True crime Books

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Book SynopsisFor millions of people across the world, lighting up a joint is no more controversial than having a cup of tea. But in Hash Wensley Clarkson explores the dark and sinister side of this multi-billion pound business: one fuelled by a brutal underworld network of dealers, drug barons, bent cops and even terrorists. Sex, intimidation, bribery and murder are all employed in a quest for vast profits. Travelling from the lawless Rif mountains in Morocco to darkened warehouses in Spain, protected by heavily armed gangsters, this is a revelatory roller-coaster ride through the secret world of Hash.

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Book SynopsisCan cats really be accessories to a planned prison break? Yes. In 2013, a cat was found walking into the grounds of a Brazilian prison with saws and drill bits strapped to its belly. Can cats terrorise humans? Yes. In 2012, a couple in Seattle had to call the Police after their violent pet cat cornered them in their bedroom. And when is a cat also a mule? When it’s a drug mule. These, and many more, are true stories included in the Purrlitzer Prize-winning Cats Gone Bad. Each spread features a photograph or photomontage of an erring feline, such as squeezed into a fridge tucking into its contents, chewing its way through your wardrobe or in its element dressed as a cat burglar. Along with amusing text to accompany the image, there is also a paragraph on real-life cats caught in the act – the kind of cats who run away when they see a rat, are scared of mice, and steal so many of your neighbours’ possessions that you have to have a reverse garage sale to give them all back again. Featuring a colour photo or photomontage of each feline felon, Cats Gone Bad is a fun book of 45 funny images and quirky real-life cases.Trade ReviewThere are currently no reviews for this title/productTable of ContentsCool for Cats Feline Clean? Cat Got Your Tongue? “I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat” Peeping Tom Je Ne Regrette Chien Who’s Gonna Blink First? Cat Burglar Cat That Got the Cream Fat Cats Cat in the Cockpit Feline Southpaw Hissing Fit Puss in Boots Champion Dribbler Strong Arm of the Paw Sour Puss I Drive a Catillac I Can’t Stand Poochini In The Pet-itentiary Catankerous Wetter Than a Catfish Domesticated Disturbance Paw Us Another One Cat with Added Byte Cat and Mouse Survival Kit Cat That Got the Green Cats Watch The Mousetrap Cats Will Fly Cat Denies Fatsuit I Spy, with My Cat’s Eye ... Meow-ow-ow Is Your Engine Purring? Cat Barks Up Wrong Tree Precious Puss Paws For Thought Caterwalling Puss is Put on Parole Cat Power Raising Canine Not To Be Sniffed At One Puss, Two Bags of Cats Thieving Tom Subway Surfers

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Book SynopsisOn 18 January 2012, Elise Schwarz received a phone call that threatened to tear her world to pieces: 'There's something wrong with Evan. He's turning blue,' her babysitter screamed down the line. When Evan was born Elise felt her life was complete. She had her own New York apartment, a brilliant career as a litigator and a beautiful baby boy. But all that was thrown into turmoil when her only child was found to be the victim of shaken baby syndrome. All evidence pointed to the babysitter, with whom Elise had entrusted Evan's care. In the agonising weeks and months that follow, she finds herself taking on both the New York authorities, who at first prevent her from taking charge of her own child, and a medical establishment that seems anxious to terminate Evan's prospects as swiftly as possible. But this single gay mother, with a great support network of friends and family around her, had the resilience to fight like a tigress for her son in order to prevent his short life being extinguished prematurely.Faced with a nightmarish mix of emotions and a roller coaster of conflicting advice and agonising decision making, Elise emerges a Mother Courage, prepared to go to any lengths for her son. This moving and compelling account, told in diary form, is a testament to a mother's unbending love and above all unflinching belief in her child.

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Book SynopsisA full and frank account of a unique case and one of the most notorious in our criminal history. The detail comes from the personal knowledge and recollections of one who was closely involved in the prosecution of the accused, Gordon Park, who was eventually convicted of the crime nearly thirty years after its commission. The author is a former solicitor and Crown Advocate who prosecuted cases in the criminal courts for more than thirty-five years.

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Book SynopsisThe true story behind the notorious serial killer Peter Manuel, and Detective William Muncie's quest to bring him to justice, recently dramatised in the major ITV drama In Plain Sight.In a two-year killing spree, Peter Manuel terrorised a city. As the people of Glasgow held their breath and anxiously awaited news, Peter Manuel killed Anne Kneilands, Marion Watt, her daughter Vivienne and her sister Margaret, Isabelle Cooke and the Smart family - all in cold blood. But what drove him to commit such barbaric crimes? And could the police have caught him sooner?MANUEL: Portrait of a Serial Killer tells the full story from his birth in the USA and his love of gangster movies to his life of crime that would ultimately end on the gallows after one of the most sensational trials in legal history. Revealing new facts about the case and the myths that surround it, this is the definitive account of one of the most notorious criminals in history - Peter Manuel, serial killer.

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Book SynopsisCRAIGINCHES – Life in Aberdeen's Prison is the story of this forbidding place from its early days to its recent closure, told by former prison officer Bryan Glennie. Having lived and breathed the life of the prison up to his retirement, this is the real inside story of rooftop riots, botched escapes, drugs being smuggled, prisoners brewing beer in dung heaps and the prison's only hanging, as well as dramatic tales of deployment to Peterhead when the SAS stormed D wing.Craiginches had another side too, with visits from Princess Anne, Robbie Shepherd, Charlie Nicholas, Evelyn Glennie and many more who have had a direct connection with the prison thanks to Bryan. All part of the constant efforts to rehabilitate as many prisoners as possible through events inside the prison and valuable conservation and community projects outside. And there's also Bryan's very special relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson which has endured through the decades.This is a unique insight into prison life in Craiginches, showing both the difficulties and dangers that were a part of everyday life and the rewarding side of the job when inmates gave something positive back to society.

