Release Date: 12/06/16
Publisher: Century
SYNOPSIS:
Twenty years undercover - one man's true story of life as an undercover cop. A must-read for fans of Donnie Brasco.
For over 20 years Joe Carter has worked for the police as an undercover cop. He travelled the globe on different passports. He fraternised with thieves, international drugs and arms dealers. He worked alongside the most dangerous criminals. Always fearing that this life would come crashing down around him at any point.
His story is a gripping account of the secret, solitary work of an undercover officer and the many ‘sticky’ situations he found himself in, as well as the moving confession of the difficulty in reconciling his two identities with his family life. It’s a story of his beginnings from a being a young east end apprentice to the mean streets he walks today – it reveals the many highs and the painful lows of going undercover.
This book explores the resilience needed to lead a double life, the thrilling challenge of working with the biggest criminals in Britain, and maintaining a sense of justice through the many adventures he encounters.
REVIEW:
Books like this are not only hard to read but also to process as to be honest you're reading a real person's life story. Not a fictional write up but the down and dirty gritty highs and low's that a flesh and blood person has had to deal with.
It's hardcore, dark and t times depressing as the reader gets to spend time with a man you feel is doing his best for communities and yet, the criminals aren't as clear cut as you'd like to think. Its harsh, not dressed up with any unnecessary dressing and to the point, which is pretty much what you'd expect from a police officer.
All round a title that whilst hard to read was a book that I was pleased I spent the time with, to see the real face of undercover work without the make up of Hollywood or TV to hide behind.
Release Date: 07/05/15
Publisher: Headline
SYNOPSIS:
The 2007 disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann from her bed in Portugal touched millions around the world, and has aroused sometimes dark controversy. The years pass, but this most emotive of cases still makes headlines worldwide. Award-winning authors Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan have written the first reliable, independent account - drawing on in-depth interviews and rigorous analysis of both the Portuguese and British police investigations. Are we closer now to the truth about Madeleine's disappearance? Was the child abducted, or did something else happen? A senior officer on the continuing British police probe told the authors after the first edition of this book was published: 'The case is solvable'.
REVIEW:
To be honest, if you’re interested in the Madeleine McCann cae and you want an unbiased review of the whole case then you really don’t want this book. The authors sadly side with the family right from the get go and continue to not flag up inconsistancies throughout their “investigation.”
Its a book that feels more like a propaganda statement for the family rather than anything to present the facts in the manner in which the novel is portrayed in the description. All round, pretty much an epic fail for me as a reader and one that I want to make others aware of so that they can borrow it from the library (if they have to read it.)
Release Date: 06/11/14
Publisher: Head of Zeus
SYNOPSIS:
On 7 November 1974, a nanny named Sandra Rivett was bludgeoned to death in a Belgravia basement. A second woman, Veronica, Countess of Lucan, was also attacked. The man named in court as perpetrator of these crimes, Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, disappeared in the early hours of the following morning. The case, solved in the eyes of the law, has retained its fascination ever since. Laura Thompson, acclaimed biographer of Agatha Christie, narrates the story that led up to that cataclysmic event, and draws on her considerable forensic skills to re-examine the possible truths behind one of postwar Britain's most notorious murders. A DIFFERENT CLASS OF MURDER is a portrait of an era, of an extraordinary cast of characters, of a mystery, of a modern myth. Part social history, part detective story, it tells in masterly style one of the great tales of our collective living memory.
REVIEW:
An interesting and to be honest novel look a the crime that shocked the masses in the 20th Century where a Peer of the Realm was sought for the murder of Sandra Rivett.
Here in this book, Laura takes the time to examine the case from scratch, finding problems with the original investigation and puts her own hypothesis on the events that unfurled on that dark November night. Its definteily fascinating and whilst I know the name of Lucan, I wasn’t up to date with the case or with the events surrounding it. This book was definitely one of fascination that kept me reading to understand as much of the case as I could alongside explaining the full lead up to the events within. Well written, succinctly put and when added to a writing style that trips of the page all round made this a book that I couldn’t put down until the lat page. Not often a Factual book does that for me. Thank you Laura.
