and Tori developed a defiant bond that made them far less vulnerable than Shelly imagined. Even as others were drawn into their mother’s dark and perverse web, the sisters found the strength and courage to escape an escalating nightmare that culminated in multiple murders. Harrowing and heartrending, If You Tell is a survivor’s story of absolute evil—and the freedom and justice that Nikki, Sami, and Tori risked their lives to fight for. Sisters forever, victims no more, they found a light in the darkness that made them the resilient women they are today—loving, loved, and moving on.Trade Review“This riveting account will leave readers questioning every odd relative they’ve known.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Olsen presents the story chronologically and in a simple, straightforward style, which works well: it is chilling enough as is.” —Booklist “An unsettling stunner about sibling love, courage, and resilience.” —People Magazine (book of the week) “If You Tell accomplishes what it sets out to do. The result is a compelling portrait of terror and a powerfully honest, yet still sensitive, look at survival.” —Bookreporter “This disturbing book recounts the unimaginable abuse and torture three sisters Nikki, Sami, and Tori Knotek endured from their own mother, Shelly…the strong bond they form to survive and defy their mother’s sadistic tendencies is inspiring.” —BuzzFeed “A true-crime tour de force.” —Steve Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of No Stone Unturned “Even the most devoted true-crime reader will be shocked by the maddening and mind-boggling acts of horror that Gregg Olsen chronicles in this book. Olsen has done it again, giving readers a glimpse into a murderous duo that’s so chilling, it will have your head spinning. I could not put this book down!” —Aphrodite Jones, New York Times bestselling author “A suspenseful, horrific, and yet fascinating character study of an incredibly dysfunctional and dangerous family by Gregg Olsen, one of today’s true-crime masters.” —Caitlin Rother, New York Times bestselling author “There’s only one writer who can tell such an intensely horrifying, psychotic tale of unspeakable abuse, grotesque torture, and horrendous serial murder with grace, sensitivity and class…A riveting, taut, real-life psychological suspense thrill ride…All at once compelling and original, Gregg Olsen’s If You Tell is an instant true-crime classic.” —M. William Phelps, New York Times bestselling author “We all start life with immense promise, but in our first minute, we cannot know who’ll ultimately have the greatest impact on our lives, for better or worse. Here, Gregg Olsen—the heir apparent to legendary crime writers Jack Olsen and Ann Rule—explores the dark side of that question in his usual chilling, heartbreaking prose. Superb and creepy storytelling from a true-crime master.” —Ron Franscell, author of Alice & Gerald: A Homicidal Love Story “A master of true crime returns with a vengeance. After a decade detour into novels, Gregg Olsen is back with a dark tale of nonfiction from the Pacific Northwest that will keep you awake long after the lights have gone out. The monster at the heart of If You Tell is not your typical boogeyman, not some wandering drifter or man in a van. No. In fact, they called her…mother. And yet this story is about hope and renewal in the face of evil and how three sisters can find the goodness in the world after surviving the worst it has to offer. Classic true crime in the tradition of In Cold Blood and The Stranger Beside Me.” —James Renner, author of True Crime Addict “This nightmare walked on two legs and some of her victims called her mom. In If You Tell, Gregg Olsen documents the horrific mental and physical torture Shelly Knotek inflicted on everyone in her household. A powerful story of cruelty that will haunt you for a long time.” —Diane Fanning, author of Treason in the Secret City “Bristling with tension, gripping from the first pages, Gregg Olsen’s masterful portrait of children caught in the web of a coldly calculating killer fascinates. A read so compelling it kept me up late into the night, If You Tell exposes incredible evil that lived quietly in small-town America. That the book is fact, not fiction, terrifies.” —Kathryn Casey, bestselling author of In Plain Sight

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Book SynopsisPamela Ball, a bestselling author, used her unparalleled powers as a psychic to unearth some of the most amazing facts about past and present events, not accessible to most people, as demonstrated in her books. She is also author of A Complete Book of Dreams and Dreaming.