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Book SynopsisWhen the crowd gathered to see the hangman launching teenager Robert Smith into eternity on a wet Tuesday in 1868, it was the last time this public spectacle would be witnessed in Scotland. Smith's crime was heinous, his public punishment brutal. And, finally, it was the end of a tragic public theatre which had drawn eager, baying crowds for more than a thousand years. Launched Into Eternity is a fascinating account of crime and public punishment in Scotland. From bloody Viking penalties to the execution of William Wallace, and from witch hunts and public drownings to the horrific execution in 1820 of three Scots Radicals whose crime was to campaign for a fairer deal for the downtrodden, this is an astonishing and macabre story. But it is perhaps less surprising when you consider that by 1800, judges had the authority to hand out the death penalty for more than 200 separate offences. Times have undoubtedly changed for the better, but the shadows of our history offer a fascinating insight into the brutality of life and the public punishments of the past. But if their deaths were cruel, Launched Into Eternity tells of women decried by jealous neighbours as witches being burned alive, publicly drowned, having ears and noses cut off and a vast range of other tragic cases where the justice of the time was delivered in the most brutal ways.The sheer scale of this can be seen in the fact that by 1800 Judges had authority to hand out the death penalty for more than 200 offences, some as trivial as poking about in a rabbit warren, stealing a shilling, begging, poaching, picking pockets, spending time with gipsies and stealing a horse, sheep or goat. Times have undoubtedly changed for the better, but the shadows of our past offer a fascinating insight into the brutality of life and the punishments of the past.

