aitchfrost 's review for:

The Peepshow: The Murders at 10 Rillington Place by Kate Summerscale

4.0

---

Fascinating tale made even more so by the fact that it is true. It is definitely the case that truth sometimes appears stranger than fiction. Some of the elements to this case are strangely familiar as they bear similarities to other cases, such as a male perpetrator feeling inadequate or mocked by his victim’s demographic, in this case women. Other aspects are strangely unheard of and unique so overall the case certainly piques interest and makes you pay attention. The joint aspect of telling the story through the eyes of a contemporary journalist is definitely a great angle. There is a very immersive feeling of the opinions and social status of the time with difficult topics such as racism and homophobia broached and explained in the context of that time so as a piece of social history this is also very informative. A lot of people love to hate the methods of journalism yet the public are the force driving their very work which is food for thought. The topic of capital punishment is also represented well due to the uncertainties in this case and the possibility that it had not served well in this instance. This was presented very well and enlightened me from any preconceptions re journalism and crime and punishment in general. A thoroughly interesting and poignant read.