Books about real life murders

Books about real life murders

Reading about true crime that happened years ago is always interesting. It’s eerily compelling to watch and imagine how the investigation turned out and what the police methods were like at the time.

Some notorious cases have been captured in fiction and the authors have been very clever in telling the story of the victims or reimagining the story for modern audiences.

Here are five books to read about real life murders:

London UK – Dr Crippen

The Story of a Murder – Hallie Rubenhold

A case where a medical man was  hanged for the murder of his wife. He had been married before and his wife went missing in strange circumstances. He also had a mistress.

London, UK – Jack the Ripper

The Five – Hallie Rubenhold

This is perhaps the most infamous murder ever. This is the story of the victims however. The women who were murdered have their voices heard.

London, UK – The murders at 10 Rillington Place

The Peepshow by Kate Summerscale

The story of the murder of a young couple and their baby. Beryl Evans and her baby daughter Geraldine, along with Beryl’s husband Timothy Evans were murdered by Reg Christie. He also murdered his wife Beryl who was found in the floorboards. There were more victims, but this book listens to the family of the man accused by Christie of the murders – Evans.

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher

Sussex, England

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher – Kate Summerscale

A very sad case this one – a baby dies in a family home. He is taken from his bed and murdered in the outhouse. The police come but it’s a very disturbing case.

Edinburgh, Scotland

The Maiden Kate Foster

The case of a woman accused of murdering her lover. This is interesting as the case was stacked against her. What led to the murder and how society saw women and justice at the time is the real story here.