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Book SynopsisWhat is forgiveness?Are some acts unforgivable?Can forgiveness take the place of revenge?Powerful real-life stories from survivors and perpetrators of crime and violence reveal the true impact of forgiveness on ordinary people worldwide. Exploring forgiveness as an alternative to resentment or retaliation, the storytellers give an honest, moving account of their experiences and what part forgiveness has played in their lives. Despite extreme circumstances, their stories open the door to a society without revenge.All royalties from the sale of this book go to The Forgiveness Project charity.Trade ReviewThis reassuring and uplifting book testifies to the truth of forgiveness - freestanding, not dependent upon faith, but upon humanity. It is both provocative and full of hope. -- Jon Snow, journalist and presenterResentment and bitterness are cancers of the soul. Forgiveness is a healing balm. It is costly but effective as this book so clearly demonstrates. -- Terry Waite CBE, humanitarian and author, held hostage in Lebanon, 1987-91Confronting, inspiring and unforgettable. The stories in this book not only show the challenges and complexity of forgiveness but reveal unexpected pathways to creating a more tolerant and empathic world, and why we should consign revenge to the dustbin of history. -- Roman Krznaric, author of Empathy: A Handbook for Revolution and founding faculty member of The School of Life, LondonThere are many, many stories (and fine photographs) in this book and dipping into them on a grey, cold, rainy day was like walking into a room where all the lights blazed and a fire welcomed. I felt immeasurably better. Proud to be human. Hopeful that, despite all the evil that is perpetrated by the lost, ignorant and wicked, enough good people are spreading the messages which cancel it out. Uplifted, because it is true that 'to err is human, to forgive divine'. And if this is the finest aspect of the human spirit, then one thing is sure: there are many saintly souls walking the face of the world, teaching the rest of us how to be better. -- Bel Mooney, journalist and broadcasterThese testimonies show the power of forgiveness as a force for renewal and redemption that can harness reconciliation to positively transform the lives of victims and perpetrators. -- Peter Tatchell, political campaignerMarina Cantacuzino's new book asks us to consider the most challenging question: is it possible for a victim to forgive the perpetrator? Presenting us with heart-breaking and astonishing examples, she shows the answer is 'yes' - even when the victim is a grieving parent and the perpetrator is the murderer of that parent's child. Forgiveness allows the victim to recognise the humanity of the perpetrator (who may himself be a victim), to re-humanise him. And forgiveness is the antidote to a life imprisoned by bitterness and hatred. This book is an invaluable contribution to the debate surrounding peace and reconciliation. -- Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, Cambridge UniversityI have seen, in warzones across the world, how destructive our human desire for revenge can be. It leads to perpetual conflict and inflicting our own sense of loss and grief on countless others. Marina Cantacuzino's work, in this important book and beyond, is a reminder that there is an antidote. These tales of forgiveness are the balm that can soothe our all too angry world. -- Dan Snow, historian and TV presenterThe testimonials in this book have taught me a great deal about forgiveness, which I think I thought was something rather easier than it is. They make me weep and they make me really think about what it is to forgive and what it is to try and understand someone instead of demonising them. I think this is probably one of the most important projects in the world today. -- Emma Thompson, actorThis book, in which the depths of human sadness are related alongside astonishing accounts of hope, courage and beauty, gives the lie to much that is said and written about forgiveness today. The introductory essay, and the stories that follow, point to the extraordinary range of experiences and situations where forgiveness is somehow relevant, and where it sometimes, often unaccountably, heals and transforms even the most wounded and broken. This is challenging and mysterious stuff, and it will draw a deep and different response from all who open themselves to the pain, truth and transcendence documented here. -- Stephen Cherry, Dean, King's College, Cambridge, and author of Healing Agony: Re-Imagining ForgivenessFor eleven years Marina Cantacuzino has been eliciting stories from people who have been able to experience the transformative power of forgiveness, people who have suffered losses that could have crippled their lives with grief and wishes for revenge. Her skill as an ex-journalist is very present as she lets the stories speak and, by not taking a strong moral stance but by being able to embrace the ambiguities inherent in forgiveness, she makes the book even more compelling. I have no doubt you will be left moved and perhaps even changed by reading them. -- Robin Shohet, psychotherapist and authorThe Forgiveness Project skillfully exposes through personal story the horror and brutality of what people too often do to each other. Thankfully, these stories are leavened with the transforming healing of non violence, understanding and forgiveness and serve as examples to us all. -- Frederic Luskin Ph.D., author of Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and HappinessThe Forgiveness Project encourages sensitive connection between parties whose only commonality may have been one of hate. The results are nothing short of miracles. Love knows no obstacles - and this book, sampling the breathtaking work of The Forgiveness Project, is evidence of that. Prepare to be astounded. -- Thandie Newton, actor...Ultimately, some very good books prove their merit by providing answers to life's dilemmas. Far rarer are those books that prove their merit by provoking us into answering questions about just such dilemmas. The Forgiveness Project is of the latter category and is well worth your attention. -- San Diego Book ReviewThe bulk of this impressive, original book, which deserves to be hugely influential, is a set of 'stories' that the author has written on behalf of people who have suffered some kind of traumatic harm at the hands of another. They are written in the first person and with such skill that the subtleties of personality and context shone through. The author is not promoting any theory of forgiveness because she doesn't have one. She believes that it takes a myriad of forms and is only known through specific and actual examples. It is, as she puts it, 'as mysterious as love'. -- Stephen Curry * Theology, 119(1) *This book combines human stories with a deep engagement with some hugely difficult issues. It is written from within the secular paradigm, but it has many overlaps and insights for theology. Concepts such as forgiveness, vengeance and reconciliation and how we address them are common to all of humanity, and this book with its telling of many human stories provides a good way in to reflecting deeply on these issues...this book is essential reading for anyone involved in the work of healing. It has the potential to be transformative. -- Revd Dr Sarah Hills * Health and Social Care Chaplaincy, Issue 4.1 (June) 2016 *This is a deeply moving book about a difficult subject...the book also shows us that forgiveness is a process, a journey that is not an easy choice but one that can transform the world if taken. -- The Reader, June 2016Table of ContentsIntroduction: 'As Mysterious as Love'. 1. Eva Kor - Poland. 2. Ray Minniecon - Australia. 3. Jayne Stewart - England. 4. Bud Welch - USA. 5. John Carter - England. 6. Ginn Fourie and Letlapa Mphahlele - South Africa. 7. Bassa, Aramin - Palestine. 8. Madeleine Black - England. 9. Sammy Rangel - USA. 10. Anne Marie Hagan - Canada. 11. Camilla Carr and Jon James - Chechnya. 12. Joe Berry and Patrick Magee - Northern Ireland. 13. Magdalene Makola - Scotland. 14. Samantha Lawler - USA. 15. Martin Snodden - Northern Ireland. 16. Katy Hutchinson and Ryan Aldridge - Canada. 17. Gill Hicks - England. 18. TJ Leyden - USA. 19. Geoff Thompson - England. 20. Grace Idowu - England. 21. Jude Whyte - Northern Ireland. 22. Wilma Derksen - Canada. 23. Satta Joe - Sierra Leone. 24. Salimata Badgi-Knight - Senegal. 25. Robi Damelin - Israel. 26. Assaad Emile Chaftari - Lebanon. 27. Linda Biehl and Easy Nofemela - South Africa. 28. Khaled al-Berry - Egypt. 29. Kelly Connor - Australia. 30. Arno Michaelis - USA. 31. Idan Barir - Israel. 32. Marian Partington - England. 33. Kemal Pervanic - Bosnia. 34. Jean Paul Samputu - Rwanda. 35. Cathy Harrington - USA. 36. Hanneke Coates - Indonesia. 37. Mary Johnson and Oshea Israel - USA. 38. Shad Ali - England. 39. Riham Musa - Palestine. 40. Bjørn Magnus Jacobsen Ihler - Norway.

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Book SynopsisIn this ground-breaking book, the men behind the mobs come together to reveal their experiences as key figures in the most notorious terrace fights. Bestselling writers Cass Pennant, from West Ham's Inter City Firm (ICF) and Chelsea Head Hunter main man Martin King have joined forces to produce the definitive book on terrace culture. From the bovver boys of the sixties and seventies to the football casuals of the eighties, the names central to the biggest firms have all been tracked down and interviewed, the names that were to become the stuff of which terrace legends are made. Cass Pennant is the bestselling author of Want Some Aggro?; Rolling with the 6.57 Crew; Congratulations, You Have Just Met the ICF and his hugely successful autobiography, Cass. Martin King, left, is the highly acclaimed author of Hoolifan and its bestselling follow-up The Naughty Nineties. He has also written A Boy's Story; On the Cobbles: The Life of a Bare-Knuckle Gypsy Warrior, The Estate; The South Downs Way; Ossie: King of Stamford Bridge and Grass: The Phil Sparrowhawk Story.

