Books
The Bermondsey Murder
Scotland Yard’s First Great Challenge and Dickens’ Inspiration
When Patrick O’Connor went missing in August 1849, his friends were suspicious. The London dock worker was last seen in the company of Swiss-born Maria Manning and her husband in Bermondsey. By the time police officers discovered his remains under the kitchen floor, the couple had fled. This shocking crime sparked a race against time to bring these cold-blooded killers to justice. After almost a decade of unsolved murders in the capital, could Scotland Yard detectives find the murderous pair and restore public confidence in their sleuthing skills?
This is the true story of a killer couple which inspired Charles Dickens’ Bleak House. Featuring previously unpublished material and primary sources, it sheds a new light on this iconic historical murder.
This title will be published in July 2024
The Real Sherlock Holmes
The Hidden Story of Jerome Caminada
Born to immigrant parents in the slums of 20th century Manchester, Jerome Caminada overcame the odds to become one of the city’s finest detectives. A master of disguise with a keen eye for details, and ingenious methods of deduction, Detective Caminada pursued notorious criminals through the seedy streets of Manchester’s dark underworld. Known as a ‘terror to evil-doers’, he stalked pickpockets and thieves, ruthless con artists and cold-blooded killers.
At the peak of his dazzling career, and using methods worthy of his fictional counterpart, Detective Caminada solved his most famous case, the Manchester Cab Mystery, which established him as one of the most formidable detectives of the Victorian era and a real-life Sherlock Holmes.
‘A highly enjoyable book that deserves a place on the shelves of every student of Victorian criminal society’ – The Whitechapel Society.
Detective Caminada’s Casebook
Memoirs of Manchester’s Sherlock Holmes
Detective Caminada’s biographer, Angela Buckley, presents this unique anthology of his most fascinating cases, including quack doctors, forgers and con artists.
In the first volume of his memoirs, published in 1895, Detective Caminada recounted how he tackled anarchists, caught an escaped political prisoner and faced his nemesis in a deadly confrontation.
Bearing all the hallmarks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this compelling collection is essential reading for all lovers of historical crime.
‘This book is better than any modern day fiction – a perfect tribute to a most exceptional man’ – Amanda Griffiths-Jones, author.
Amelia Dyer and the Baby Farm Murders
On 30 March 1896, a bargeman hooked a parcel from the River Thames at Caversham. Inside the brown paper package was the body of a baby girl – she had been strangled with tape. When two more tiny bodies were found in a carpet bag, the police launched a nationwide hunt for a serial killer.
A faint name and address on the sodden wrapping provided Reading police with their first clue. Can Chief Constable George Tewsley and his colleagues catch this heartless baby farmer before more infants meet a similar fate?
Amelia Dyer and the Baby Farm Murders recounts the frantic race to stop Amelia Dyer, one of Britain’s most prolific murderers.
‘This is the perfect book – a compact true story of despicable deeds and deception’ – The History Vault.
Who Killed Constable Cock?
A real-life murder case with an astonishing twist
At midnight on 1 August 1876, PC Nicholas Cock was shot dead whilst on duty in a leafy suburb of Manchester. His superior, Supreintendent James Bent, immediately knew who the culprits were and he arrested local labourers, the Habron brothers. He then set out to build his case against them.
The wily detective’s painstaking investigation culminated in a dramatic court case, and young William Habron was sentenced to death. Three years later, in an unexpected turn of events, an astounding confession by a notorious criminal revealed the true identity of PC Cock’s killer.
‘Angela Buckley uses a wealth of knowledge to shine a fresh light on this dramatic and unfairly neglected case’ – Linda Stratmann.