The Most Bizarre True Crime Stories Ever Told - Jack Rosewood

A collection of the most mind-boggling and outrageous True Crime cases you've ever read. Stories so bizarre, creepy and compelling that you can't stop turning the pages - the perfect gift for True Crime lovers.

Are you a hardcore true crime fan? Do you know all the ins and outs of popular cases and killers? Are you kind of sick of hearing the same old stories over and over? Do you long to be truly disturbed by strange and scary details that just don't happen every day?

Then you are sure to enjoy The Most Bizarre True Crime Stories Ever Told!

Inside you'll find:

- Tales of the paranormal: Did a dead woman really solve her own murder? Have dreams helped investigators track down killers? Did a demon possess a man and force him to kill?

- Terrifying mysteries: What was happening in the Soka Forest of Horrors? How can authorities have stacks of DNA evidence and still not be able to track down such a careless killer? How many innocent people have been killed because they knew too much.

- The strangest details of any true crime cases: How many murder attempts can one man survive? How long can someone live with a corpse in their house? How did a cannibal who committed a horrific crime not only walk free, but become a celebrity?

- Bizarre true crime stories you've never heard before!

As horrifying as the details of well-known cases can be, real true crime fanatics are looking for something more than the run of the mill murders they've heard about a thousand times. They're looking for mysteries, twists and turns, and seemingly-impossible circumstances that take a case from lacklustre to legendary.

The Most Bizarre True Crime Stories Ever Told delivers the horrifying, interesting, weird, and disturbing tales that really get true crime connoisseurs excited. Lock your doors, close your blinds, and get ready to read about some of the strangest, and most bone-chilling true crime cases the word has ever seen.

 

What did I think?

Yikes!  This true crime book is not for the faint hearted.  It chilled me to the bone and it had my stomach clenching as these 20 true crimes were revealed in all their grisly glory.

I read a lot of crime fiction but these true crimes are certainly stranger than fiction.  It’s actually quite shocking to not only read the true stories in this book but to further research them on the internet afterwards, especially as some of them remain unsolved to this day.

It’s very well written in an entertaining, informative and compelling way.  The chapters are quite short so it’s a book you can dip in and out of but I devoured it cover to cover.

I loved it and would highly recommend this book to both true crime fans and fans of crime fiction.

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BLOG TOUR: Jack the Ripper and Abraham Lincoln - Tony McMahon

An astonishing connection between two of the 19th century’s greatest crimes.

A fraudulent doctor, Francis Tumblety, is implicated in both the 1865 assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the 1888 Jack the Ripper killings. It seems incredible that Jack the Ripper could have been involved in killing President Lincoln, but the evidence is revealed in this book.

We delve into a murky underworld in America’s Gilded Age and the poverty ridden slums of London’s Whitechapel district following the murderous trail left by Tumblety. A flamboyant huckster, well known in the newspaper gossip columns, whose celebrity masked his homicidal tendencies.

Arrested over the Lincoln assassination then released while others were hanged on the scaffold. Put behind bars briefly by Scotland over the Jack the Ripper killings but then makes a daring escape. The proof is overwhelming that Tumblety was one of the most dangerous criminals of the 19th century.

 

What did I think?

I was immediately drawn to this strangely titled book as, much like the author, I am fascinated by the unsolved mystery of Jack the Ripper.  I would never have expected to see the names Jack the Ripper and Abraham Lincoln on the same page never mind read a whole book about this jaw-dropping link.

I previously knew very little about Lincoln's assassination other than the name of his killer, but as with most events of this magnitude there's usually more than one person involved in the planning even if only one person can fire the gun.  This is where Francis Tumblety comes in and it sounds like you would have had to have been blind not to notice him if you saw him on the street.  A quack herb doctor dressed in military uniform, Tumblety would make Freddie Mercury look inconspicuous.

Tony McMahon takes the reader on a mesmerising journey from Washington USA to Whitechapel UK as he uncovers a firm link between the two famous crimes.  The author's research is impeccable and with the facts set out before us it is both eye-opening and jaw-dropping that Tumblety managed to literally get away with murder.