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Book SynopsisA study of the sex killer Chris Halliwell who, having been arrested in 2011 for one murder, led police to the scene of a second. But the senior police officer blew it . . .Superintendent Steve Fulcher of Hampshire Police had not followed procedure, an error that was to see him severely censured, leading to his retirement from the force. Due to this monumental error in judgement infamous killer Christopher Halliwell could not be convicted of a second murder, despite his openly admitting having committed it. Fulcher was suspended for gross misconduct, and later quit the force. Halliwell, imprisoned for the first murder, was later convicted of the second, after a long and tortuous process of collecting new evidence. But among sixty items of women's clothing found when Halliwell's home was searched, only a few pieces belonged to his two known victims. For this and other reasons, the police, including Fulcher, remain convinced that he has killed other women known to have disappeared...This is a riveting account of a clever, dangerous and secretive killer, and of a police officer whose instincts led him to a second murder, but whose methods eventually brought about the end of his own career.

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Book SynopsisA Victorian Murder. A Victorian Madman. A Modern Judgement.Gateshead, April 1866The Apprentice of Split Crow Lane takes the forgotten case of a child murder in 1866 as a springboard to delve deeply into the pysche of the Victorians. What Jane Housham finds, in this exploration of guilt, sexual deviance and madness, is a diagnosis that is still ripe for the challenging and a sentence that provokes even our liberal modern judgement. Set around Gateshead, it is a revelatory social history of the North - an area growing in industry and swelling with immigration, where factory workers are tinged blue and yellow by chemicals, the first tabloids are printed, children are left alone by working parents and haystack fires sweep the county in rebellion against the introduction of the police force. Into this landscape, a five-year-old Irish girl named Sarah Melvin sets out over the fell to look for her father, and a troubled young man makes a frightening leap of logic to save his own skin.Told here for the first time, this is an extraordinary story of sexual deviance and murder. In lively, empathic prose, Jane Housham explores psychiatry, the justice system and the media in mid-Victorian England to reveal a surprisingly modern state of affairs.Trade ReviewGripping - reveals a society in moral turmoil * William Shaw *Well-written and excellently researched, this chilling tale of a Victorian sex murder opens out into an investigation into the workings of the lunatic mind and the asylums which treat it * Julie Peakman *This was a fascinating read, particularly for those who are interested in Victorian provision of the criminally insane . . . She also gives us a flavour of the population of the time, of the haves and the have-nots and really conjures up details of the place where the crime was committed in astonishing detail . . . enlightening and clear-sighted * Cleopatra Loves Books *Housham is a dogged researcher and evocative writer. She sheds a powerful light on the era, skilfully describing the febrile, lawless atmosphere of 1860s Gateshead -- Jenny McCartney * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisTHE SENSATIONAL TRUE CRIME STORY THAT SHOOK ICELAND - AS SEEN ON NETFLIX.It is the most shocking miscarriage of justice in European history. And now - in the most stunning true crime narrative you will read this year - OUT OF THIN AIR spotlights Iceland's strangest ever murder case.Iceland, 1974. In two separate incidents, two men vanished into thin air. Then, out of it, came 6 murder confessions and 6 convictions. Yet, in the decades that followed, these too would dissolve...Fuelled by a personal obsession with the case, Ant Adeane traces its bizarre developments across five decades: exposing the mistakes that were made, the lives that were ruined, the confessions that were coerced, the questions that remain unanswered, and the injustices that remain unaddressed.And it all began in January 1974, when a young man went to a nightclub . . .'Reads like a great thriller. Incredibly interesting' Ragnar Jonasson 'Extraordinary . . . utterly compelling' Sunday Times'Riveting' Metro'What a fabulous read . . . fascinating' Jo SpainTrade ReviewReads like a great thriller. Incredibly interesting, even for someone from Iceland, where this mystery has been a part of the nation for decades * Ragnar Jonasson, bestselling author of the Dark Iceland crime series *Extraordinary . . . What the case says about the reliability of memory and the uncanny power of stories over our minds . . . for anyone who believes in justice, is the most disturbing part of a deeply disturbing and utterly compelling story. * Sunday Times *Riveting, cleverly structured . . . gripping. * Metro *What a fabulous read. As well as being a fascinating exploration of an appalling miscarriage of justice, it also offered an intriguing glimpse into Icelandic history and modern society. I haven't enjoyed visiting Iceland this much since I watched Trapped! -- Jo SpainFascinating . . . bristles with a sense of underlying menace and darkness, which makes for compelling reading. The brutal desolation of Icelandic landscape and the exploration of local myths, beliefs and cultural history form a wonderfully rich backdrop to the multifaceted central mystery. * Caroline Lea *

