The history of Essex has a wicked side - episodes of murder and villainy run through it. In this compelling book Paul Donnelley has selected a dozen of the most revealing and disturbing cases. He reconstructs in vivid detail the casual killing of a police patrolman, the murder of a husband by his wife's lover, the Great Dunmow sleep-walking killing, the infamous Moat Farm murder of Saffron Walden and the explosive death of Archibald Brown. He also delves into two notorious unsolved Essex crimes - the murders of Pamela Coventry and Josephine Backshall - and recounts the contrasting careers of William Calcraft, Britain's longest-serving hangman, and of Dick Turpin, Essex's most famous highwayman. The result is a fascinating study of Essex criminality which will be essential reading for anyone who is interested in the county's rich - and sometimes gruesome - past.