Release Date: 13/03/14
Publisher: Hodder
SYNOPSIS:
A new type of criminal is in our midst - a dangerous, ruthless, well-armed man, who will stick at nothing, not even murder. He is introducing into this country the gangster methods of Chicago and New York...Trade depression has thrown into unemployment thousands of unskilled youths who have nothing to do but lounge about the street corners of our slums in gangs.' John Bull weekly newspaper, 1932. During the 1920s and 1930s, Glasgow gained an unenviable and enduring notoriety as Britain's gang city - the 'Scottish Chicago'. Now Andrew Davies, author of the acclaimed The Gangs of Manchester, brings to life the reign of terror exerted on Glasgow by gangs like the Billy Boys, the Kent Star, the Savoy Arcadians and the South Side Stickers. Out of the most dilapidated and overcrowded tenements in Britain, stepped young men and women dressed like Hollywood gangsters and their molls. On the city's streets, they took centre stage in dramas of their own making, fighting territorial battles laced with religious sectarianism and running protection rackets modelled on those of the American underworld. Drawing on fifteen years of original research, Andrew Davies provides compelling portraits of legendary figures such as 'Razor King' John Ross and Billy Fullerton, leader of the Billy Boys - described as the 'Al Capone' of the city's East End. He sheds new light on the way the city's police and judiciary dealt with the gangs and reveals the fascinating role played by the media in creating myths of the underworld. During what the Daily Express described as 'The War on the Gang', Glasgow's police were led by Chief Constable Percy Sillitoe (who later became head of M15), determined to maintain the image as a tough, gang-busting cop he had forged in Sheffield during the 1920s. This dramatic story, played out against the backdrop of the most volatile of Britain's cities, provides a new window onto the most turbulent period in modern British history and a timely reminder of how deprivation, unemployment and religious bigotry are a toxic cocktail in any era.
REVIEW:
Crime is something that’s always held an allure for the reader and whilst there are times in the fictional world when the reader will declare that its gone to far, when you get to read the true story of how some of the gangs came about, it’ll more than fascinate as well as scare the reader in equal measure.
Its factual, is written in an easy to approach manner and when added to an authorly style that brings research over without having it like an info-dump all round generates something that is a wonderful read. Great stuff.
Release Date: 26/09/13
Publisher: Random House Books
SYNOPSIS:
As long as there has been crime there has been crap crime. From the Garden of Eden onwards, most criminals must ave been at least a bit crap - or else they wouldn't have been caught, right? OK, some real-life rogues like Bonnie and Clyde, or fictional villains like Moriarty, make breaking the law seem pretty glamorous. But not the failed felons banged up inside this book. Crap Crimes is a hilarious compendium of criminal stupidity - from the woman who went to the police to complain that she had been sold poor-quality cocaine, to the burglar who left his phone charging in his house. If you need proof that crime does not pay - or you just want a good laugh - then this is the book for you.
REVIEW:
This title for me, is what I would call a bathroom book, a title that you can quite happily leave in the smallest room of your house to dip into whenever you need (and a great way to distract guests). The stories are all from the real world and when you see how incompetent some of these “masterminds” are you cannot believe that the book wasn’t made up. (Think of this as perhaps a non-death Darwin Award for Criminals.)
It is fun, it has a good few bits in there to make you laugh and with some moments that will have you scratching your head wondering why these people did the things they did. Finally throw into the mix the chance to see this as the Jerry Springer Book of Crime (if you want to describe it to friends) and you’ll find that the odd break you take from day, can be something to cheer you right up. Great stuff.
Release Date: 04/10/12
SYNOPSIS:
"Capital Crimes" tells the shifting story of crime and punishment in London through vivid re-creations of a series of murders that stretches from the killing of Roger Legett, a notorious 'questmonger', during the Peasants' Revolt in 1381, through to the hanging of Styllou Christofi in 1954. Some of the murderers, such as the political assassin John Bellingham, are still remembered. Others, including the eighteenth-century highwayman John Davis, are largely forgotten. But all their lives and fates have much to tell us - about London's changing underworld, about the slow evolution of policing in the capital, and about the sometimes strange workings of the law. Above all, they provide a fascinating sideways view of London over the centuries - from the crime-ridden alleyways of the Georgian capital to the supposedly respectable suburbs of Finchley, where the notorious 'baby-farmers' Amelia Sach and Annie Walters operated at the beginning of the twentieth century. Illustrated throughout with contemporary engravings and photographs, this is an essential read for all devotees of London - and of crime.
