Archive - Persons Unknown

The Pembrokeshire murders part 1

The beautiful South Wales coast was the scene of a chilling campaign of murder, rape and terror for more than two decades

Oct 17 •

Thieving was better than sex

New series Joan dramatises the life of a woman with more balls – and nous – than the male blaggers, geezers and wideboys we often see glamourised on TV

Oct 4 •

September 2024

Is true crime bad for us?

The genre is often condemned for being salacious and degrading. But last weekend's CrimeCon in London revealed the positive value of non-fiction crime

Sep 27 •

My Substack Summer

What I read in Summer 2024

Sep 20

The best true-crime doc now on TV is…

… The Body Next Door on Sky Documentaries (in the UK) is a well-made three-parter that tells an extraordinary, engrossing story

Sep 19 •

55 years later, will Muriel McKay be found?

A shocking, callous kidnapping in 1969 left a legacy of pain and grief

Sep 5 •

August 2024

Three books – two I admired, one I couldn't finish

Two non-fiction crime books I read recently were fascinating and written with skill – while a third dismayed me

Aug 23 •

After 49 years, the murderer of Eileen Cotter was caught

Two shocking deaths occurred during my schooldays in Highbury, London – one was recently solved, the other never has been…

Aug 8 •

July 2024

Why did Scotland Yard's biggest manhunt fail: Part 3

Dictatorial senior officers, information overload and bad luck defeated London's finest in the hunt for one of the capital's worst serial killers

Jul 25 •

Why did Scotland Yard's biggest serial killer hunt fail so badly? Part 2

It was London's biggest manhunt, and yet the killer of six women in 1964-5 was never found. So, who were the men who came under suspicion?

Jul 3 •

June 2024

Video: four authors talk classic true-crime books

For National Crime Reading Month, I was joined by Angela Buckley, Dan Smith and Sarah Bax Horton to discuss books that inspired and moved us…

Jun 21 •

1:00:11

True-crime bookchat – our favourite books

I am one of four authors who will be chatting about a terrific cross-section of non-fiction crime writing in a forthcoming online event. Join us!

Jun 5 •

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