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Book SynopsisAs a boy, Miguel Ángel Tobar fled a small town in El Salvador torn apart by warring guerrillas and US-backed death squads. As a teen in Los Angeles, he fought discrimination and beatings by joining a gang, MS-13. By the time the US deported him to San Salvador, the Hollywood Kid joined a wave of US-bred gangsters, whose violence-in concert with corrupt offiicals-have in turn helped propel new waves of refugees.The incomparable Salvadoran journalist Óscar Martinez got to know the Hollywood Kid and met with him as he first turned on MS-13, killing gang members, and then in turn was assassinated by other gang members. In intensely vivid scenes, Martínez and his anthropologist brother Juan tell the story of a violent life and death-and of the geopolitical forces that propelled a country into becoming one of the most violent on earth.Trade Review(El Niño de Hollywood) is a revelation. As they track a single tragic life, Los Hermanos Martínez delve deep into El Salvador's tortured labyrinth, into the macabre working of the Mara Salvatruches, into the sinister consequence of failed US policies, and in the process recover what Neil Smith called the lost history of the American Empire. This is reportage made literature, darkness made light, and one of the most important books of investigative journalism I've read in years. -- Junot DiazAs the poet William Blake famously put it, 'general forms have their vitality in particulars, and every particular is a Man'. The Martinez D'Aubuisson brothers' beautifully written account of the life and death of the feared gangster El Niño de Hollywood, based on hours and hours of interviews with him and those close to him, starkly reveals the underlying dynamics of the Central American gang phenomenon in vivid and insightful detail. -- Dennis Rodgers, author of Global GangsThe graceful, incisive writing lifts The Beast from being merely an impressive feat of reportage into the realm of literature. Mr. Martínez has produced something that is an honorable successor to enduring works like George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier or Jacob Riis's How the Other Half Lives. -- Larry Rohter * New York Times *Martínez dives into the underworld of his subjects, navigating barrios that police won't enter, spending days and nights with gang members. His methods resemble war reporting and his prose is cinematic . The collection's strength lies in his ability to write the hell out of his material. Like Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers and Adrian Nicole LeBlanc's Random Family, it skimps on statistics and analysis, instead relying on description alone to create a world that captures the reader and doesn't let her go. One of the stories, 'El Niño Hollywood's Death Foretold,' evokes Gabriel García Márquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Like the beloved Colombian writer, Martínez pens scenes that are suspenseful, moving, and vivid. -- Sarah Esther Maslin * New Republic *Óscar Martínez deserves praise not only for his efforts, and for what he writes about, but because he writes so very well. * New Yorker *Martínez's credentials for writing about this ignored human tide are impeccable: his first book, The Beast, drew on eight trips clinging to the roof of the infamous migrants' train through Mexico, chronicling their desperation in grippingly graphic detail. His new book, A History of Violence, takes a step back to explore what the migrants heading to the US are running away from the unflinching cameos it paints offer a chilling portrait of corruption, unimaginable brutality and impunity. * Financial Times *A powerful storyteller and his approach to investigative journalism is closer to anthropological immersion. * Columbia Journalism Review *One of the bravest writers in Latin America, if not the world. He's also one of the best * Dazed and Confused *Masterfully told. -- Belen Fernandez * NACLA *The Hollywood Kid is a gripping read, thoroughly researched and dramatically conveyed. -- Hilary Goodfriend * Jacobin *The Martínez brothers' book tells the story of an MS-13 hitman known as the Hollywood Kid. He was recruited to the gang in El Salvador by a twenty-year-old former member of the National Police, escaped the civil war to California, was deported in 1994, then began his own clica (clique, or gang chapter) in Salvadoran coffee country. -- Rachel Nolan * NYRB *

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Book Synopsis'I'm interested in one thing and one thing only, and that's catching bent coppers.'Line of Duty: The Real Story is an astonishing exposé from inside the secret world of police corruption, starring a cast of twisted cops more chilling than all four H's put together. These characters operate well outside the letter of the law, inhabiting a murky, amoral world, leaving chaos in their wake.Who are the real-life Kates and Steves, tasked with hunting these corrupt cops? How has corruption invaded today's UK police forces? Who are the masterminds behind it all? In Line of Duty: The Real Story, bestselling author Wensley Clarkson goes behind the headlines and the hit show to look back at the history of corruption, and the AC-12 units which sniff out and expose the crooked coppers among the good.Referencing real-life historic and notable cases and people, from a range of sources and first-person interviews, this book tells the shocking truth behind the fiction, and its hard-hitting impact on real-life modern policing.Get ready to go undercover, infiltrate the criminal underworld - and uncover the secretive lives of these corrupt guardians of the law.

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Book SynopsisIn March 1972, four young black men were arrested by a specialist pickpocket squad at Oval Underground Station and charged with theft and assault of police officers. Sentenced to two years in prison, the case seemed straightforward and credible to the judge and jury who convicted them – but these young men were completely innocent, victims of endemic police corruption. The real criminal in this case was the notorious DS Derek Ridgewell, later proven to be heavily involved in organised crime.Graham Satchwell, at one time Britain’s most senior railway detective, has worked with Oval Four victim Winston Trew to reveal the rotten culture that not only enabled Ridgewell to operate as he did, but also to subsequently organise major thefts of property worth in excess of £1 million. Winston Trew’s case was finally overturned in December 2019, but the far-reaching ramifications of Ridgewell’s shocking activities has irreparably damaged many lives and must never be forgotten.

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Book SynopsisJohn Massey’s story is unique. Part of a notorious duo that the Flying Squad dubbed ‘Laurel and Hardy’, his criminal activities included hijacking a police car after robbing a bank of £25,000 and relieving the Sunday Mirror of £50,000 – and all before he was arrested for murder, aged 27.But that was just the beginning. Given a life sentence, with a minimum term of twenty years, Massey would find himself incarcerated for forty-three years, give or take a prison break, in almost every prison in the country. In Locks, Bolts and Bars, one of Britain’s longest-serving prisoners reflects on a life spent on the ‘inside’, from corrupt guards to notorious criminals, and the real value of freedom.

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Book SynopsisFor decades, a war to control Glasgow's streets has been waged. On one side are some of the most violent and dangerous criminals in the world and, on the other, a police force with officers as hard as the gangsters, striving to keep the city safe. In GLASGOW CRIMEFIGHTER, legendary detective Les Brown tells the extraordinary and controversial inside story of his part in this conflict during his twenty-two years as a Glasgow detective. Throughout this time, he dealt with gangland bosses like Arthur Thompson and Tam McGraw, took on mobs of street fighters and helped in the hunt for Bible John. Compelling, hard-hitting and intensely human, GLASGOW CRIMEFIGHTER is a fascinating report from the frontline of a great city's battle against crime.