REVIEW:
As a fan of true crime I love it when a new book lands that brings the seedy hidden underbelly of a cityto life, a chance to see that its not just a modern thing but something that exuded from beneath for centuries, since groups of people decided to live together for protection alongside profit.
So all in, this book should have been something spectacular, yet whilst it had some stories from London that I’ve heard before alongside others I hadn’t it felt more like a text book than a title to read for the pleasure, the sensationalism that I’d have expected was missing and rather than increasing the notoriety it seemed to dumb it all down into pure facts rather than giving the reader a story to stay with them.
All in an OK book but not one I’ll be reading again in a hurry.
Release Date: 04/10/12
SYNOPSIS:
Matvay looked inside and saw something so horrible, so gruesome ...it startled even the veteran crime investigator. "There's a body in here," he said. "Another homicide!" From the first whiff of the pungent smell coming from the garbage can, the Las Vegas cops knew what they were dealing with. Someone was dead and the witchcraft books at the scene suggested they had died in a deeply sinister way. "Witch" is the disturbing true story of how and why a sweet-natured girl called Brookey Lee West become one of America's most notorious female killers.
REVIEW:
As a fan of true crime, I was quite pleased to be receiving this book as it was about Brookey Lee West, a woman guilty of matricide. The book was well written and whilst, it does, in my opinion delve too much into the backgrounds of all connected rather than keeping to the meat of the story, overall the subject matter was fascinating.
However on a personal note I felt that the title was misleading as the only real reference to witchcraft were the books found in the storage locker where the container with the body was kept. Other points that I found a little disturbing included the authors narration of the “fantasy tapes” to the doctor which I found vulgar with the author seeming to lose professionalism at this point.
All in the book is quite a long story without any real outcome as West never admitted her guilt to her mother’s murder and whilst other crimes were alluded to, only one was covered within this title. To sum up, if you like true crime this could very well be a book for you as she’s new to the scene so there’s no other material about her out there, however if you want something that looks at all angles with a writer who investigates other allegations then this may not be for you.
Release Date: 10/05/12
SYNOPSIS:
Would you risk your life to save your soul? Colombia in the 1990s was a country on the brink. A weak government battled in vain against billion-dollar cocaine cartels, run with cold-blooded violence by warring gangsters Pablo Escobar in Medellin and the Orejuela brothers in Cali. Countless innocent lives were torn apart. One such life was Jorge Salcedo's, a part-time soldier and respected business and familyman, who lost a childhood friend to Escobar's blood feud. His military connections lead him to a secret meeting with the Cali cartel, sworn enemies of Escobar, where he was offered the chance to help take Pablo out. With mixed feelings, he agreed. Once inside, Salcedo rose to become head of security for one of the principal godfathers, struggling to preserve his integrity as he was cast deeper into the mire. Then came an order that he could not obey and could not refuse; where the only way out was to bring down the biggest, richest crime family of all time. And so begins a heart-pumping roller coaster ride that has to be read to be believed. Secretly aided by DEA agents, Salcedo must help capture his fugitive bosses and save the life of a witness targeted for murder. Death is always a misstep away. Salcedo remains in hiding in the United Sates, but has revealed his experiences in full explosive detail to the only reporter who has ever had access. This is his remarkable story and a gripping piece of true crime.
REVIEW:
There are times when you want to find out a little more about real crime but aren’t quite sure on how to do this, whether its waiting for the memoirs of old criminals who’ve finally decided to spill the beans or delving into the stories of those who solved the cases, it always leaves you with a dark shadow over your shoulder wondering what is not only missing but how they’ve glorified what they do. Add to this, the writing style is usually pretty straight forward and you can be left wondering why you'd delve here when you could be enjoying a crime thriller.
