Absolutely fantastic book. I normally watch documentaries about true crime cases, so this is the first book i have read about true crime, and i was pleasantly surprised. This book dives into unsolved murders in the UK, including cases which are both well known and those which went cold quickly and recived little media attention. The author describes the victim as they were in life, in such a respectable way and provides photographs of the victims throughout, which perfectly reminds the audience that the book is about finding justice for the victims. Each murder is briefly but thoroughly explained, including past and current potential suspects. The book is well written and easy to follow. Highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more from this author, perhaps even a book in the future covering some cases that are solved. Thank you for letting me review this!

Cold cases portray how justice has been deferred,denied,and ever elusive.
-Lack of evidence, e.g., no fingerprints, blood, or bodily fluids. This could be due to the disposal of remains away from the murder site. Or, the crime scene was not secured properly, leading to contamination.
-Lack of motive. Nothing was taken.
-Lack of body of the deceased. You can even have a confession, but without a body, you can not really prove a murder.
-Ineffective investigation due to strained resources, corruption, and incompetence.
-Stranger on stranger homicide.
-The victim was the victim of a potential serial killing.These are almost always strangers and the motivation known only to the killer.
- Victim's lifestyle, e.g., if they engaged in sex work or were involved in gang or drug related activities. Or if they are an itinerant worker or work night shifts.Young adults are assumed to be just going out.
-If DNA is present, it has to be matched against someone,provided they are present on the system.
-Transient nature of the killer e.g. truck driver, they're already miles away when the body is found.
-The sheer oddness or brutality of the crime.
The victims featured are Christine Butcher,Betty Alexander,Penelope Mogano,Oliver Bennett,Jean Townsend,Anne Theresa Noblett,Harold Hand,Carol Ann Stephens, Linda Smith,Maureen Dutton,Elsie Frost,Bernard Michael Oliver,Keith Lyon,Rita Ellis,Jacqueline Ansell-Lamb and Barbara Mayo,Amara de Vere Whelan,Wendy Sewell,Eve Stratford and Lynne Weedon,Enrico Sidoli,Joy Sweatman,Genette Tate,Carl Bridgewater,Bedgebury Forest Woman,Patricia Morris,John Greenwood and Gary Miller,Janice Weston,Shelley Morgan,Sandra Phillips,Linda Cook,Deborah Linsley,Inga Maria Hauser,Marie Wilks,Ricky Haywood,Ann Heron,Alan Leppard and Brenda Long,Penny Bell,Alexander Drummond,Bulic Forsythe,Paul Logan,Harry and Megan Tooze,Karen Hales,Julie Pacey,Tracey Mertens,Patrick Warren and David Spencer,Billie-Jo Jenkins,Kate Bushell,Jill Dando,Stuart Lubbock,Andrew Chubb,Paul Savage,Alistair Wilson,Richard Lancelyn Green,Claudia Lawrence,Alan Wood,Betty Brown,Gareth Williams,John-Paul Merrick,Christian Bagley,and Anthony Nicholls.

I am obsessed with true crime, it is quite a morbid fascination of mine and so I found this such a interesting read. There were some cases that I knew about but went into more detail and some that I didn't know about. A book any true crime lover would enjoy

I received a free copy of, Unsolved Murders of the UK, by Phil Drake, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. There are so many unsolved murders around the world. This book is about unsolved murders in the UK. There are 60 stories in this book about unsolved crimes, women, children, male, crime does not care who you are. The poor families of these innocent victims.

As someone who has looong been interested in true crime, this book was a hit for me. This book details unsolved murders from the UK- with each murder being its own “chapter” and including details such as date, location, and victim all up front. Most of the cases also have a photo of a relevant location attached. As an American, I liked the chance to get to learn about more cases from the UK that I hadn’t heard of before. A great book that you could either read all at once or divide up and read bits and pieces whenever you find the desire to learn about an unsolved case.

I really enjoy true crime reads and I love a good mystery so this was always likely to be a hit with me – I was really keen to get started on the book as soon as the copy landed on my Kindle.

I loved the length of the chapters and the focus was really on the key details for the murders. The facts were clear and there were quite a few of the murders mentioned that I wasn’t aware of, including one in Coventry which is literally up the road from where I live (and I am always fascinated by local stories).

The book focuses on 60 key cases that the author has picked right from 1951 to the present day. A few of the more recent ones will be well known, having been in the media in recent years such as Jill Dando, Billie Jo Jenkins and the Stephen Downing case where he was released after a wrongful conviction.

The author has given each victim dignity when he has told the story, they aren’t scandalous and it is a great touch that he has added the contact details too for the relevant appeals for anyone with any further information to make contact with the Police forces.

It is 5 stars from me for this one – very highly recommended!

Thank you Pen & Sword for this advanced copy. I truly enjoyed this book overall. As a a true crime fan, it is often hard for me to find cases that I have heard before, and this one delivered case after case. The writing was engaging and interesting overall- and the included pictures were interesting, I just wish there had been more of them. I did find that I somewhat lost interest at times, and I found that most chapters ended similarly and it became somewhat repetitive.