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Book SynopsisArchibald Hall was one of Scotland's most enigmatic criminals. A man of multiple personae, Hall was more widely known as Roy Fontaine, the Monster Butler who murdered five people, including his own brother. After his convictions for murder in both Scotland and England in 1978, and with talk of a film of his life story, Hall took the opportunity to glamourise his past in books and magazines. What can be unravelled from his web of lies, though, is that he began the sinister transformation into Roy Fontaine, the gentleman butler - ready to seduce, steal and deceive - after effecting a more refined accent and studying etiquette and the aristocracy whilst serving his many jail terms. But how does a man go from thief to killer? Was he always destined to be an unfeeling, cold-blooded murderer? Or was he simply a desperate man obsessed with making a fortune by any means? And what could have influenced his bizarre outlook on life? These are the questions Allan Nicol examines in this illuminating new account of 'The Monster Butler'.

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Book SynopsisNineteenth-century Dundee was a tough, unforgiving place. For many of its citizens, it was the survival of the fittest, and to survive they turned to crime. But what was it really like both for the criminals and the law-abiding citizens to live in the streets and closes of Dundee at that time? A Sink of Atrocity reveals the real Dundee of the nineteenth century and the ordinary and extraordinary crimes of the times. As well as the usual domestic violence, fights and petty thefts, the Peter Wallace gang plagued the city while Resurrectionists caused panic and alarm. There were also infamous murders and an astonishing variety of crimes by women, as well as highly unusual crimes such as the theft of a whale at sea. Against this tidal wave of crime stood men like Patrick Mackay and the city's other Messengers-at-Arms, responsible for apprehending criminals before the advent of the police. It was a tough job in a tough city, but the punishments were severe as the authorities fought hard to bring law and order to nineteenth-century Dundee.

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Book SynopsisBrutal murders. Bizarre crimes. Eccentric crooks. And Scotland's toughest gangsters. Bryan McLaughlin faced the challenge of tackling crime on Glasgow's mean streets and throughout Scotland for more than 30 years, finding himself involved with nearly 300 killings. He started as a bobby on the beat, worked in the elite Serious Crime Squad and later headed up the force's Criminal Intelligence Branch. When he retired he became a private eye, helping free the victim of one of Scotland's most notorious miscarriages of justice. Now Bryan McLaughlin lifts the lid on his dealings with notorious godfather Arthur Thompson, tells of his satisfaction at nailing slippery gangster Tam McGraw with an Al Capone-style tax sting, looks back on the bomb attack on Glasgow's High Court and reveals remarkable information about the legendary Bible John murders. As well as these notorious cases, Bryan also looks back at the human side of policing as he encountered it, including the touching tale of the old lady who grew a tree in her living room, the madman who killed a boy for throwing snowballs and reveals how a million-dollar heist in Germany was cracked because a Glasgow ned stole a video recorder.And who could forget the crooked businessman who had a lie-detecting elephant in his office and a teddy bear as his advisor? Or the strange encounters with murder victims who ended up in bizarre situations - up a tree, frozen to the spot and even one taking part in a game of cards. This is an astonishing memoir from one of our top police officers, sometimes shocking, sometimes hilarious or macabre but always utterly fascinating.

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Book SynopsisThere cannot be many cities where crime could mean anything from singing a seditious song to stealing a ship, but nineteenth-century Glasgow was a unique place with an amazing dynamism. Immigrants poured in from Ireland and the Highlands, while the factories, shipyards and mills buzzed with innovation. However, underneath the hustle and bustle was a different world, as an incredibly diverse criminal class worked for their own profit - with a total disregard for the law. The highways and byways were infested with robbers; garrotters jumped on the unwary; drunken brawls disfigured the evening streets; prostitutes lured foolish men into dark corners; conmen connived clever schemes; and murder was nearly commonplace. This was a dark and dangerous world, with a volatile population and the constant threat of riots. Holding back the tide of lawlessness was Britain's first professional police force, established in Glasgow in 1800. Their task of policing the city was daunting as they faced everything from petty crime to murder, the notorious Paisley Union Bank robbery to a string of jewellery thefts in the city centre. Glasgow: The Real Mean City is a fascinating account of the century-long struggle of the forces of law and order as they battled to bring peace to a troubled city.

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Book SynopsisRobert Jeffrey, author of the bestselling "Barlinnie Story" and other true crime books, now tells the remarkable story of the infamous Peterhead Prison in Scotland's far north-east. Built in the 1880s as part of an ambitious humanitarian plan to use convict labour to construct a 'harbour of refuge' on the town's wild, storm-battered coast, it became what some call Scotland's gulag. A cold and brutal place, it has held down the years some of Scotland's most violent criminals and most infamous prisoners, convicted of the most heinous of crimes. In the early days, convicts were controlled by men as hard as their charges. The wardens carried swords and were quick to use them if necessary. And when convict labour was used to build the harbour, they worked with rifles trained on them at all times. Peterhead's wardens were clearly not to be crossed. Throughout the history of the prison, riots and breakouts have made headlines, with the SAS involved in restoring order at one point.Peterhead also had the reputation of being so secure that escape was impossible, with the notable exception of Johnny Ramensky, the safeblower turned war hero who went back to his criminal ways and spent more than forty years of his life in prison, many of them in Peterhead. He became the first inmate to escape and repeated the exercise four more times, often for his own satisfaction and amusement, each time being recaptured after a short taste of freedom. "Peterhead - Scotland's Toughest Prison" tells the remarkable inside story of a truly grim institution with a fearsome reputation.

