More of travel guide than a literary read, The True Crime Lover's Guide to London by Brian Billington and Charlotte Booth would be a handy tool if you were to travel to London. With colorful images and tidbits on every page, it leads you through the history of London's more seedy side, and give your small tidbits of each location listed within.

Do not expect to be able to sit down and read this simply as a book. You could do that of course, but it would be more useful to you if you were to use it as a guide when you travel. I know I personally would make sure this book was in my luggage were I too travel to London.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Pen & Sword for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. Find this on shelves on August 30,2024.

Anyone who is interested in true crime will find this book to be a treat. Pick your crime, pick your neighborhood, and explore London. Each entry gives just enough detail to whet the interest of the reader and make them want to visit the scene of the crime.

This book has a lot of interesting info on many sites and stories about crime in London. It provides addresses for easy locating using online maps. Lots of history and pictures of some sites that are still standing. Some repetition near the end, but overall a decent read.

I found this to be a very interesting, if not a bit morbid book about the various crimes committed in London a long time ago. There is also pre-set tours that can be followed upon a visit to London. Beautifully photographed.

5 stars

This is a fantastic travel resource for any true crime aficionado who wants to set their own pace and tour of some of London's most recognised, reviled and revered historical true crime locations. It's set up in two useful ways - in the first half of the book you can find locations summarised based on the types of crimes that were committed (theft, murder, treason, etc.) and how each particular site is linked. You'll find there's plenty of overlap for certain sites like jails, cemeteries, pubs, churches and courthouses. Plus, actual address info with postal codes is also included to help with personal GPS navigation. The second half of the book has everything divided into sections of the city for themed DIY tours, where to find the true crime museums, heck there's even a DIY pub crawl of some of the more notorious taverns and gin palaces.

Throughout the guide there are plenty of photos provided, which are mostly courtesy of the authors themselves. Many of these infamous sites no longer have the original buildings at said locations - many having been demolished or refurbished over the intervening years - so the photos of current businesses, flats, stations and parks will help immensely with navigation. I really enjoyed the photos, as well as all the fascinating tidbits of history and little-known facts that are sprinkled throughout the whole guide.

The expected publication date is 30 August 2024. Being a hardcore Anglophile and true crime aficionado myself, whenever I take my next trip to London I will certainly be making sure that this handy dandy travel guide is stowed safely in my suitcase!

Thank you to NetGalley, authors Charlotte Booth and Brian Billington, and White Owl Publishing for this advanced digital readers copy. All opinions are my own.

An interesting concept which does not translate well in kindle format. I suspect this is one to be read in hard copy only.

I received a free copy of, The True Crime Lover's Guide to London, by Brian Billington, Charlotte Booth, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Whatever the crime, murder, robbery, serial killers, prostitution, execution sites, treason, and much more, there are places in London to visit. They even have cemetery tours and pub crawls. London certainly has their fair share of crime and criminals. I really liked this book.