Best True Crime Books in the UK

If you are interested in true crimes and especially in the British criminal justice system, you’ve probably heard the name of David Wilson before. Nowadays, he is a professor of criminology at Birmingham City University. But during his career, he also worked as a prison governor and a profiler. David Willson is considered one of the leading criminology experts in the UK and often gives his commentary on different cases and the justice system in general on TV and radio. In his book The History Of British Serial Killing, the author provides an in-depth look at different famous murders.

Starting from the Victorian era, he analyses the crimes of Jack the Ripper - a 19th-century murderer who killed several prostitutes in the Whitechapel area. Even though the killer was never caught, the police were able to make his portrait. For example, one of the theories was that “Jack” could be a doctor due to the precision with which he cut his victims.

The other notorious criminal the author mentions in his books is Harold Shipman. He was a general practice doctor who killed more than 200 of his patients in the period between 1975 and 1998. It was later determined that his main motive was profit.

Of course, such a book could not forget about the Suffolk Murders committed by Steve Wright - Jack the Ripper of the 21st century who killed 5 women. There are also a few other criminals mentioned in the book, both famous and not really. But the author provides a deep analysis for each of them.

Those hardcore real crime books fans who seek an intense read may be interested in the autobiography by Linda Calvey. Linda, who is one of the most well-known women-criminals in the UK, decided to share her life story of gang life, murder and imprisonment in the memoir The Black Widow. The title was chosen for a reason - Black Widow was Linda’s nickname given to her by reporters when her case went public. She was married four times, but each time she ended up a widow, and it wasn’t always just an unfortunate coincidence.

The author describes her memories of all the horrible deeds she did in the past. She recalls growing up in the East End of London after the war. Like with most people of that time, poverty and devastation in the rough neighbourhood were unlikely to provide a happy childhood to the British. At a pretty young age, Linda got involved in a local gang, which was the start of her criminal career. At first, she was a lookout and then became a getaway driver for her gang. Later on, when the love of her life and a fellow gangster Mickey Calvey died, she began to take an active part in the robberies herself and hold people up at the gunpoint.

Black Widow became widely known in 1990 when she was accused of murdering her lover. Linda was in the relationship with Ronnie Cook, who kept her in fear for years. She decided to hire a hitman Danny Reece and paid him £10,000. However, Recce wasn’t actually a person who pulled the trigger. When he refused to kill Cook at the last minute, Linda shot him herself while he was kneeling in front of her.

Jack Rosewood has written a full-on encyclopedia on serial murderers from all over the world. The Big Book of Serial Killers provides detailed descriptions on how, where and when the murders occurred, psychological portraits of criminals and victims, trials, sentences, and many more.

From the young age, we get frightened by monsters, vampires that lurk in the dark, stalk you, kill and tear you apart. Unfortunately, such horrific creatures exist in the real world, too. And even though they may not have fangs or claws, their deeds are still so horrible and terrifying that it may be hard to believe a person could commit something so vile and convoluted. It is hard to find an American who hasn’t heard the name of Jeffery Dahmer - a killer, rapist and cannibal who murdered around 17 young boys, or John Wayne Gacy - another monster who tortured and killed men. The other notorious killer and psychopath described in this book is satanist Richard Ramirez, who was a killer, rapist, and a burglar. The trial process on these horrible people and their deeds was widely discussed by media. However, there are hundreds of other serial killers who didn’t get such wide press coverage. So in his book, the author gathers the material about 150 serial killers from the USA, Great Britain, Russia, Germany, Corea, China, Denmark, and Australia.

A case of every serial killer contains the description of the crime, psychological portrait of a criminal and victims, trial (if there was one) and sentence. The author also provides his commentary and thoughts on not only the criminals but victims as well. And even though some readers point out that some of his comments may lack objectivity, there is still a lot of raw information you can read about the cases.

Broadmoor is a psychiatric hospital in England that can compete with Bethlam in its popularity. But unlike the second one, this facility was used to keep the most dangerous and terrifying criminals isolated from society. Because of that, a lot of people actually believe that it is a prison. After secret files concerning this hospital became public, TV journalist Jonathan Levi alongside with cultural historian Emma French decided to write the book about this fascinating yet somewhat terrifying place.

Broadmoor was built in the 19th century. Originally, it had 5 blocks for men and 1 for women, but later it grew way bigger. The first patient of this high-security facility was a woman accused of infanticide. Later on, the hospital became a prison for such notorious criminals as serial killers - Peter Sutcliffe, who murdered 13 women and tried to kill 7 more; John Straffen, a murderer of 3 young girls; “Stockwell Strangler” Kenneth Erskine, cannibal and murderer of 3; Peter Bryan and many more. Apart from the murderers, one of the most violent robbers Charles Bronson and gangster Ronnie Kay were also kept there.

To give an in-depth look at what actually happened behind those Victorian walls, the authors provide the information that they were able to get from the outside sources, plus they add sometimes shocking but still pretty interesting interviews with the staff of the facility, medical experts and even the criminals themselves. Thanks to that, you will be able to look at each unique case from a different point of view and understand what was going on inside the heads of those horrible people who were kept there.

The name of Ted Bundy rings a bell in the memory of many people all over the world. But Israel Keyes - the man who admired Bundy and tried to follow his criminal steps, was not that famous. Journalist Mourine Callahan decided to tell the public about this horrific person in her book American Predator.

Isreal Keyes had an unusual childhood. He was born in a Mormon family and had as much as 9 siblings. All of the children were homeschooled, so he wasn’t able to properly socialise with peers. In addition to this, his family spent some years living in a small cabin with no electricity or running water. In his youth, Keyes joined the army and served both in the US and Egypt. After he was discharged, he moved to Alaska so as to start his business there. That is when his murder spree began.

Keyes was convicted for several crimes. Among those, there were a few cases of bank robberies, multiple burglaries and house break-ins, rapes, murders, kidnapping with demanding ransom and many more. All those crimes he committed during 14 years and managed to remain free. His murders were well-planned as he left so-called “kill kits” in advance (one of those he left near the house of his future victims 2 years prior to the crime). What also differs this criminal from others is that his victims and places of the crime were very different, thus, the police were unable to make a victim profile. Keyes wielded in states of Alaska, Washington, Vermont, New York and others. Unlike those killers that were attacking people nearby the areas where they lived and switched their crime places as they permanently moved from one place to another, Keyes rented a car and drove it to the chosen location. Eventually, he was arrested and confessed in a few of his crimes.