The favoured murder weapon was the cut-throat razor; carrying a pocket watch was dangerous; the most significant clue at a murder scene could be the whereabouts of a candlestick or hat; large households (family, servants and lodgers) complicated many a case and servants sometimes murdered their masters. Detectives had few aids and suffered many disadvantages. The bloody handprints found at two early murder scenes were of no help, there being no way of telling whether blood (or hair) was human or animal. Fingerprinting was fifty years away, DNA profiling another hundred and photography was too new to help with identification. The detectives had no transport and were expected to walk the first three miles on any enquiry before catching an omnibus or cab and trying to recoup the fares. All reports had to be handwritten with a dip pen and ink and the only means of keeping contact with colleagues and disseminating information was by post, horseback or foot. In spite of these handicaps and severe press criticism, the detectives achieved some significant successes. Joan Lock includes such classic cases as the First Railway Murder, as well as many fascinating, fresh reports, weaving in new developments like the electric telegraph against a background of authentic Victorian police procedure. Charles Dickens said that Scotland Yard detectives gave the impression of leading lives of strong mental excitement. Readers of this book will understand why … Praise for Joan Lock ‘Thorough account of important early cases dealt with by Scotland Yard.’ – Professor B. J. Rahn ‘a better picture of the development of the detectives and the CID in the 19th century Metropolitan Police than any other book I have read.' – Alan Moss ‘vivid detail’ – Historical Novel Society Joan Lock is an ex-nurse and former policewoman. Joan has also written short stories, radio plays, radio documentaries and eight crime novels. She lives in London.

    He died in HMP Maghaberry, Northern Ireland, in January 2016, aged sixty-eight, unmourned, and entirely unrepentant of his repellent crimes.These bald facts, horrific as they are, do not begin to scratch the surface of the truth about Robert Black, a Scottish-born serial killer who undoubtedly committed further murders for which he was never tried, both in this country and on the Continent. In this ground-breaking account, Robert Giles, who has spent years tracing the killer’s movements and sifting through all the evidence, including transcripts of the trials, convincingly argues that Black was an habitual serial killer over many years, and quite certainly responsible for more than the four child murders for which he was convicted.Co-written with Chris Clark, a former police intelligence officer whose tireless work into the Yorkshire Ripper produced convincing new evidence of other murders that went unnoticed or unrecorded, The Face of Evil shows once and for all that Robert Black was a serial killer whose crimes went far beyond what is generally believed. In doing so, it paints a portrait of human cruelty at its worst.

    He paints the culture into words and takes you on a journey into the belly of the beast with an authentic look at gang warfare behind bars.Only for adults...Inside this story you will find a horrific description of the deadly, 28 minute long blood bath, race war riot at Pelican Bay on a cold Febuary day in 2000...A penetrating look inside of one of California's most dangerous prisons.B.J, a drug dealer serving time, struggling to hold on to truth and his faith in God, takes the reader on a never before seen, inside look at a California level 4 prison. The inner dynamics between prison guards, gang investigators and the Warden are on display along with the political climate between races with a war brewing between the Mexicans and Blacks. A piercing account of the process for gang validation into solitary confinement at Pelican Bay's SHU through the eyes of inmates struggling to survive gang wars, in prison drug debts, prison politics, rules and regulations, and ultimately power and control, while desperately trying to find a path for redemption along the way.

    It is a gory, grotesque tale befitting a Stephen King novel. It is also a David and Goliath saga—the story of a young lawyer fresh from the Public Defender’s Office whose first client in private practice turns out to be the worst serial killer in our nation’s history. Sam Amirante had just opened his first law practice when he got a phone call from his friend John Wayne Gacy, a well-known and well-liked community figure. Gacy was upset about what he called “police harassment” and asked Amirante for help. With the police following his every move in connection with the disappearance of a local teenager, Gacy eventually gives a drunken, dramatic, early morning confession—to his new lawyer. Gacy is eventually charged with murder and Amirante suddenly becomes the defense attorney for one of American’s most disturbing serial killers. It is his first case. This is a gripping narrative that reenacts the gruesome killings and the famous trial that shocked a nation.

    What had once seemed unthinkable, had suddenly become a reality. Nels Rasmussen, the victim's father, had, some twenty years prior, pleaded with LAPD to take a look at Lazarus as a possible suspect. His daughter had said that Lazarus had been "stalking" her, but Rasmussen was summarily dismissed by police and told that he should "Stop watching so much television." After five years, he simply gave up.The story here begins on the night of February 24, 1986 and involves three people, certainly one of them innocent; the victim--Sherri Rae Rasmussen--was bludgeoned, bitten, beaten, and then shot to death in what was made to look like a botched robbery. Yet the only thing missing from the scene was a marriage certificate.In 2009, the Cold Case squad in the same building as Officer Lazarus re-opened the Rasmussen case and examined the DNA swabbing from the bite-marks on Rasmussen’s arm. They discovered that the saliva could only have come from a woman. Then, they started to investigate Lazarus based on Rasmussen’s suspicions on record in the file.This is a book that one wishes were fiction. It is written point-of-fact, with all of the details of the case laid out neatly before the reader in police procedural style. The reader becomes the jury. The most shocking part of the story is the identity of the killer.ABOUT THE AUTHORIn true crime, Paul Alexander is the bestselling author of the Kindle Singles Murdered, Accused and Homicidal. A leading journalist for many years, Alexander has published eight widely praised books—among them Rough Magic, a biography of Sylvia Plath; the bestseller Boulevard of Broken Dreams: The Life, Times, and Legend of James Dean; and Salinger: A Life—and over one hundred major articles for publications ranging from The New York Times to Rolling Stone.

