Product Description

The county of Essex has rolling arable farmland, Epping Forest, sleepy villages, busy market towns and secluded backwaters - a wide variety of settings for murder. This selection of crimes uncovers not only famous cases, but also previously unpublished dramatic and tragic tales. The accounts included here come from a time when murder was a capital offence, carrying the ultimate penalty for the perpetrator, and when the difference between a verdict of innocence or guilt rested on a single piece of evidence, or the skill of the barrister in defence. Linda Stratmann has used original trial transcripts, material from local and national archives, contemporary accounts and the memoirs of pathologists, police and those in the legal profession in the course of her extensive research into crimes that have shocked the county. The killings explored date from as far back as the eighteenth century when the smuggler 'Colchester Jack' shot a confederate in the stomach in a row over stolen goods. They also include the case of a nineteenth-century female poisoner from Clavering and the brutal murder of a taxi driver in 1943 by two US servicemen at Birch. Supported by contemporary illustrations, "Essex Murders" reveals that behind the county's peaceful facade lies a murky criminal heritage.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #191957 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-04
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

About the Author
Linda Stratmann has long had an interest in true crime. A psychology graduate, she spent many years in the Civil Service before becoming a full-time writer. She describes libraries and archives as her natural habitat. Chloroform : The Quest for Oblivion (Sutton, August 2003) was her first book.

Customer Reviews

A must-read for classic crime enthusiasts
Linda Stratmann displays a logical mind, a clear writing style and a touch of wry humour in her deft recounting of these somewhat obscure cases (to this reader, at least) which all happened in a once-remote corner of England. One hopes that this book is the first of a series.