Wicked Beyond Belief: The True Crime Story Behind the Hit New TV Show
£2.99
Now a major TV series
‘A masterpiece that reads like a thriller’ Time Out
A gripping and probing account of the biggest criminal manhunt in British history.
It is over 40 years since Peter Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attacking 7 more. Still, he remains a killer of almost mythical proportions; his surviving victims, and their families, forever attached to his infamy.
Michael Bilton’s acclaimed account is a powerful indictment of the calamitous investigation that logged over 2 million man-hours of police work – the biggest criminal manhunt in British history. With exclusive access to the detectives involved, the pathologist’s archives and declassified documents, this account reads like the most gripping of thrillers.
Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print version.
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Additional information
| Publisher | William Collins (29 Nov. 2012) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 1908 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 771 pages |
| Page numbers source ISBN | 0007169639 |
by Jane
This account of the terrible reign of terror of Peter Sutcliffe is riveting. I found it hard to read as those awful years are seared into my memory as I was a teenager and student and was terrified of the Ripper. My life was definitely impacted and it affected how I lived. I heard the so -called Ripper tape at a cinema with my mother and felt sick. When Sutcliffe was finally caught I lived in Dewsbury and will never forget seeing him taken to the Police Station so near to where I lived.
The author goes into great detail and I learned much about the victims, their families and the painstaking work of the Police forces involved, including the tragic mistakes. Although it was difficult and disturbing to read, I felt I needed to understand what had happened in order to come to terms with those terrible memories.
by catholic reader
I had previously read an older version of this in 2001, and thought then it was one of the most detailed and balanced accounts of a complex murder investigation I had come across. Reading the updated version confirms this about the earlier reading. The author goes in to considerable detail, without ever being tedious on the victims and the investigators. He continually highlights the information over load, and lack of a record keeping system that basically ruins this pre digital era investigation. He highlights some individual lines of enquiry of great professional ingenuity and thoroughness, that did highlight the killer, but amongst so much other badly coordinated information fell on stony ground. The writing style is clear, relatively fast paced, and on the face of it, non judgemental, although some of the errors made (as, always, clear with hindsight) are obvious, and the author excuses none of the investigators responsible for this mammoth, and never fully coordinated enquiry going stale or astray. It is one of the best examinations of what can go wrong in a huge major investigation, despite the experience, dedication, and in some instances brilliance of those involved. The updated version of the book in addition to highlighting the attempts to have Sutcliffe’s sentence changed, and spending perhaps a little too much time on the arrest of ‘Wearside Jack’, the hoaxer – the ( now with hindsight, seemingly merely stubborn) acceptance of the geninuine nature of the hoax letters and calls, possibly allowing the murderer to escape the net for a further 18 months; also highlights advances in DNA, other forensics, and the computer assistance that would now be used in such Major enquiries. It seems to lack a caution that with increased computer assistance the scope for the human operators to be even more overloaded is very real.
A number of the reviews on the book cover claim that this book should be studied by every young detective. I think the real lesson is it should be studied by every ‘experienced’ detective too, many of the errors are in what appears to be ‘case management’ and ‘executive predetermination’, rather than inexperience – again with hindsight. This should be read as a fascinating, chilling study of how large endeavours can go wrong, it possibly helped shake police forces into a different approach – and the updated version contains more, subsequent to earlier versions, recently released information from the very purposeful Byford Report – a very professional response to the problems raised. It is still a pivotal case for many, policeman, but many others, of a certain generation. Regardless of ‘CSI’, HOLMES, coordinators, and all the recent developments, this book is still very relevant. I read an article on the BBC recently, in fact Bilton’s Book had already covered the possibility of Sutcliffe having killed abroad, but ‘the Ripper’ still fascinates. A woman, ‘and advisor the mayor of London on crime against Women’ was able to sum of the Ripper investigation as ’incompetent’. She may be a seasoned, professional investigator of some kind, and no doubt aided by advances in forensic science, in computer assisted record keeping, retrieval and analysis, she could no doubt do much better, and be held responsible for it. She may, of course, just be some diversity enabled, irrresponsible, ‘Common Purpose’ tissue deep, talking head. This book is a far better presentation of the investigation and its failures than some glib and completely irresponsible sound bite. Maybe she hasn’t read it! Read, even re-read, and consider.
by michael Billington
This is the definitive accounting of the hunt for the so called Yorkshire Ripper. If you want to know who, what and why. This covers all aspects of the case and should be the final account of the evil inflicted by Sutcliffe
by A R Cater
Thorough and objective description of the career of Peter Sutcliffe, aka the Yorkshire Ripper, and of the police investigation that sought to catch him. It is chastening to read of the terrible mistakes made by the police who were completely overwhelmed by the volumes of information thrown up by their enquiries in the days before computer support was available. The book also covers Sutcliffe’s time in custody after conviction and discusses at length whether he was mad or bad. The evidence and appeal judges showed he was bad.
Engrossing but does not hide the horrific nature of his crimes.
by Ray Pelan
Well written and pretty non judgemental , amazing how sexist the 70s were in retrospect – i remember when the killings started and few lines in the paper until Jayne Mc Donald was killed and it was not prostitutes being killed ! i was at Leeds university when the last victim was killed , remember a friend from the north east being interviewed due to the hoax tape and realising the tripe lazy media produce – the Daily Mail claimed there was a handful of students on a deserted campus when it was as busy as usual and Jacqueline Hill being murdered on a brightly lit road rather than the dimly lit Alma road and a gap in the wall on to wasteland. I also remember complaints that male students had escorted girls home and then asked for sexual favours in return , fortunately a different world now in comparison …
by Phil Wain
Until I read this despite my curiosity about the case I’d never known the full horror. Great understanding of the police and victims and a well balanced account.
by Lynn Clarke
This is a great read and a very good record of the History and time scale of what as become to be known as the Yorkshire Ripper Case. A must read book ????