Whilst the majority of the book is set in America and focusses on the Lincoln aspect, it's still a fascinating read for anyone interested in the Jack the Ripper story.  I also found it interesting to read about LGBT back in the 19th century and although it was illegal, same sex relationships happened perhaps where you might least expect it.

Well-researched, thought-provoking and completely fascinating, Jack the Ripper and Abraham Lincoln is a must-read for any fans of true crime.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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About the author:

Tony McMahon is an experienced investigative journalist, news and features editor, and consultant to governments and NGOs on issues like countering violent extremism and counter terrorism. A former BBC producer and Sky News reporter before becoming a communications consultant working with government clients (Home Office, US State Department) on issues like radicalisation and extremism-related violence. 

For the last decade, he has been a regular contributor on TV history and science documentaries covering a wide range of issues and originating programme ideas. This includes multiple episodes/seasons of William Shatner’s The UnXplained (Prometheus/History), Secrets of the Royal Palaces (Viacom/Channel 5), Truthseekers (Big Media/History) and Forbidden History (LikeAShot/UKTV and Sky History).

The idea to investigate Francis Tumblety arose after being invited to talk about Jack the Ripper on Sky History’s 2022 documentary series: William Shatner’s The UnXplained. During the research process ahead of filming, the linkage between the

Lincoln assassination and the Jack the Ripper murders emerged. 

He has written two biographies with black British themes – his biography of the late middleweight boxer Errol Christie – No Place To Hide (Aurum Press) was shortlisted for best sports biography of 2011 and long-listed for the William Hill prize.

Tony was born in Walthamstow, east London, and has been fascinated by the Jack the Ripper story all his life. The main protagonist, Francis Tumblety, was both LGBT and Irish heritage – like the author – but that is where the similarity ends!

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BLOG TOUR: Queens of the Underworld - Caitlin Davies

Robin Hood, Dick Turpin, Ronnie Biggs, the Krays … All have become folk heroes, glamorised and romanticised, even when they killed. But where are all the female crooks? Where are the street robbers, gang leaders, diamond thieves, bank robbers and gold smugglers?

Queens of the Underworld reveals the incredible story of professional female criminals from the 17th century to today. From Moll Cutpurse who ruled the Jacobean underworld, to Victorian jewel thief Emily Lawrence and 1960s burglar Zoe Progl, these were charismatic women at the top of their game.

But female criminals have long been dismissed as either not ‘real women’ or not ‘real criminals’, and in the process their stories have been lost. Caitlin Davies unravels the myths, confronts the lies, and tracks down modern-day descendants in order to tell the truth about their lives.

 

What did I think?

Queens of the Underworld is a fascinating non-fiction book that's really easy to read as each chapter leads nicely on to the next one.  You may have never heard of any of the women in this book but that's something that Caitlin Davies aims to put right by giving these women their rightful place in history.

As I was reading about all of these women I had never heard of, I wondered how on earth their stories had been lost when we know all about their male counterparts.  It was only as I got to one of the latter chapters that I recognised a story, although her name wasn't familiar to me at first.  

It must have taken quite a lot of research to uncover these long buried stories so I really must applaud Caitlin Davies for shining a spotlight on these remarkable women.  I loved how each woman was brought to life along with some insights into the era in which they were living.  Reading this book has made me want to find out more about these extraordinary women.  

Insightful and fascinating, Queens of the Underworld is a very well-written and captivating account of unforgettable women who had almost been forgotten.  A recommended read for anyone who loves true crime and history.

I chose to read and review an ARC for the blog tour; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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About the author:

Caitlin Davies is the author of six novels and eight non-fiction books, many of which have a criminal theme. The Ghost of Lily Painter was based on the true story of two Edwardian baby farmers, while Bad Girls: The Rebels and Renegades of Holloway Prison was the first comprehensive history of Europe’s most infamous female jail. It was nominated for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing, 2019.

Caitlin is a trained teacher, who started her writing career as a human rights reporter in Botswana. She currently works as a Royal Literary Fund writing fellow at NHS Kent & Medway.