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Book Synopsis''God, I love these women! Their breeziness, compassion, humour and resilience are a tonic''Libby Purves, Times Literary SupplementIn February 1919, London''s first women police officers took to the streets of the city. They battled entrenched gender stereotypes, institutional inequality, sexual harassment and assaults disturbingly familiar to those affecting today''s #MeToo generation of modern women. Female officers, facing resentment from male colleagues, were expected to do little more than ''Make the tea, luv . . .'' and were charged with the sole task of looking after women and children who fell into police hands.Yet, in the course of a century, policewomen have won the equality they demanded, overcome sexism and prejudice, rejected harassment and sexual assaults and smashed through the glass ceiling to lead, rather than follow, their male colleagues. One hundred years on from those first Women Police Constables, aTrade ReviewThe work described, the advances made and responsibilities now taken on by many women make this a fascinating and encouraging book. * The Police History Society Newsletter 98 *God, I love these women! Their breeziness, compassion, humour and resilience are a tonic. -- Libby Purves * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE DOUGLAS STEWART PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE VICTORIAN PREMIER'S LITERARY PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE WALKLEY BOOK AWARD 'I understand and sympathise with the feeling you might have that you already know the Jeffrey Epstein story. But I am not here to tell you a story about Jeffrey Epstein, or even Ghislaine Maxwell. I am here to tell you the stories of ten women, many of whom have never spoken at length before, about the real impact of sexual trauma on their lives' In November 2021, Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of five counts of sex-trafficking of minors and is now serving twenty years in prison for the role she played in Jeffrey Epstein's abuse of four girls. Journalist Lucia Osborne-Crowley was one of the only reporters allowed into the courtroom every day. In her meticulous account of this incendiary trial, Osborne-Crowley paints a blistering critique of a criminal justice system ill-equipped to deliver justice for abuse survivors, no matter the outcome. Written as a gripping true crime drama, The Lasting Harm critically questions our age-old appetite for crime and punishment, reframes trauma and offers a new blueprint for meaningful reparative justice.

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Book SynopsisThe definitive book in English about the 'Ndrangheta - the most powerful Mafia in the world.

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Book SynopsisThis remarkable book tells the engrossing story of a small, highly organised criminal gang who ruled supreme in the South-West of the Netherlands in the 1990s, and were never caught. The gang members came from all over Europe, and all stratas of society. They each had specialist skills and spoke at least three languages. Their audacious targets, meticulous planning, and ruthless execution gave them legendary status. They never killed, but struck fear into their enemies. It was not until 2022 that a gang member approached the author and told his story for the first time. It is a fascinating account, and as he readily admits, they would not get away with it today.

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Book Synopsis**A Sunday Times Book of the Year**The closest you’ll ever get to the most infamous drug kingpin in modern history, told by the person who stood by his sideThe story of Pablo Escobar, one of the wealthiest, powerful and violent criminals of all time has fascinated the world. Yet the one person closest to him has never spoken out – until now. Maria Victoria Henao met Pablo when she was 13, eloped with him at 15, and despite his numerous infidelities and violence, stayed by his side for the following 16 years until his death. At the same time, she urged him to make peace with his enemies and managed to negotiate her and her children’s freedom after Pablo’s demise. The most intriguing character in the Escobar narrative is ready to share her story and reveal the real man behind the legend.Trade ReviewThis engaging book will not have arrived soon enough for Netflix Narcos addicts craving more. It will also stand out as an invaluable text for any student of Colombia’s blood-drenched, modern history. * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisAn account of the citizens of the town through their Misdeeds, Thefts, foul crimes against their Betters, petty Arguments, Breaches of the peace and Tales of Drunkenness in the oldest INNs of the Place.A brilliant pocketbook of Victorian crime and punishment in a Gloucestershire town

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Book SynopsisTHE WORLDWIDE #1 BESTSELLER BEHIND AMAZON PRIME''S BOSCH AND NETFLIX''S THE LINCOLN LAWYERSOME CRIMES YOU CAN''T FORGET.OTHERS YOU CAN''T FORGIVE.Detective Renée Ballard is given the chance to revive the LAPD''s cold case unit and find justice for the families of the forgotten. The only catch is she must first unravel an unsolved murder, or lose this opportunity of a lifetime...Harry Bosch is top of the list of investigators Ballard wants to recruit. The ex-detective is a living legend - but for how long?Because Bosch has his own agenda: a crime that has haunted him for years - the murder of a whole family, buried out in the desert - which he vowed to close.With the killer still out there and evidence elusive, Bosch is on a collision course with a choice he hoped never to make...''Cements Connelly''s reputation as the master of modern crime fiction'' EXPRESS

