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Following the success of their prize-winning account of the infamous killing of PC George Clark - The Dagenham Murder - Linda Rhodes and Kathryn Abnett now reconstruct, in vivid detail, another sensational Victorian murder case. Inspector Thomas Simmons was shot and fatally wounded near Romford in January 1885, and the search for his killers culminated in a second police murder, this time in far-off Cumbria. In tracing the course of the crime - and the country-wide manhunt, court cases and executions that followed - the characters and methods of Simmons and his fellow officers are revealed, as are the desperate criminal careers of the killers. This meticulously researched, graphic and highly readable case study gives a rich insight into the dark side of late Victorian England.Linda Rhodes and Kathryn Abnett are the authors of two previous true crime books. The Dagenham Murder, written in collaboration with Lee Shelden, won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction in 2006. Their most recent title is Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Barking, Dagenham & Chadwell Heath, published by Wharncliffe in October 2007.
By comparing his crimes with those of other serial killers, this is the most extensive psychological profile of the man behind Jack the Ripper--leading to a likely suspect Had the Jack the Ripper murders taken place in 1988, not 1888, the ability of law enforcement to respond to them would have been markedly different. Much has since been learned about this type of killer: their damaged childhoods, misfit adulthoods, and psychopathic alienation from the human race. Here, William Beadle uses his Ripper psychological profile in conjunction with newly unearthed evidence to point out William Henry Bury--a suspect who embodied all of Ripper's dire characteristics. Bury had a terrible childhood, he was a horsemeat butcher, and he had a violent relationship with his wife. Bury was out all night on the dates of the murders, and when his wife "committed suicide" she had been strangled and her body ripped up in the same way as the Ripper's victims. When Bury was executed for the murder of his wife, the killings in the East End stopped, and a Scotland Yard detective even conceded to the hangman that he was "quite satisfied you have hanged Jack the Ripper."
Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Barking, Dagenham and Chadwell Heath takes the reader on a sinister journey through centuries of local crime and conspiracy, meeting villains of all sorts along the way murderous husbands and lovers, cut-throats, police-killers, highwaymen, Gunpowder Plotters and even a Nazi collaborator sentenced to death for High Treason. Luckless individuals who came to cruel or unjust ends are also recalled, from martyrs and witches to the fishermen who perished in the Great Storm of 1863 and the passengers who lost their lives when the pleasure steamer the Princess Alice sank in the Thames in 1878. There is no shortage of harrowing and revealing tales of accident and evil to recount from the history of this part of Essex to the east of London. The human dramas the authors describe are often played out in the most commonplace of circumstances, but others are so odd as to be stranger than fiction. Their grisly chronicle of the hidden history of Barking, Dagenham and Chadwell Heath will be compelling reading for anyone interested in the dark side of human nature.
'Love me or hate me. It's a great read’ - Billy Bragg He was a punk. He was a soldier. He was a flag-waver for the Labour Party and the miners. He is Billy Bragg, passionate protest folk singer and tireless promoter of political and humanitarian causes around the world. His life encapsulates so much about his generation: born in the late ’50s, passions forged by punk, politics shaped by Thatcherism, career inspired by engagement, hope provided by the end of the Cold War and ideology galvanised by what he sees as a ‘post-ideological’ twenty-first century. He adapts to survive: serious about compassion and accountability, he likes a laugh too, and has never forgotten where he comes from. Still Suitable for Miners is the official Billy Bragg story, tracing his life, family and career at close range from Barking to the present day. This 20th anniversary edition has been updated to include the rise of Corbyn, the unfolding of Brexit, Billy’s reclamation of skiffle and his overtures into Americana.
The collision of the Princess Alice pleasure steamer with the Tyne collier, Bywell Castle, in the Thames in September 1878 resulted in Britain's worst-ever inland waterway accident. Almost 650 Princess Alice passengers and crew died. Whole families were wiped out; many children were left orphans; parents childless. The nation wept. Joan Lock describes vividly the lead up to the accident, the disaster itself and its aftermath. She then delves into the quarrels that the tragedy devolved into, as each side blamed the other during the extended inquiries to discover just how the accident happened and why so many people drowned. In the process, the author makes a startling discovery...
For the first time in one place, Roger M. Sobin has compiled a list of nominees and award winners of virtually every mystery award ever presented. He has also included many of the “best of” lists by more than fifty of the most important contributors to the genre.; Mr. Sobin spent more than two decades gathering the data and lists in this volume, much of that time he used to recheck the accuracy of the material he had collected. Several of the “best of” lists appear here for the first time in book form. Several others have been unavailable for a number of years.; Of special note, are Anthony Boucher’s “Best Picks for the Year.” Boucher, one of the major mystery reviewers of all time, reviewed for The San Francisco Chronicle, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and The New York Times. From these resources Mr. Sobin created “Boucher’s Best” and “Important Lists to Consider,” lists that provide insight into important writing in the field from 1942 through Boucher’s death in 1968.? This is a great resource for all mystery readers and collectors.; ; Winner of the 2008 Macavity Awards for Best Mystery Nonfiction.
There have been countless attempts to solve the brutal murders committed by Jack the Ripper more than a hundred years ago. It seems that almost everyone has their own theory and their own suspect, ranging from the reasonably likely to the entirely preposterous. What this most famous of British criminal cases has always required is a professional eye to analyse with all the benefits of modern investigate techniques. Now that has been provided in the shape of the man most qualified to solve the case: former British murder squad detective Trevor Marriott. His long and arduous investigation dispels the rumours, fantasies and urban legends which have for so long stalked through the shadowy world of this vile killer. The results are startling: for many years it has been accepted that Jack the Ripper killed only five, but now, it can be revealed that up to nine were victims. And, most astonishing of all, a new prime suspect never previously considered has emerged, with evidence linking him not only to the Whitechapel cases, but to murders all over the world. "Jack the Ripper: the 21st Century Investigations" reveals the Ripper's true identity at last, and the fate that befell him.
The annual that has included the likes of Joyce Carol Oates and Max Allan Collins is back with another array of traditional mysteries and tales of crime and suspense from its usual roster of luminaries. Besides presenting twenty of the year's finest crime and mystery stories, from Sharan Newman and James W. Hall to Anne Perry and Jeffery Deaver, The Deadly Bride is also the only annual to feature a roundup of the year in mystery. This invaluable overview includes everything the true fan needs to know about the year in crime and mystery, from a comprehensive list of award-winners and essays on the state of the art to obituaries and an annotated bibiliography of the year's releases.