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Book SynopsisWhen Manny McDonnell was twelve, he awoke to discover British troops surrounding his home in the toughest area of trouble-torn Belfast. Internment had begun and, encouraged by a fiercely Republican mother, he took to the streets with other school kids, throwing bricks, bottles and petrol bombs at soldiers. Jailed at fifteen for having IRA links, he became a unit commander leading deadly missions for the INLA before joining the IPLO, a group so vicious even the IRA ordered it to disband. But his decades of commitment to a free united Ireland turned to disillusion when bombs indiscriminately killed two little boys in mainland Britain. It was a wake-up call and, sickened by the way events were unfolding, McDonnell distanced himself from the Troubles and began to spend more time in Scotland with major gangland players Paul Ferris and Tam 'The Licensee' McGraw. Friendly with both, he then faced difficult choices when the two fell out and became bitter rivals and sworn enemies. Lighting Candles is an astonishing and horrifying exposé of one man's journey through the blood, bombs and bullets of the paramilitaries to the criminal activities of drug-smuggling gangsters. It is also a story of how, no matter what has gone before, it's possible to put the past behind you and begin again.

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Book Synopsis'Was rich Mrs Gertrude Hullett murdered at her luxurious 15-room home on Beachy Head? Detectives are tonight trying to establish the cause of the 50-year-old widow's sudden death . . . ' Daily Mail, 1957In July 1957, the press descended in droves on the south-coast town of Eastbourne. An inquest had just been opened into the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Mrs Bobbie Hullett. She died after months of apparent barbiturate abuse - the drugs prescribed to calm her nerves by her close friend and doctor, Dr John Bodkin Adams.The inquest brought to the surface years of whispered suspicion that had swept through the tea rooms, shops and nursing homes of the town. The doctor's alarming influence over the lives, deaths and finances of wealthy widows had not gone unnoticed - it was rumoured that the family doctor had been on a killing spree that spanned decades and involved 300 suspicious cases. Superintendent Hannam of Scotland Yard was called in to investigate.The Curious Habits of Dr Adams brilliantly brings to life the atmosphere of post-war England, and uses a wealth of new documents to follow the twists and turns of an extraordinary Scotland Yard murder enquiry. As expertly crafted as the best period detective novel, this book casts an entertainingly chilling light on a man reputed to be one of England's most prolific serial killers.Trade ReviewJane Robins has written an endlessly enjoyable book, which reads like an Agatha Christie -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *She tells the story with great brio, and a real feeling for the vanished social milieu in which Adams operated -- Lynn Barber * Sunday Times *The case against Adams as a serial killer is a classic of British crime, but Jane Robins takes nothing for granted. She re-examines the evidence, consults modern experts (some of whom worked on the enquiry into the activities of Dr Harold Shipman) and presents her own perturbing conclusions. On the basis of this book, would you have convicted the curiously behaved Dr Adams? * Saga *Vividly characterised, wonderfully atmospheric and thoroughly riveting * Daily Mail *This is a compelling, very well-written story. It will feed the British love of a good murder mystery. Robins gives her own verdict in the final chapter but her readers are the jury * Scotsman *One to keep you alert on the beach * Observer *A compelling account of a murder mystery * Oldie *Vividly characterised, wonderfully atmospheric and thoroughly gripping * Evening Standard Book of the Year *A gripping tale that bears an uncanny resemblance to the case of Harold Shipman * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis"The New York Times" bestselling author who investigated the Zodiac case now uncovers a real-life mystery of murder, body doubles, and obsession. Marli Renfro was a model who played a part in one of the most iconic scenes in American movies - as Janet Leigh's nude body double in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" - only to fade into obscurity, a footnote in Hollywood history. It wasn't until 1988 that Marli Renfro made news again - raped and murdered by a serial killer with a fetish for the classic Hitchcock shocker. But as Graysmith investigated Marli's story, a nagging doubt entered his mind. What if Marli was still alive? What if another woman had been murdered in her place? And if Marli was still alive, would he ever find her? The line between art and reality is blurred in this astonishing coda to one of the most memorable screen murders of all time, and to a real-life crime that one man was determined to solve.

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Legal Highs are without doubt the biggest drug scourge to blight the world since recreational drugs first hit the streets more than 100 years ago. Their growing menace opens up a new front in the drug war, shifting the battle line from the Colombian jungles, Moroccan valleys, Afghan hills and the Winnebagos of New Mexico to especially constructed laboratories on the outskirts of Shanghai and other cities across the globe.But who are the shadowy characters behind the extravagant new drugs such as 'bath salts' and 'Miaow Miaow'? The scientists, the rogue boffins, the factory sweat-shop workers, the smugglers, the suppliers, and, ultimately, the dealers who sell tens of millions of packets of these substances every week? Why are so many people from all walks of life now consuming Legal Highs in such large quantities? This book will go inside the lives of all these people to reveal for the first time the true stories behind the emergence of the most deadly narcotics the world has ever seen.