    My body was acting on its own, and my mind was empty, like all my memories had been erased. There was scenery behind my lids. Aqua-colored water and powdery sand that extended for miles. I was never going back to coke. I wanted more heroin. And I wanted it now."Leaving behind a nightmarish college experience, Nicole and her friend, Eric, escape their home of Bangor, Maine to start a new life in Boston. Fragile and scared, Nicole desperately seeks a new beginning to help erase her past. But there is something besides freedom waiting for her in the shadows—a drug that will make every day a nightmare.Heroin.With one taste, the love that once flowed through Nicole's veins turns into cravings. Tracks mark the passing of time, and heroin's grip gets tighter. It holds her hand through deaths and prostitution, but her addiction keeps her in the darkness. When her family tries to strike a match to help light her way, Nicole must choose between a life she can hardly remember, or a love for heroin she'll never forget.

    Standing at six-foot-nine, the young man was a giant, but he was gentle, soft spoken, and shy. He lived with his mother into his mid-twenties and frequented local bars, cozying up to police officers-a job he had once hoped to hold himself but couldn't since he was too tall. This was one reality of Kemper's life-the reality he wanted those around him to see. There was another side to the man though, a much darker side. Kemper's actions in his life shocked America, who dubbed him the Co-Ed Killer for his urge to murder and violate co-ed girls in Northern California. Inside you will read about... - Hatred is Born - Kemper's First Murders - Institutionalized with an IQ of 145 - The Co-Ed Killer - Kemper's Grand Finale: The Death of His Mother - Arrest, Imprisonment, and Parole And much more!

    One month later, her naked body—stabbed over thirty times and missing both feet and a forearm—was discovered, partially buried, on an abandoned farm. A year later, the body of twenty-year-old Joan Schell was found, similarly violated. Southeastern Michigan was terrorized by something it had never experienced before: a serial killer. Over the next two years, five more bodies were uncovered around Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Michigan. All the victims were tortured and mutilated. All were female students.   After multiple failed investigations, a chance sighting finally led to a suspect. On the surface, John Norman Collins was an all-American boy—a fraternity member studying elementary education at Eastern Michigan University. But Collins wasn’t all that he seemed. His female friends described him as aggressive and short tempered. And in August 1970, Collins, the “Ypsilanti Ripper,” was arrested, found guilty, and sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole.   Written by the coauthor of The French Connection, The Michigan Murders delivers a harrowing depiction of the savage murders that tormented a small midwestern town.

     The Zodiac Killer #1 Detective Darek Blake thought the secrets of his past were long buried, but when a young girl is murdered in a familiar way, finding the killer will not only bring back memories he’s repressed, but give him a golden opportunity to impress the FBI. So, when his partner, Special Agent Lizzy McNamara digs up evidence that’s a little too close to home, he’s shaken to the core. The worst sin he’s ever committed bubbles up, threatening to destroy his future. Are the Zodiac killings a coincidence or is someone toying with him, and if so… who?
 Capricorn Book #2 Being a suspect in a murder case never happens at a good time, but for Capricorn, Tad Halston, a recovering addict and former male escort who is on the verge of reclaiming his place as an in-demand male model, the timing couldn’t be worse. With bodies piling up and more evidence pointing to him for the murders, the last thing he needs is a series of anonymous messages demanding he make the next kill for vengeance. Can he murder the uncle who abused him and sent his life hurtling down this dark path, or will his sister become the real killer’s next victim? For Tad, time is running out. Now that Darek Blake has hired Bay “The Slayer” Collins as his divorce attorney, he realizes the man’s help will come at a much higher price. Becoming an informant was never part of the deal, but with new evidence hitting too close to home, Darek is left with no other choice. With the killer targeting Darek’s old friends, he has to decide which side is most important, his role as a detective, or his past as part of the Zodiac Society.
 Pisces Book #3 With the suspicious death of Tad Halston, Detective Darek Blake finds walking the line between NYPD detective and Zodiac member a more daunting task than ever. Hannah Halston, Tad’s sister, refuses to believe the official story that her brother went on a vengeful killing spree. She’s doing her best to clear his name, which brings Darek’s partner, Special Agent Lizzy McNamara, even closer to his criminal past. Meanwhile, whoever is targeting the Zodiacs has their sights on Logan Miller. His life is complicated enough already, with his struggling career and bitter relationship with an older woman, but when he meets Hannah Halston at her brother’s funeral, lending a sympathetic shoulder turns into so much more. He’s determined to end things with the older woman until she tells him she’s dying. Stuck between a rock and hard place, does he continue his relationship, or go where his heart tells him? Will the killer choose for him?

