Fred Harrison

I read a lot of true crime, particularly older crimes, and the description for this one intrigued me. It's not quite what I expected, though, and consequently was not nearly as engaging as it could have been.

I knew virtually nothing about this case before reading this book. If, like me, you know nothing about these killers or the murders, you might want to read something more informative first. The author jumps in as if all his readers are familiar with the circumstances and the people involved. I was lost throughout a good portion of the book. We're given detail on a variety of people who were friends with or acquaintances of Brady and/or Hindley, without much reference as to why (or if) they matter. At one point, I even have a note in the text on my Kindle that reads, "Who are these people?"

The author doesn't give much detail at all about the murders or the investigation. Even Brady and Hindley's relationship isn't all that clear. I still don't understand how or why an otherwise normal young woman would suddenly team up with a killer. Much of the focus here, as far as the case is concerned, is Brady's relationship with - or fixation on - a young man called David Smith, as well as David Smith's background, life, and involvement. The title and description do not reflect the actual content, since Hindley is more a third party in this respect.

We jump rather quickly into Brady and Hindley's arrest, at which time Hindley mostly disappears from our viewpoint and the author takes us through his interviews and research. Here, I thought we had too much author interference. We get the author's opinion and feelings about why and how he pursued this, about his eventual meetings with Hindley, about what he was told, and about what he did with that information. Despite the author's closeness to Hindley, I felt removed from it all, as if the author became more of the focus than Hindley himself. This part reads more like a memoir than a true crime book.

I think this would be an interesting addendum to a more thorough book covering this case. But if you know little or nothing about the murders, you still won't know much when you finish. You will, however, know a lot about a man named David Smith.

*I was provided with an ebook copy by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.*… (altro)