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Book SynopsisAfter in-depth research of the circumstances of that fateful night, investigative writer and former journalist Noel Botham finally reveals what he alleges to be the truth - Princess Diana fell victim to a ruthlessly executed assassination. Twenty years later, the tragedy still shapes Britain as we know it today. How could the Establishment betray the trust of a whole nation? How was the killing executed? Was there really another car in the tunnel at the time of the crash? Reporting from the innermost sanctums of British intelligence and royalty, Botham reveals shocking answers to what he claims is one of the UK's most successfully kept secrets. As Botham affirms, The Murder of Princess Diana firmly lays to rest the outdated theory that Diana's death was a mere accident, and finally gives the people of Britain the explanation they deserve.

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Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE CWA GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION 2023'Wendy Joseph's gripping account of the law at work reads like a cliffhanger.' Sunday Times'Absolutely superb. 5 stars for sheer readability alone. Her Honour entertains as she educates us about murder, about the law and about how we human beings are shaped as we create the culture we live with.' PHILIPPA PERRY, author of THE BOOK YOU WISH YOUR PARENTS HAD READ___________________________________________________________________________________'Every day in the UK lives are suddenly, brutally, wickedly taken away. Victims are shot or stabbed. Less often they are strangled or suffocated or beaten to death. Rarely they are poisoned, pushed off high buildings, drowned or set alight. Then there are the many who are killed by dangerous drivers, or corporate gross negligence. There are a lot of ways you can kill someone. I know because I've seen most of them at close quarters.'High-profile murder cases all too often grab our attention in dramatic media headlines - for every unlawful death tells a story. But, unlike most of us, a judge doesn't get to turn the page and move on. Nor does the defendant, or the family of the victim, nor the many other people who populate the court room.And yet, each of us has a vested interest in what happens there. And while most people have only the sketchiest idea of what happens inside a Crown Court, any one of us could end up in the witness-box or even in the dock.With breath-taking skill and deep compassion, the author describes how cases unfold and illustrates exactly what it's like to be a murder trial judge and a witness to human good and bad. Sometimes very bad.The fracture lines that run through our society are becoming harder and harder to ignore. From a unique vantage point, the author warns that we do so at our peril._____________________________________________________________________________________________'The most exceptional book I have read in a long time.' CLARE MACKINTOSH'A very rare gem. written with authority, humility and compassion. Compellingly clever and sharply honest.' PROFESSOR DAME SUE BLACK, author of ALL THAT REMAINS'Riveting, thought-provoking, and very, very entertaining. I loved it.' RODDY DOYLE'Will make you question all the fundamentals that you've come to take for granted about offenders, the crimes that they commit - especially murder - and the punishment they deserve. A page turner that will leave you wanting to know more.' EMERITUS PROFESSOR DAVID WILSON, author of MY LIFE WITH MURDERERSThe instant Sunday Times bestseller, March 2023Trade ReviewJudge Wendy Joseph's gripping account of the law at work reads like a cliffhanger ... Joseph is a deft deployer of suspense and nuance ... She is funny too, with a keen eye for the absurdities of the human condition -- Kathryn Hughes * Sunday Times *'UNLAWFUL KILLINGS reads like a really terrific novel. It is riveting, thought-provoking, and very, very entertaining. I loved it.' -- Roddy DoyleAbsolutely superb. 5 stars for sheer readability alone. Her Honour entertains as she educates us about murder, about the law and about how we human beings are shaped as we create the culture we live with. -- Philippa Perry, author of The Book You Wish Your Parents Had ReadFascinating, propulsive and beautifully written, this is an extraordinary insight into the heart and mind of a judge as they witness the best and worst of humanity. I couldn't put it down. -- Sarah Langford, author of In Your DefenceFresh, compelling, well-written and unflinchingly authentic. -- Emily Penninck * the i newspaper *