What William’s writing does is bring the best of both worlds to the table, he has a talent for getting to the truth writing it from how he saw it, relying on first hand account and then added a thriller style to the overall writing that made it compulsive reading. Its not for the faint hearted and to be honest some of the stuff in here is very dark but as a reader I love having something like this out there as it shows what can be done to tempt and taunt you all at the same time. A great read all in and one I’m pleased I took the time to.
Release Date: 07/07/11
SYNOPSIS:
Although it's hard to believe now, Rose West was an exceptionally beautiful little girl with long, glossy dark hair and big brown eyes. Strangers would stop and stare at her in the street and she could entrance people from an early age. Looking at photos of young Rosie as a child, it is almost impossible to comprehend that she would grow up to become one of Britain's most notorious female murderers.
What happened to that little girl to make her capable of such violence? Or was there something wrong - a predisposition to cruelty - which she was born with?
Crime writer Jane Carter Woodrow goes back to the start of Rose's life to piece together what it was that turned her into a monster. In doing so, she presents us with a profile of the young Rose West and a fascinating insight into the mind of a killer.
Rose's early life made her the perfect partner for Fred West when they met just before her sixteenth birthday. But the young teenager would kill for the first time a few months later, alone and unaided, while Fred was in prison. Her part in the killings is very different to that which many people believe even today.
ROSE is a gripping read which sheds light for the first time on the real story of Rose West - taking the reader on a journey from her childhood through to her becoming the country's biggest and most infamous female sexual predator and serial killer.
REVIEW:
Books about the dark figures of the macabre are quite common and they tend to focus on the crimes. What this title by Jane Woodrow does however is bring the prehistory of Rose West to the fore going as far back as her grandparents so that the reader has a social setting to see how the events of her life helped form her into the woman she was to become.
It is a title that’s been very carefully researched, the background information is extensive and getting a fuller picture is something that I feel other books could benefit from. Add to this an author who backs up the research with straight facts and this was a title that was more than an interesting read.
The only problem with this novel was that the crimes to which Rose West was jailed weren’t gone into in any great detail and whilst the reader will probably breathe a sigh of relief for this, I felt that it presented a less than full portrayal of the subject. All in, this book is one that has to be read by people who are curious about Serial Killers and for the fact that it’s fairly unique with its parameters it’s a novel that deserves to be read.
Release Date: 28/07/11
SYNOPSIS:
On 23 Jun 2011 the convicted double-murderer Levi Bellfield was found guilty of the murder of 13-year-old school girl Milly Dowler.
Milly disappeared on her way home from school in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey in 2002. Six months later her body was discovered many miles away. A massive police investigation, the largest manhunt in Surrey's history, got nowhere. Only when nightclub bouncer and bare-knuckle boxer Levi Bellfield was arrested for the murder of another young woman did it become clear to police that they had a serial killer on their hands.
This is the full story of the murders, the victims and the pain-staking nine-year investigation and trial by police and prosecutors. It tells of Bellfield's terrifying, controlling personality - a man who went from charming to monstrous in the blink of an eye - and his depraved stalking of young women.
It is a terrifying portrait of the only man in modern British legal history to be given two whole-life sentences.
REVIEW:
I tend to read quite a few books on Serial Killers and usually they take the case in one of three ways, either they’re pro subject, anti-subject or take the middle road presenting the facts of the case to allow the reader to make up their own mind. It’s this last option that Geoffrey Wansell takes with this, his new title based on the crimes committed by Levi Bellfield, the man convicted of the murders of a few young women including Milly Dowler.
Whilst this book does contain all the fact pertaining to the case it felt that it had a beginning and middle without reaching a conclusion towards the end due to the fact that Levi Bellfield has never admitted his guilt to any of his crimes.