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Book SynopsisIn the wake of the 2003 Iraq War, the term 'intelligence failure' became synonymous with the Blair Government and how it had used intelligence to construct a case for war. This book examines British secret intelligence over the thirty years preceding its very public failings. From the Soviet Union to South Africa and Libya, Mark Wilkinson provides a detailed analysis and vivid account of the development and functioning of Britain's intelligence agencies in the struggle against the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons. Based on archival research and interviews with key players in the intelligence establishment, he shows how a handful of chemical and biological weapons experts battled to make their voices heard. They had evidence that illegal weapons development was taking place but were continually rebuffed by adversaries in Whitehall. Fascinating, surprising and sometimes shocking, Before Intelligence Failed is a compelling account of what was known about chemical and biological weapons proliferation before the Iraq War.Trade Review'This is a remarkable book. It peels back successive layers of secrecy to shine a light onto the hidden world of intelligence and weapons of mass destruction. In doing so it reveals fascinating details about the secret world of espionage and the role intelligence plays in underpinning policy. I highly recommend it.' -- Michael S. Goodman, Pro-Dean for Innovation and Impact, King's College London and author of 'Official History of the Joint Intelligence Committee: Volume I: From the Approach of the Second World War to the Suez Crisis''Mark Wilkinson is a rigorous researcher who has uncovered the history of spying on chemical and biological weapons, one of the most sensitive targets of British secret intelligence.' -- Richard J. Aldrich, Professor of International Security, University of Warwick and co-author of 'The Black Door: Spies, Secret Intelligence and British Prime Ministers''Drawing on impressive archival research and interviews with intelligence insiders, Mark Wilkinson puts the Iraqi WMD failure into historical perspective. In this highly original book, Wilkinson demonstrates the importance - and frailties - of spying on chemical and biological weapons.' -- Rory Cormac, Associate Professor of International Relations, University of Nottingham and co-author of 'The Black Door: Spies, Secret Intelligence and British Prime Ministers'

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Book SynopsisThe fresh telling of the famous and sensational Scottish trials featured in this wide-ranging collection will enthral today's reader just as much as the drama of the original trials must have fascinated those who were following what was happening in court at the time. The people whose trials are covered in this book include: royal Scots accused of crimes against the Crown (for example, Mary Queen of Scots and Charles I) and those less noble accused of nefarious crimes such as burglary and worse (for example, Deacon Brodie and Burke and Hare); men like Joseph Knight, who today is seen as the man whose court case helped demonstrate Scotland was always against slavery, and Thomas Muir, whose actions in support of freedom for the common man were interpreted as seditious and worthy of punishment by transportation to Australia; and women like Madeleine Smith, who was accused of poisoning her lover in strict Victorian times.Table of ContentsThe trials and their outcomes: 1. The trial of Mary Queen of Scots - beheaded 2. The trial of Charles 1 - beheaded 3. The trial of Captain Kidd - hung 4. The trial of Deacon Brodie - hung 5. The trial of Joseph Knight - freed 6. The trial of Thomas Muir - transported to Australia 7. The trial of Sir Gregor MacGregor - cleared then moved to Venezuela 8. The trial of Burke and Hare - Burke was hung, Hare got off 9. The trial of Madeleine Smith - not proven and moved to Plymouth, then the US. 10. The trial of Jessie McLachlan - imprisoned for 15 years 11. The trial of the Glasgow City Bankers - 6 months in prison 12. The trial of Helen Duncan (tried for being a witch in 1943) - went free The trial of Mary Queen of Scots - one of the most infamous trials ever. She was tried for treason against Elizabeth I after some 18 years in custody, and beheaded. 2. The trial of Charles 1 - Charles I was the only king in British history ever to have been charged, found guilty of treason and subsequently executed. 3. The trial of Captain Kidd - the notorious trial of the colourful Scottish sailor and captain who was tried and executed for piracy, although some argue there is only evidence he acted as a privateer. 4. The trial of Deacon Brodie - Brodie's respectable trade and his reputation among the city fellows were belied by his nefarious night-time activities. His notorious trial for burglary and robbery in 1788 ended with him being sentenced to hang. It is said that he died on the gallows he had designed and funded the year before. 5. The trial of Joseph Knight - Jamaican born and a slave, Joseph Knight was sold to Wedderburn, a Scottish businessman, and brought to Scotland. In 1774 he succeeded in arguing that he should be allowed to leave domestic service and provide a home for his wife and child. He thus gave the Court of Session in Perth the chance to declare that Scots law did not recognize slavery and it would now protect runaway slaves from deportation and a return to slavery. 6. The trial of Thomas Muir - inspired by Paine's The Rights of Man and having supported the French Revolution, Muir was tried for sedition in 1793. He was exiled and transported to Australia for advocating political reform, and died aged only 33. 7. The trial of Sir Gregor MacGregor - a charming Scottish swindler who posed as a prince of Poyais, a place in British Honduras, and sold rights to land there, organizing ships to Poyais with the promise of a new life. Many lost their lives and were defrauded out of money and a future. Also includes the trial of Oscar Slater.

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Book Synopsis25 stories about horrific and disturbing murders in Scotland. New edition updated to include the terrifying murders by Peter Tobin, and shocking case of Renee and Andrew Macrae.

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Book SynopsisFamous for being ruthless, cruel, and cool, the Mafia has always captured the darker side of the imagination. Here, James Finckenauer debunks the myths surrounding the Mafia to reveal the harsh realities of global organized crime from Japan to Russia to Colombia. Despite popular appeal, these incredibly complex organizations destabilize society on a global scale, perpetuating untold economic, physical, psychological, and societal damage. Mafia and Organized Crime: A Beginner’s Guide provides vital insight into the real stories behind the world’s richest and most successful criminals.Trade Review"The book succeeds as a first rate introduction to several issues dealing with the Mafia and organized crime, but those who are well acquainted with these issues will also benefit significantly from Finckenauer's analysis and observations." * Trends, Journal of *

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Book SynopsisThe first ever history of Harlem's criminal underworld and the gangland legends who controlled drugs, prostitution and protection rackets.

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Book SynopsisThe great untold story of the Turkish babas, mythologised as urban knights', but who are in truth ruthless violent criminals who prey on the weak.'

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