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Book SynopsisNow filmed as ''The Irishman'' starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci ''I heard you paint houses'' are the first words Jimmy Hoffa ever spoke to Frank ''the Irishman'' Sheeran. To paint a house is to kill a man. The paint is the blood that splatters on the wall and floors. In the course of nearly five years of recorded interviews Frank Sheeran confessed to Charles Brandt that he handled more than twenty-five hits for the Mob, and for his friend Hoffa. Sheeran learned to kill in the US Army, where he saw an astonishing 411 days of active combat during World War 2. After returning home he became a hustler and a hit man, working for legenday crime boss Russell Bufalino. Eventually Sheeran would rise to a position of such prominence that he was named as one of only two non-Italians on a list of the twenty-six most wanted Mob figures. When Bufalino ordered Sheeran to kill Hoffa, the Irishman did the deed, knowing that if he refused, he would haveTrade ReviewOn July 30, 1975, Hoffa disappeared. Sheeran explains how he did it in prose reminiscent of the best gangster films. * The Associated Press *Brandt's book gives new meaning to the term "guilty pleasure." * New York Times *Told with such economy and chilling force as to make The Sopranos suddenly seem overwrought and theatrical. * New York Daily News ***** * Metro *

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Book SynopsisEverything drug cartels do to survive and prosper they’ve learnt from big business – brand value and franchising from McDonald’s, supply chain management from Walmart, diversification from Coca-Cola. Whether it’s human resourcing, R&D, corporate social responsibility, off-shoring, problems with e-commerce or troublesome changes in legislation, the drug lords face the same strategic concerns companies like Ryanair or Apple. So when the drug cartels start to think like big business, the only way to understand them is using economics. In Narconomics, Tom Wainwright meets everyone from coca farmers in secret Andean locations, deluded heads of state in presidential palaces, journalists with a price on their head, gang leaders who run their empires from dangerous prisons and teenage hitmen on city streets - all in search of the economic truth.Trade ReviewAn economics manual for the Breaking Bad generation… a fascinating account. * The Times *One of the pithiest and most persuasive arguments for drug law reform I have ever read. -- Misha Glenny * New York Times *A lively and engaging book. * Wall Street Journal *Great fun… He reveals how drug barons run their illegal multi-billion dollar global businesses in much the same way as Fortune 500 chief executives. * Sunday Times *Superb. One of the most original and smart takes I have read on the drugs world. -- Moisés Naím, author of 'Illicit'

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Book SynopsisThe dead talk. To the right listener, they tell us all about themselves: where they came from, how they lived, how they died - and who killed them. Forensic scientists can unlock the mysteries of the past and help justice to be done using the messages left by a corpse, a crime scene or the faintest of human traces. Forensics draws on interviews with top-level professionals, ground-breaking research and Val McDermid's own experience to lay bare the secrets of this fascinating science. And, along the way, she wonders at how maggots collected from a corpse can help determine time of death, how a DNA trace a millionth the size of a grain of salt can be used to convict a killer and how a team of young Argentine scientists led by a maverick American anthropologist uncovered the victims of a genocide. In her novels, McDermid has been solving complex crimes and confronting unimaginable evil for years. Now, she's looking at the people who do it for real. It's a journey that will take her to war zones, fire scenes and autopsy suites, and bring her into contact with extraordinary bravery and wickedness, as she traces the history of forensics from its earliest beginnings to the cutting-edge science of the modern day.Trade ReviewMcDermid has not lost her early journalistic genius for telling a good story plainly -- Ian Finlayson * Times *... she dissects the history of forensics through gripping stories of real-life crime. * New Statesman *Every bit as compelling as the best of the fictional genre * Irish Times *Fascinating history of forensic science .... McDermid provides a grimly absorbing account of crime and it's detection -- Ian Thompson * Observer *... the science of forensics has come a long way, as Val McDermid relates in this fascinating study. McDermid, best known for her gritty psychological thrillers, has interviewed a wide range (a morgue? a graveyard?) of forensic scientists and has revisited some of the most gruesome true life mysteries to piece together a gripping history of the anatomy of crime. Each of the chapters - which examine themes such as fire scene investigation, toxicology, fingerprinting, DNA and blood splatter and facial reconstruction - contains a wealth of surprising information -- Andrew Wilson * Independent *Praise for Val McDermid: 'McDermid has the ruthless psychological scalpel that forms part of the equipment of all good novelists, whatever their genre. And, fortunately for us, she knows just how to use it. * Guardian *The sheer brio of McDermid's writing produces that increasingly rare thing, a genuine page-turner that doesn't insult its readers' intelligence. * Independent *To write one brilliant book is hard. To write 25 is a miracle. That is what Val McDermid has achieved over the course of her career and it's why she is a much-loved legend in the literary world. * Sunday Express *

