Scotland Yard's Murder Squad

Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad written by Dick Kirby and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 264

In 1906 the Metropolitan Police Commissioner was asked by the Home Office to make available skilled investigators for murder enquiries nationwide as few constabularies had sufficiently skilled – or indeed, any - detectives.

Thus was born the Reserve Squad, or Murder Squad, as it later became known. Despite a reluctance by some forces to call upon The Met, the Murder Squad has proved its effectiveness on countless occasions with its remit extended to British territories overseas. A particularly sensitive case was the murder of a local superintendent on St Kitts and Nevis.

A former Scotland Yard detective, the Author uses his contacts and experiences to get the inside track on a gruesome collection of infamous cases. Child murderers, a Peer’s butler, a King’s housekeeper, gangsters, jealous spouses and the notorious mass murderer Dr Bodkin Adams compete for space in this spine-chilling and gripping book which is a testament to the Murder Squad’s skills and ingenuity - and the evil of the perpetrators.

Brimming with gruesome killings, this highly readable book proves that there is no substitute for old fashioned footwork and instinct.

In another Dick Kirby book, I’m certainly not complaining as I’m becoming to love a good Dick Kirby book about true crime. The good thing about a Dick Kirby book is that he as the author has been there and done it, which I would say is one of the main things that come through the book/s and we have great books to read. The book covers 14 chapters looking at various murders of different types, such as murdering of children, deadly doctors, affairs of the heart and female killers to name a few of the cases. 

The cases always come across as informed, direct and very well written and this is probably due to the experience and history of the writer having been a former police officer. It is my belief that Dick Kirby is fast becoming an excellent crime writer, I can only recommend his books as I have never read a poor book. As it seems that True Crime never seems to end I really do look forward to reviewing his next book.

The Moors Murderers

The Moors Murderers written by Chris Cook and published by Pen & Sword Books

- £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 304

Meticulously researched by C.G.C. Cook, The Moors Murderers gives readers a rare and fascinating look into the lives of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley – often referred to as the most evil couple in British history. After a torture and killing spree that lasted two years and left five innocent children dead, many aspects of their lives have been kept hidden from the public. Cook’s new release changes that – making unseen photographs, letters and accounts public for the first time. In the mid 1960s, the serenity of Saddleworth Moor was forever interrupted, even if people didn’t yet know it, as the area became a grave for the innocent child victims of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.

The couple’s vile torture and killings have shaken up British history ever since, with the couple often considered two of the most evil people to have lived. However, the public still have many questions about who they were and how their dysfunctional relationship operated.

In this book, many artefacts become public for the first time, including photographs from Ian Brady’s ‘Tartan album’, police interviews and witness statements, which shed vital new light on Brady, Hindley and the dangerous cocktail their union became.

You would have to think that the vast majority of people have heard about Brady & Hindley and their sickening crimes, but I suppose the younger generation might not have heard of them and how their crimes affected a generation in the 60’s. Whilst this is a harrowing and upsetting story about two deranged individuals the story from a true crime perspective is fascinating. The book looks at the crimes from the very beginning, looking at these two growing up and their family background and then how they met up with each other. As experts will often say that you can predict what is to come from looking at someone’s character and upbringing and says how that individual will turn out. 

Although it is sickening to read about the crimes, torture and abuse which must have been terrifying for the victim. For the living, it’s also the way they buried their victims anonymously on the Saddleworth moors and then gave false hopes to victims' parents and relatives claiming to reveal where they were buried, but then never did. Denying parents’ the chance to bury their loved ones. The book is a really good book in that it is well written and balanced in its evidence and facts. A really good book that I would recommend especially for true crime fans or for people who have never heard of the case.

Investigating the Almost Perfect Murders

Investigating the Almost Perfect Murders written by Anthony Nott and published by 

Pen & Sword Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 197

Anthony Nott joined the Metropolitan Police in 1971, which was a very different world from that of today. He describes his early experiences in the Met, including the arrest of a man for murdering a prostitute in Kings Cross. He was present when a fellow police officer was almost stabbed to death and witnessed an act of police brutality when he interrupted the beating of a petty criminal in a cell by the CID.

He transferred to the county force of Dorset in 1976 where, not long after his promotion to detective sergeant, he engaged in what would be a ten-year long investigation into the disappearance of Monica Taylor and the eventual conviction of her husband, Peter, for what was almost the perfect murder – Monica’s remains were never found. He then recounts a series of murder cases in which he was involved from the murder and decapitation of a woman in Bournemouth and the random killing of another, to the extremely violent killing of a gay man in Boscombe Gardens, Bournemouth, in which it took two years to bring the killers to justice.

While a detective chief inspector in Bournemouth in 1994, the chance visit of a detective sergeant from Guernsey, who was investigating a life insurance fraud, led to the re-opening of a missing person enquiry from eight years earlier, and resulted in the conviction of Russell Causley for murder, despite his wife’s body never being recovered.

This book provides an insight into the methodical and transparent way in which the police investigate complicated crimes from riots to the almost perfect murders.

Well, this book was a fascinating read indeed, both meticulous and detailed which I suppose comes from the author as the book follows his life in the police force in which he endeavours to work and succeed on some tricky cases. The book follows a good number of different cases ranging from riots and crowd control all the way up to almost getting away with the perfect murder. The book was very interesting and it was nice to read a good number of different crimes that were British rather than from the US. A good book very well worth reading if you're into crime especially true British crime.