Queens of the Underworld tells of her journey into the lives of female crooks from the 17th century to today. Her upcoming book, Private Inquiries: the secret history of female sleuths, to be published in October 2023, reveals the true tales of female private eyes from the 1850s to the present. Caitlin trained as a private investigator as part of her research, but wasn’t nearly as observant as she hoped she’d be.

Social Media links:

Twitter: @CaitlinDavies2

Website: www.caitlindavies.co.uk

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Finding Suzy: The Hunt for Missing Estate Agent Suzy Lamplugh and 'Mr Kipper' (Investigations by David Videcette) - David Videcette

 

How can someone just disappear?

Step inside a real-life, missing person investigation in this compelling, true crime must-read.

Uncover what happened to missing estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, as David Videcette takes you on a quest to unpick her mysterious disappearance and scrutinise the shadowy 'Mr Kipper'.

One overcast Monday in July 1986, 25-year-old estate agent Suzy Lamplugh vanished whilst showing a smart London property to a mysterious 'Mr Kipper'.

Despite the baffling case dominating the news and one of the largest missing persons cases ever mounted, police failed to find a shred of evidence establishing what had happened to her.

Sixteen years later, following a second investigation and under pressure from Suzy's desperate parents, police named convicted rapist and murderer John Cannan as their prime suspect. However, the Crown Prosecution Service refused to charge him, citing a lack of evidence.

High-profile searches were conducted, Suzy's body was never found. The trail that might lead investigators to her, long since lost.

Haunted by another missing person case, investigator and former Scotland Yard detective David Videcette has spent five years painstakingly reinvestigating Suzy's cold case disappearance.

Through a series of incredible new witness interviews and fresh groundbreaking analysis, he uncovers piece by piece what happened to Suzy and why the case was never solved.

People don't just disappear...

What did I think?

Wow!  This book is absolutely brilliant and I couldn't put it down.  I'm a huge fan of David Videcette's fiction books so just try and stop me reading his non-fiction, true crime account of the Suzy Lamplugh case.  I remember Suzy's disappearance in the summer of 1986 as we were given personal attack alarms at school.  If Suzy had had a personal attack alarm, would this be a different story today or would anybody have been around to hear it?

The Suzy Lamplugh 'story' is well known: estate agent Suzy went to show a house to Mr Kipper one lunchtime and never returned.  You may have noticed that I put 'story' in inverted commas as David Videcette's investigation proves that the story we know of Suzy's disappearance might as well be a work of fiction.  

David, along with his fellow investigator Caroline, look at the Suzy Lamplugh case with fresh eyes.  I loved the dynamic between David and Caroline, regularly playing good cop (David) and bad cop (Caroline) and it is clear that David has a lot of respect for his fellow investigator, which is more than can be said for some of the people that they interviewed.  Re-interviewing witnesses and asking the right questions, David Videcette sheds new light on to what may have happened to Suzy that day.  I'm not going to release any spoilers here but what I read is completely jaw-dropping and totally eye-opening.  

David's investigation is impeccable, leaving no stone unturned (and no cake uneaten) in his search for Suzy.  It's no surprise (and therefore not a spoiler) that the police haven't shown an ounce of interest in what David has found.  I wonder if Suzy's parents had been alive today, whether the police would be more inclined to take notice. Paul and Diana Lamplugh were heavily involved in the case, perhaps far too much as their desperation to find their daughter led to misrepresentations and false accusations.  

Of course I could write so much more about this fantastic book but I don't want to let anything slip.  David's writing is completely flawless and you'd be forgiven for forgetting that this is true crime, if the subject matter wasn't one of the UK's most famous unsolved cases.  It's a tragedy that Suzy's family never found out what happened to her, but they were never going to find her if they were looking in the wrong place.

Finding Suzy is absolutely brilliant, it's unputdownable, jaw-dropping and eye-opening.  It's the must-read book of the year, if not the decade.  Breathtaking true crime that's not to be missed.  So very highly recommended.

Many thanks to David Videcette for sending me a digital ARC to read and review.  This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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