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Book Synopsis'Popular history at its best' Spectator 'Boisterous replete with stabbings, bashing and thumping' Daily Mail

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Book Synopsis''A serious reinvestigation full of revealing background information that sheds additional light on what was then and now remains a shocking crime'' Paul French, author ofMidnight in Peking ''This riveting, eye-opening investigation of a 70-year-old murder mystery reads like a whodunit ... A true crime must-read'' Dean Jobb, author ofThe Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream ''As much social history as it is gripping true crime'' Jeremy Craddock, author ofThe Jigsaw Murders ''A meticulously researched re-examination'' Caitlin Davies, author ofPrivate Inquiries: The Secret History of Female Sleuths 1950s France. A British establishment figure. A shocking crime. A miscarriage of justice. The search for truth. In 1952, in a peaceful corner of Provence, a farmer''s son stumbled upon a terrible scene. Three bodies: a husband and wife shot dead, their ten-year-old daughter savagely beaten to death. They were all British. So begins one of the most notorious murder cases in French history. Sir Jack Drummond was a senior advisor to the British government, a household name who was respected and admired. His fame made the case a cause célèbre in France and resulted in the swift conviction of a local farmer, but questions about Drummond''s life and death remain unanswered. In this bold new investigation, Stephanie Matthews and Daniel Smith strip away the prejudice and propaganda to reveal a grave miscarriage of justice. A light is shone on Drummond''s secret life in the shadows of the Cold War, painting a portrait of an enigmatic man who may not have been the innocent holidaymaker he appeared to be, and recasting one of the twentieth century''s most notorious murders in a fascinating and important new light.

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Book SynopsisUpdated new edition of the classic, bestselling bookon the suspicious death of the former government weapons expert.

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Book SynopsisWhen his identical twin brother Simon was kicked to death, all Nick Dawson felt for the killers was hatred.Struggling in a world where his mirror image had vanished, he came to realise there was only one way to stop the torture - acceptance. Travelling to the absolute limits of personal darkness, Nick came face to face with his brother''s killers.Now a champion of restorative justice, Nick heads behind bars, asking hardened criminals to change, to think of their victims, to make amends.In Face To Face he takes us with him on a journey into this hidden and unpredictable world.

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Book SynopsisTHE NEW EDITION OF THE TRUE CRIME CLASSICThe Inside Story of Serial Killer Ted BundyAnn Rule was a writer working on the biggest story of her life, tracking down a brutal mass-murderer. Little did she know that the young man who was her close friend was the savage slayer she was hunting . . .TED BUNDY was everyone''s picture of a natural ''winner'' - handsome, charming, brilliant in law school, successful with women, on the verge of a dazzling career. Fast-forward to 24 January 1989, Ted Bundy is executed. He had confessed to taking the lives of at least thirty-five young women, coast to coast.This is his story: the story of his magnetic power, his unholy compulsion, his demonic double life and his string of helpless victims. It was written by a woman who thought she knew Ted Bundy, until she began to put all the evidence together and the whole terrifying pictuTrade ReviewThe most fascinating killer in modern American history...Ann Rule has an extraordinary angle that makes THE STRANGER BESIDE ME as dramatic and chilling as a bedroom window shattering at midnight * The New York Times *