All in, this book was well written although in part repetitive but this I felt was mainly due to the author having to try to make the extra length due to the subject’s non-admittance of these crimes. As such this felt a little flat and that perhaps that the author could have spent his time more productively on a criminal that has admitted their guilt in order to give the reader a more rounded picture. Don’t get me wrong it is interesting, it does have a lot of plus points but when the evidence is laid out it does make you wonder exactly how the conviction was obtained purely as a lot of it seemed circumstantial.
Release Date: 07/07/11
SYNOPSIS:
The Black Dahlia case. The Manson murders. The Zodiac Killer. The slaughter of JonBenet Ramsay. These killings, among many others in Bill James's astonishing chronicle of the history of American crime, have all created a frenzy of interest and speculation about human nature. And while many of us choose to avoid the news about gruesome murders, Bill James contends that these crime stories, which create such frenzy (and have throughout history), are as important to understanding our society, culture and history as anything we may consider to be a more 'serious' subject. The topic envelopes our society so completely, we almost forget about it. James looks at the ways in which society has changed by examining the development of how crimes have been committed, investigated and prosecuted. The book takes on such issues as the rise of an organized police force, the controversial use of the death penalty, the introduction of evidence such as fingerprinting and DNA, and the unexpected ways in which the most shocking crimes have shaped the criminal justice system and our perceptions of violence.
REVIEW:
I tend to read a lot of true crime and I’m always interested to have my understanding as well as boundaries pushed by someone with an authoritive point of view that can back up their argument with not only facts but a plausible solution. Sadly this title by Baseball Journalist Bill James fell flat on all accounts.
Unlike true crime writers such former FBI Investigator Robert Ressler, who has interviewed many killers or Brian Masters who presents an even handed presentation of the facts, James has gone out on a limb and put many ill-informed concepts as well as arguments forward that sadly are ridiculously easy to over right with not only common sense but based on evidence presented in other titles make his own points seem almost childish in comparison.
Add to this a holier than thou attitude that no matter what is presented he’s always right and its sadly a title I wish I’d missed rather than spent my valuable time reading. A real shame as it had so much potential.
Release Date: 12/05/11
SYNOPSIS:
‘The decision to publish this book has been very difficult, and taken with heavy hearts … My reason for writing it is simple: to give an account of the truth … Writing this memoir has entailed recording some very personal, intimate and emotional aspects of our lives. Sharing these with strangers does not come easily to me, but if I hadn’t done so I would not have felt the book gave as full a picture as it is possible for me to give. As with every action we have taken over the last four years, it ultimately boils down to whether what we are doing could help us to find Madeleine. When the answer to that question is yes, or even possibly, our family can cope with anything …
What follows is an intensely personal account, and I make no apology for that …
Nothing is more important to us than finding our little girl.’
Kate McCann, May 2011
‘It is a sad fact that not a single police force anywhere is proactively looking for Madeleine (as is the case for many other missing children). I am sure this book will re-energize the search for our daughter and the public will get behind the Find Madeleine campaign once again. It is simply not acceptable that the authorities have given up on Madeleine – especially when no comprehensive review of the case has been undertaken. Our daughter, and whoever took her, are out there. We need your help to find them.’
Gerry McCann, May 2011REVIEW:
This title has been a hard one to review due to the complex issues raised within and due to the media attention the world over. Whether you think Madeleine’s parents are guilty or not of the crime that has yet to be proven in a court of law, it’s their version of events that led up to as well as after the disappearance of their daughter.
What this title will do however is counteract the book released by Gonçalo Amaral (the Portuguese Police Chief who led the investigation) entitled Maddie. La verità della menzogna. First of all the main problem that I have with this book by Kate is that it didn’t do anything to change my POV to the case prior to reading this, in fact in places some of the issues raised did lead to more questions and whilst the title did put forward a chain of events that they believe happened it did leave me wondering exactly how carefully this book has been viewed by lawyers as there is no real emotion behind it, presenting more a staged front rather than an account from the heart.
Add to this randomisation to the title where one minute she’s on one thread and then switches into a huge piece of text about someone else, the book could end up an unfinished coffee table piece rather than a title to put their point of view forward. All in an interesting read but as I’ve said it’s a title I feel won’t influence people’s thoughts on the case in one direction or the other.
