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theseriouscuttlefish's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed this book, written by a journalist that came into close proximity of the Wests. Many books surrounding the what's and how's of serial killers can be mixed up a lot with media and 'he said, she said' tales. But I found this book very detailed, informative and straight to the point whilst keeping you gripped in your seat without lies. I learned a lot more about the psychological aspect behind the murders and even the mental state of both the Wests throughout their years of slaughter, sexual deviancy and sociopath behaviour.
fourstarsaiyan's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Suicide, Murder, Child abuse, and Incest
fayesdisney's review
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
Harrowing stories
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Abortion, Child abuse, Death, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
theboldbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this was a very thorough account of the lives and crimes of Fred and Rose West. It seems to be well researched and is, in my opinion, well written.
angelasunshine's review against another edition
3.0
Well written book about a horrible subject. I wasn’t sure I could stomach some of the details, they were so awful. Can’t say I enjoyed it but it was informative and flowed well.
sinistralist's review against another edition
1.0
On the positive side this book is very readable, and as Howard Sounes was one of the first journalists to investigate this story we get to hear from people on the periphery of the case, such as Fred and Rose's siblings.
However, there is a LOT of victim blaming throughout the book. Suggesting that Lynda Gough, for example, may have died as a result of consensual activities would be hugely offensive even if we didn't have multiple testimonies from survivors stating that Fred and Rose weren't really into consensual sex.
The victim blaming extends to the families of the victims, asking why some were not reported missing immediately, and in the case of Juanita Mott, suggesting her known association with Cromwell Street could have prevented further murders. In cases like this where the victims were known to the West's, they specifically chose young women who's absence was unlikely to be reported to police, either because they had no family or were estranged from them. We also now know that relatives of multiple victims tried to report them missing but were fobbed off by police.
In amongst all the blame being handed out, the police are the only people Sounes considers blameless. Whilst I agree that it's worrying the family had so many encounters with organisations like Social Services and the NHS without anything being flagged, the West's also had many encounters with the police over the years. If we're going to say that institutions share blame for not uncovering these crimes much earlier, the police have got to be included, especially with their poor handling of Caroline Owens accusations in the early 70s.
Finally, you can really tell that this book was written by a tabloid journalist. Every woman's appearance is commented on, and there are a lot of needlessly sensational details. For example, it's enough to say that the victims were dismembered, we don't need to know the specifics of what was done to each person's body.
However, there is a LOT of victim blaming throughout the book. Suggesting that Lynda Gough, for example, may have died as a result of consensual activities would be hugely offensive even if we didn't have multiple testimonies from survivors stating that Fred and Rose weren't really into consensual sex.
The victim blaming extends to the families of the victims, asking why some were not reported missing immediately, and in the case of Juanita Mott, suggesting her known association with Cromwell Street could have prevented further murders. In cases like this where the victims were known to the West's, they specifically chose young women who's absence was unlikely to be reported to police, either because they had no family or were estranged from them. We also now know that relatives of multiple victims tried to report them missing but were fobbed off by police.
In amongst all the blame being handed out, the police are the only people Sounes considers blameless. Whilst I agree that it's worrying the family had so many encounters with organisations like Social Services and the NHS without anything being flagged, the West's also had many encounters with the police over the years. If we're going to say that institutions share blame for not uncovering these crimes much earlier, the police have got to be included, especially with their poor handling of Caroline Owens accusations in the early 70s.
Finally, you can really tell that this book was written by a tabloid journalist. Every woman's appearance is commented on, and there are a lot of needlessly sensational details. For example, it's enough to say that the victims were dismembered, we don't need to know the specifics of what was done to each person's body.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual violence, and Racism