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Book Synopsis‘Beautifully told by David Grann, one of the best true-crime writers around… Nuanced and gripping’ Evening StandardNow a major film starring Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek and Casey Affleck, The Old Man and the Gun is joined by two other riveting true-crime tales by the author of the international Number One bestsellers KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON and THE WAGERThe Old Man and the Gun is the incredible story of a bank robber and prison escape artist who modelled himself after figures like Pretty Boy Floyd and who, even in his seventies, refuses to retire. True Crime follows the twisting investigation of a Polish detective who suspects that a novelist planted clues in his fiction to an actual murder. And The Chameleon recounts how a French imposter assumes the identity of a missing boy from Texas and infiltrates the boy's family, only to soon wondTrade Review‘Beautifully told by David Grann, one of the best true-crime writers around… Nuanced and gripping’ * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisRose West was, on the face of it, a mother living with her family in a semi in Gloucester. But behind closed doors, she was a monstrous killer who, with husband Fred, killed at least a dozen women and girls, including her own daughter Heather, sixteen, and stepdaughter, Charmaine, eight.Rose was sadistic as both a mother and killer, and all her victims as well as her own children were subjected to horrific sexual violence and torture. Rose did paid sex work in the family home with husband Fred peeping through the holes he had made in the wall and listening on an intercom. They modified the house to take in lodgers and then preyed on them, as well as other young women hitching a lift or waiting for a bus.In 1972, aged seventeen, Caroline Owens, who had been hired as a nanny, was drugged, attacked and raped, but managed to escape. But she could not bring herself to testify, so the Wests remained free.Two decades would pass before Rose?s dark secrets were discovered when nine of the victims? bodies were dug up in the garden and beneath the cellar at the West?s home at 25 Cromwell Street. And now, three decades after this grim discovery, the workings of Rose West?s twisted mind remain as mysterious as who played what role in this husband-and-wife folie à deux.

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Book SynopsisGenteel society ladies who compare notes on their husbands'' suicides. A hilariously foul-mouthed black drag queen. A voodoo priestess who works her roots in the graveyard at midnight. A morose inventor who owns a bottle of poison powerful enough to kill everyone in town. A prominent antiques dealer who hangs a Nazi flag from his window to disrupt the shooting of a movie. And a redneck gigolo whose conquests describe him as a ''walking streak of sex''.These are some of the real residents of Savannah, Georgia, a city whose eccentric mores are unerringly observed - and whose dirty linen is gleefully aired - in this utterly irresistible book. At once a true-crime murder story and a hugely entertaining and deliciously perverse travelogue, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is as bracing and intoxicating as half-a-dozen mint juleps.Trade ReviewElegant and wicked . . . Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime. * The New York Times Book Review *The best non-fiction novel since IN COLD BLOOD and a lot more entertaining * Edmund White *Enthralling * Robert Winder, Independent *Berendt - and the reader - are in travel-writer heaven . . . This is a book which leaves you amused, spooked and introduced to a new piece of America * Mark Lawson, Independent on Sunday *Perfect storytelling - wildly funny, occasionally alarming and utterly enthralling * Moira Shearer, Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR MEMOIRA 2023 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALISTA NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, TIME AND NEW YORKER BOOK OF THE YEARMeticulously written and deeply moving . . . A triumph' JACKIE KAYAbsorbing and poetic' ECONOMISTFull of tenderness and beauty' MARIANA ENRIQUEZFrom one of Mexico's greatest contemporary writers, an astonishing work of non-fiction that illuminates an epidemic of femicide in Mexico through the death of one woman.I seek justice, I finally said. I seek justice for my sister . . . Sometimes it takes twenty-nine years to say it out loud, to say it out loud on a phone call with a lawyer at the General Attorney's office: I seek justice.On the dawn of 16 July 1990, Liliana Rivera Garza, Cristina Rivera Garza's sister, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend and subsumed into Mexico''s dark and relentless history

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Book SynopsisOUR MOST NOTORIOUS CRIMINALS HAVE HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT.UNTIL NOW...''Emily'' is a devoted single mother.''Jack'' starts a new job in a new town.They both share the same secret:neither of them are who they say they are.They are among only nine criminals in the UK who have been granted lifelong anonymity, for their own safety, because of their terrible crimes. But what if someone exposed their true identities to the families of their victims, who are desperate for revenge? Probation officer Olivia Campbell is caught in the crossfire of this crisis - and as the search for the mole behind it all intensifies, so too does the hunt for the vigilante killers let loose by the leaks...RIGHT OR WRONG?CRIMINAL OR VICTIM?REDEMPTION OR REVENGE?*****Praise for AN EYE FOR AN EYE:''A big, bold, twisting thriller'' Trade Review'A propulsive thriller ... Fast-moving, disturbing and thought-provoking' * GUARDIAN, Thrillers of the Month *'A stirring crime novel for the 21st century' * DAILY MAIL *'There are no easy answers in this thoughtful, harrowing thriller' * THE SUN *'Impressive and compassionate, Eye For An Eye should win prizes' * LITERARY REVIEW *

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Book Synopsis** NOW A MAJOR DOCUMENTARY SERIES FROM HBO AND SKY **WINNER OF THE GOOD READS BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2018THE NEW YORK TIMES #1 BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2018The masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer the serial rapist turned murderer who terrorised California for over a decade from the late Michelle McNamara.I'll Be Gone in the Dark offers a unique snapshot of suburban West Coast America in the 1980s, and a chilling account of the wreckage left behind by a criminal mastermind. It is also a portrait of one woman's obsession and her unflagging pursuit of the truth, three decades later, in spite of the personal cost.Updated with material which takes in the extraordinary events that followed its initial publication, Michelle McNamara's first and last book is a contemporary classic humane, haunting and heroic.