This is, as you might imagine, a very depressing book. It is very well-researched and has pictures of where bodies were found and, in some cases, actual crime scene photos. It’s heartbreaking to see the most recent photos of the victims when they were alive, especially the younger ones. My heart goes out to the families of the people who were taken way too soon, and I’m grateful to the author for taking the time to highlight these cold cases. I sincerely hope that some new leads will be found with the publication of this book.

My thanks to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. This book enabled me to read about some of the cases that remain unsolved in the United Kingdom. This book was very enlightening about the individuals who were murdered and the suspect or suspects were never apprehended.

This is a book of 60 unsolved cases from the 1950's to present day. The book focusses on each case, what happened and the subsequent investigations that followed. I found the whole book really interesting and was saddened how many cases remain unsolved despite improving forensic investigations in more recent years. Each case has it's own chapter, detailing the information in a short concise way. I remembered some of the cases and even the ones I hadn't heard of were interesting to read about. Some of the information I had heard before in other books about unsolved murders, or specific books for the individual case, but others I had not. There were links to other books for some of the cases, which was useful if you wanted to know more.

It was an interesting read, and the short chapters made sure the book flowed quickly and I had read it in no time at all. If you are a true crime fan then this will definitely interest you! Would recommend!

I’ve always been interested in unsolved cases, especially cold cases. Unfortunately, the way this book was written felt and read more like a school essay rather than an informational text. The stories were short (which is fine to a degree), but they felt fluffed up. Not a lot of backstory/victim impact/factual evidence from the cases. I feel like whenever a victims story is being told, there should be much more to it.

I've always been interested in True Crime but often unsolved cases don't get the publicity so it was intriguing to learn about different cases that remain unsolved

Book Review:
Unsolved Murders of the UK
Cold Cases from 1951 to Present Day
by Phil Drake
Published by Pen and Sword 29 Feb 2024

Synopsis:
Focusing on cold cases that have remained unsolved for decades, this book examines the most intriguing and disturbing murders in the UK’s recent history. Delving into the mysterious and haunting cases of individuals who were brutally taken from this world, from mysterious disappearances to seemingly motiveless killings, as well as other cases that continue to perplex law enforcement, this book takes a closer look at the victims, the crimes and the police investigations, as well as the theories surrounding each case.

Review:
With comprehensive details and photographs regarding each case, this book is factual and informative, from details about the victim to how police investigated the case.
What struck me was how many of the people I remember, despite being pretty young when they died. Genette Tate and Kate Bushell were local to me, and of course Jill Dando and Stuart Lubbock received nationwide media coverage.
This book is a straightforward examination of how each person died, and what was done to find out who was responsible for their death. It's one for true crime fans, as a point of reference, or anyone else who is curious about unsolved UK murders.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*I received an eARC from the publisher via Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.

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This is a great book if you are interested in crime.

I am a bit of a true crime fanatic and I enjoyed this book immensely, especially as I didn’t know most of the crimes. The writing is easy to read and the majority of the cases are the perfect length. Some are a little short but I guess that that’s the information that’s available about that particular crime. If you enjoy true crime you will enjoy this.

This is a compilation of many murders committed in the UK. Some are fleshed out pretty well and some are skimpy on details. It's good for someone who wants to know about the many murders committed there.bIt's niot an indepth study.

As a huge fan of true crime I found this book fascinating. Living in the uk I find this so interesting. Phil Drake has written and researched 60 cold cases from 1951 to the present day. Each case has so much information so well researched. Many heartbreaking cases but Phil Drake had written them with so much respect. This is prefect for any true crime fan. My heart goes out to the victims and their family’s.

"Unsolved Murders of the UK: Cold Cases from 1951 to Present Day" by Phil Drake takes readers on a gripping journey through the enigma of unsolved crimes that have mystified the United Kingdom.

Without divulging too many details, the book presents a thorough exploration of haunting cases, making it a must-read for aficionados of true crime.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for Providing me the eARC.

This is a really well curated collection of unusual cases which were never solved. The author does a terrific job of providing information about the victims and the potential leads, including their current status, but it is sad to know that these cases did not lead to justice as the perpetrators remain unknown.

I really enjoyed this! As a fan of true crime this book has everything you want, detailed research on both the victims and the crime itself, photos with descriptions and detailed explanations on suspects and the aftermath of the effects on family and the court/justice system if it applies.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to have an ARC in return for an honest review.

Unsolved Murders of the UK by Phil Drake

A very interesting but devastatingly sad read of murders that continue to go unsolved even in some cases many decades after the crime.
Obviously very well researched which must have taken a very long time to do so hats off to the author for doing so.
One tiny, small criticism , as a book of UK unsolved murders , why call the boot of a car the trunk ?
That said , a good book nevertheless .