True Crime England

Bow Street Magistrates Court is justly famous as the birthplace of an efficient system of summary jurisdiction. Less well-known are some of the fascinating characters who have taken part in the court's dramas over the years. Most people know of the early pioneer stipendiary magistrates Henry and John Fielding. But what of Nicholas Bond, the ambitious and devious Bow Street Runner who (under John's patronage) became a clerk of the court and later a Bow Street Magistrate?

The incredible true story of British special agents Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne, sisters who risked everything to fight for freedom during the Second World War. When elderly recluse Eileen Nearne died, few suspected that the quiet little old lady was a decorated WWII war hero. Volunteering to serve for British intelligence at age 21, Eileen was posted to Nazi-occupied France to send encoded messages of crucial importance for the Allies, until her capture by the Gestapo.

In 1898, a group of schoolboys in Bridgeport, Connecticut, discovered gruesome packages under a bridge holding the dismembered remains of a young woman. Finding that the dead woman had just undergone an abortion, prosecutors raced to establish her identity and fix blame for her death. Suspicion fell on Nancy Guilford, half of a married pair of “doctors” well known to police throughout New England. A fascinated public followed the suspect’s flight from justice, as many rooted for the fugitive.

In literature and film, the spy chief is an all-knowing, all-powerful figure who masterfully moves spies into action like pieces on a chessboard. How close to reality is that depiction, and what does it really take to be an effective leader in the world of intelligence? This first volume of Spy Chiefs broadens and deepens our understanding of the role of intelligence leaders in foreign affairs and national security in the US and UK from the early 1940s to the present.

In 1878 the Criminal Investigation Department replaced Scotland Yard's corrupt and discredited Detective Branch. In this classic story of the early days of detection, Joan Lock tells the fascinating story of the creation of the CID, the scandal which preceded it, and the successes and failures of the new organisation, including early cases such as the four murders by Ernest Southey, the ferocious outbreak of dockland killings in 1869 and the more familiar Bravo, Neill Cream and Jack the Ripper crimes.

Florence Maybrick was the first American woman to be sentenced to death in England - for murdering her husband, a crime she almost certainly didn't commit. Her 1889 trial was presided over by an openly misogynist judge who was later declared incompetent and died in an asylum. Hours before she was to be hanged, Queen Victoria reluctantly commuted her sentence to life in prison. In her opinion, a woman who would commit adultery, as Maybrick had admitted, would also kill her husband. Her children were taken from her; she never saw them again. Her mother worked for years to clear her name.

There have been a countless number of serial killers throughout history, and certainly more prolific ones, but the timing, circumstances, and unsolved nature of the case continue to make Jack the Ripper the most famous serial killer in history. The murders came at a time when media coverage could be both more acute and more widespread, and it allowed the public a closer look into how police agencies operated at the time, exposing both their strengths and shortcomings.

Twenty years undercover - one man's true story of life as an undercover cop. A must-listen 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 and 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.

Behind the notorious Hudson men who dominated the Canterbury Estate for over 30 years were the girls, and my mam Shirley. Whether marrying into or determined to escape from it, the third installment of this gritty series recounts the incredible stories of the unflinching women behind the legendary Hudson family. The Canterbury Estate in Bradford during the '50s and '60s was a tight-knit community reared on poverty, crime and violence, and at the top of the heap were the infamous Hudson family.

Ethan Quinn, the bestselling espionage author, has gathered four of his most incredible spy stories into one book. The collection contains some of the most fascinating people in the history of espionage.

The bright lights and city bustle of East London make it hard to imagine that only a century ago, the inhabitants were gripped by terror - the infamous Whitechapel Murders - or reign of terror of Jack the Ripper...Step back in time to the 1880’s where the scene was a maze of dark, foggy alleyways and narrow cobbled streets lit only by a few flickering gas lights.

Summer, 1918: Twenty-nine officers crawled into a 16-inch-high, 55-metre tunnel dug only with spoons. This was the culmination of nine months gruelling toil in oxygen-starved darkness. Of the 29 escapees, just 10 would make their way back to Britain. When captured Royal Flying Corps pilots Captain David Gray, Captain Caspar Kennard and 2nd Lieutenant Cecil Blain had arrived at Holzminden - or 'Hellminden' as its occupants called it - the Germans' highest-security prison complex had seemed impregnable.

Maffia är ett begrepp som kan skänka oss obehag och kanske rädsla. Här får vi följa maffians framväxt på Sicilien och hur dess organisation flyttat ut i Italien och sedan resten av världen. Vi får följa den amerikanska armens häpnadsväckande hjälp att återupprätta maffian under andra världskrigets slutskede. Brottsorganisationens roll i det dagliga livet i Italien och dess kopplingar till politiker och makthavare på olika nivåer beskrivs ingående. - Thomas Lappalainen (f.

As Britain emerges into the mid-20th century, change is afoot. Cities are beginning to shift from smog-filled industrial hubs to more efficient metropolitan centres of commerce and, despite the country once again being blighted by war, society is beginning to shift towards a more modern, forward-thinking era. But change is not only limited to regular men and women; under the shifting tides of development, the criminal underbelly, too, is evolving, anxious for new avenues of exploitation and expansion.

On 28 November 1911, a retired showman died violently at his home in North London. Known to the world as Lord George Sanger, he was once the biggest name in show business, and was venerated as a national institution. The death of Britain's wealthiest showman read like a popular crime thriller: a merciless killer, a famous victim, a desperate manhunt and a dramatic denouement few could have anticipated. But for over a century, questions have persisted about the murder.

On a summer’s morning in 1860, the Kent family awakes in their elegant Wiltshire home to a terrible discovery; their youngest son has been brutally murdered. When celebrated detective Jack Whicher is summoned from Scotland Yard he faces the unenviable task of identifying the killer – when the grieving family are the suspects.

As is so often the case with a serial killer, the first murder was largely ignored. She was a "fallen woman", a prostitute barely worthy of police notice. But then there was another victim, killed and butchered while plying her illicit trade. The police took notice and, by the time the third body was found, also mutilated and filleted like a fish, the public took notice too. An outcry began to swell from the good people of the city.

In July 1864, Thomas Briggs was travelling home after visiting his niece and her husband for dinner. He entered a First Class carriage on the 9.45pm Hackney service of the North London railway. At Hackney, two bank clerks entered the carriage and discovered blood in the seat cushions; also on the floor, windows and sides of the carriage. A bloodstained hat was found on the seat along with a broken link from a watch chain.

Robert Black was hunted down in Scotland where he had kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered three young girls from the ages of 4 to 11. But before graduating to murder, he abused many children. Black may also have been responsible for several other unsolved child murders in Britain, Ireland and Europe between 1969 and 1987. His murders led to the largest police manhunt ever to take place in Great Britain.

When one hears the term "Victorian", many images come to mind. For some, the term conjures up visions of lace and gloves and delicate fans. Others think of tight corsets and even tighter morals. Others, swayed perhaps by one too many British costume dramas, envision gentle elegance and long lost beauty. Naturally, few people think of multiple dead bodies cast about in the streets or dark bedrooms.