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Book SynopsisFinancial crime seems horribly complicated but there are only so many ways you can con someone out of what's theirs. In fact, there are four. A veteran regulatory economist and market analyst, Dan Davies has years of experience picking the bones out of some of the most famous frauds of the modern age. Now he reveals the big picture that emerges from their labyrinths of deceit. Along the way you'll find out how to fake a gold mine with a wedding ring, a file and a shotgun. You'll see how close Charles Ponzi, the king of pyramid schemes, came to acquiring his own private navy. You'll learn how fraud has shaped the entire development of the modern world economy. And you'll discover whether you have what it takes to be a white-collar criminal mastermind, if that's what you want. (Which you don't. You really, really don't.)Trade ReviewDan Davies tells all these stories with verve and wit ... Much of the book is a romp through the crimes of scoundrels - Ponzi, Madoff, Keating, the Krays ... Yet what takes it from absorbing to excellent is the author's insight. Read Lying for Money and you will look at fraud in a whole new way. Actually, you will look at every market transaction you take part in in a whole new way. -- Daniel Finkelstein * the Times *Entertaining * Financial Times *Highly entertaining, historically fascinating but also intellectually rigorous -- Ann Pettifor * TLS *If you want to learn to fend fraud, read this. And if you want to commit fraud ... don't. But if you absolutely must, first read this -- Nassim Nicholas Taleb author of The Incerto (Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan, Antifragile, Skin In The Game)An engaging and indispensable guide for novice fraudsters - and for those who want to keep out of their clutches. -- John Kay, author of Other People’s MoneyA vivid, historical account of scams and the con artists behind them. Beyond the individual stories, Davies makes a deep and important point about market societies ... This delightful book is as instructive as it is entertaining. -- Dani Rodrik, author of Economics Rules and The Globalisation ParadoxI haven't had this much fun and learned this much reading a finance book since The Money Game. -- J. Bradford DeLong, author of The End of InfluenceDavies is one of these people who's automatically the smartest person in any conversation that he joins. -- Joe Weisenthal, presenter of Bloomberg’s What'd You Miss?Fascinating, gripping - and true ... This is a terrific read. -- Diane Coyle, author of Sex Drugs and Economics

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Book SynopsisLonglisted for the GordonBurnPrize 2025 'A shocking story of serial killers, twisted idealism and a country that looked away' Rory Carroll, bestselling author of Killing Thatcher

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Book SynopsisEven among the Mob, the Westies were feared. Out of a partnership between two sadistic thugs - James Coonan and Mickey Featherstone - the gang dominated the decaying slice of New York City''s West Side known as Hell''s Kitchen in the 1970s and ''80s. Excelling in extortion, numbers running, loansharking and drug-peddling, they became the most notorious gang in the history of organized crime. The then prosecutor Rudolf Giuliani called them ''the most savage organisation in the long history of New York street gangs''. Upping the ante on brutality and depravity, their speciality when it came to punishment and killings was dismemberment. Their reign lasted almost twenty - their end would come as their own violent natures got the best of them and precipitated a downfall as infamous as their rise. This revised and updated edition, brings the story of the Westies up to date with ''where are they now'' snapshots of the men - and women - of the Westies.Trade ReviewA fast-moving tale of criminal corruption in which, for a change, the good guys win... English pulls no punches * LA DAILY NEWS *Sterling social history... the author's skillful reporting makes the most of his subject * NEW YORKER *Will shock even the most hardened readers * PLAYBOY *First-rate, dramatic and compelling * NEW YORK NEWSDAY *A fascinating look into an Irish-American criminal enterprise that may not have rivalled the Mafia in sophistication, but certainly surpassed them in terror * WALL STREET JOURNAL *

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