    In a raw, first-person account, Waite recounts each heartbreaking discovery, every life-destroying lie, and reveals what happens once the dust finally settles on her demolished marriage.After a disturbing email sparks Waite's suspicion that her husband is having an affair, she tries to uncover the truth and rebuild trust in her marriage. Instead, she finds more lies, infidelity, and betrayal than she could have imagined. Waite obsessively analyzes her relationship, trying to find a single moment from the last five years that isn't part of the long-con of lies and manipulation. With a dual-timeline narrative structure, we see Waite's romance bud, bloom, and wither simultaneously, making the heartbreak and disbelief even more affecting.

    Before long Diana and her partner, Jack Moody—new to being a couple—have moved into a long-empty jungle house, cohabitating with bats, scorpions, toucans, iguanas, and the vulnerable but resilient butterflies. She comes to be obsessed with the array of iridescent creatures.Just ahead, although they don’t know it, are a hurricane and a global pandemic.This warm, funny tale of finding a way forward when the world seems to be falling apart is filled with the beauty of the natural world and a heartfelt cry to protect it—beginning with butterflies.

    Tolkien.Having grown up on their great-grandfather’s stories, Royd Tolkien and his brother, Mike, have always enjoyed adventures. So when Mike is diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, the brothers decide to use the time they have left to tick off as much as possible from Mike’s bucket list, from remote camping in Norway to travelling through Royd’s beloved New Zealand.Yet, when Royd loses Mike, he discovers his brother had been writing another kind of bucket list: fifty things he wanted Royd to do after his death. His first task? Mike wants his mild-mannered brother to trip up on his way to the lectern to deliver his eulogy. What follows is a set of emotionally charged tests that will push Royd firmly out of his comfort zone.This is the story of Royd’s journey to accomplish a challenging, humorous, and often heart-breaking list of unknown tasks that chart the brothers’ lives from childhood to adulthood. But above all, it is a story of the sibling bond, of grief—and of treasuring every moment.

     From the files and pen of world renowned true crime writer Alan Hynd (1903 - 1974) comes the final installment of deliciously dark true murder cases of the first half of the 20th Century. These stories, the third of these three short collections, are unified by a single theme: they all involve physicians. And not for the autopsy, but as perpetrators or accused perpetrators. You may never see your family care giver again in the same light. Told in the characteristic wry, anecdotal reportorial style that made Alan Hynd famous in his day (two wartime best sellers in 1943, contributions to The Reader's Digest, Colliers, Coronet, The Saturday Evening Post, True, Liberty, The American Mercury and almost every true detective magazine in print) these tales will have you cringing one minute, laughing the next, and gasping in shock a moment later. Truly, no one could make up classics like these. We meet here the notorious Dr. Cream, a twitchy-eyed psychotic with a yen for prostitutes, a Philadelphia chiropractor whose girlfriend lost her head, and Marcel Petiot, whose patients payed their own way out of this world. Then as a bonus, get to know (from a safe distance) "Lethal Louise," the black widow of California, and Adolf Luetgert of Chicago, whose sausage-making plant was put to extracurricular uses. This is not for the faint of heart. True crime is always farther out there than fiction.

    A terrorist attack on Australian soil. For seventeen hours Islamic State-inspired gunman Man Haron Monis held his captives in a terrifying drama that paralysed Sydney and kept a nation glued to its television screens. Two hostages were killed and three seriously wounded. The others would have their lives changed for ever.Despite the police leadership declaring it was well prepared for a terrorist attack, many shortcomings on the night revealed a response that fell seriously short of that promise. Deborah Snow lays bare what happened behind the scenes in the cafe as the hostages tried to keep themselves alive while waiting for a police response that didn't come. She also takes us into the police command posts as communications, equipment and decision-making structures broke down. Hurtling towards its inevitable and tragic conclusion, Siege draws us into a vortex of police missteps, extraordinary bravery and profound grief to reveal what happened during that awful day. Shocking, compelling and revealing Siege will take its place as the classic account of these events.

    At least, it feels that way until a serial killer starts dicing up women from the shelter where she volunteers. Despite the ever-present tingling at the nape of her neck, Hannah manages to convince herself that the killings have nothing to do with her brutal past—until her boyfriend is murdered in the same ruthless manner as the others. It doesn’t help that the police think she might have done it. But the cops are right about one thing: Hannah is responsible. Because she knows who the killer is. Now she must face the fact that she brought a monster with her to Ash Park—and his appetite for blood is insatiable. Everyone's hungry for something. Some are more famished than others.