Every major murder case this century is examined in this book in the light of its investigative, forensic, social or legal significance. The names and the crimes include Dr Crippen, Bonnie and Clyde, the Yorkshire Ripper, Charles Manson, the Kray Twins, and the Moors Murderers. Also included are the cases of Dennis Nilsen, an American murderer, John Thaw and Ruth Ellis, whose execution hastened the abolition of the death penalty in Britain.