I enjoyed this! This is well researched and well written. If you enjoy true crime I would recommend this! Special Thank You to to Anthony Payne, Pen & Sword and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Samuel Herbert Dougal (15 May 1847–14 July 1903) was an army engineer, womaniser, and criminal. Camille Cecile Holland is believed to have advertised for a husband, to which Dougal presented himself as a candidate.They first set up home as a married couple near Brighton. Soon, they were in negotiations to purchase Coldhams, a property in Clavering, Essex. Miss Holland was to finance the deal and insisted her name appear on the contract documentation.As Mr and Mrs Dougal, Miss Holland and Samuel Dougal found lodgings at Saffron Walden whilst Coldhams was renovated. On 24 April 1899 Miss Holland and Samuel Dougal moved into the property that they had renamed Moat House Farm or Moat Farm.In early 1903, questions arose as to the whereabouts of Camille Cecile Holland and the fact that cheques and other financial instruments were being presented with what purported to be her signature. No one had seen her since 19 May 1899 when the maidservant who had rebuffed Samuel Dougal's sexually-motivated attack on her refused to be left alone with him. Miss Holland had left in a pony and trap with Dougal driving, telling the servant that she would not be long. Dougal returned alone and claimed that Miss Holland, whom the servant was led to believe, was 'Mrs Dougal', had gone away to London. The servant's mother removed her daughter from Moat Farm the following day.Subsequently, Dougal preyed on young women. He got Georgina "Kate" Cranwell, his servant, pregnant. She gave birth in December 1902 and sought an affiliation order on 27 January 1903. Information given to the court revealed that Camille Cecile Holland was not married to Dougal, resulting in some further enquiries being made about him. Weeks of digging ensued at the Moat Farm until 27 April 1903 when Miss Holland's body was found. Following an inquest where it was discovered that Miss Holland had suffered a bullet wound to the head,Dougal was committed for trial on 22 June 1903.On 23 June, with the unanimous verdict of the jury, Dougal was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death by Mr Justice Wright. He was hanged by the public executioner William Billington at Chelmsford Prison.

A decorated soldier with a dark secret life, Samuel Dougal murdered his wealthy lover, Camille Cecile Holland, after defrauding her. This true crime account details his years of escalating crimes, including forgery, theft, and bigamy, culminating in Holland’s death and Dougal’s execution.

This is a fascinating story. It’s not always told in a linear fashion, and sometimes I got confused. Overall, it’s an entertaining account.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

An interesting and intriguing true story of murder, theft and womanising as the world rolled over into the 20thC from the 19th. It tells of the incredible good fortune and luck by the perpetrator, a former Army NCO and of the many instances when he could and should have been brought to justice earlier than he was. The fact that he was eventually convicted was due to the work of a junior Police Officer who refused to let the matter drop unlike some of his seniors.
A very good read.
My thanks to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for this ARC in exchange for and honest and unbiased review.

In the early 1900s, the Moat Farm Murder trial was the sensation of its day. It had a bit of everything; a wife-beathing, philandering, gold digger of an ex-military man, bigamy, a propositioned maid, the mystery of a missing heiress and then the belated discovery of a body in the moat.
This book is an account not only of the case itself, but also of the life of Samuel Hubert Dougal, his spouses, and the detectives involved in the case. This added to the depth of the book as it fleshed out the characters and gave some idea of their motivation and what was at stake. Indeed, the author is a distant relative of one of the police detectives, who was so affected by the case that his health never quite recovered.
Dougal was undoubtedly a dastardly man. He was what we now recognise as a sociopath – charming but manipulative and utterly intent on getting what he wanted – which is this case was the farm and fortune belonging to heiress Camille Cecile Holland. A man who knew how to sweep a woman off her feet, he married Camille – despite already being married to another woman. And then when, in 1899, Camille set off on a mysterious buggy ride never to be seen again, Dougal was left comfortably set up and moved one of his lady friends in.
The book is not only factual but an enjoyable (if that is the right word for a murder) read. There were insights into motivation, such as when Camille employed a new maid just a few days before her disappearance. That same maid left abruptly saying she had been propositioned by Dougal. The author points out that this was his cunning way of clearing the path for murder; either by scaring the maid off or seducing her into his power. There were other interesting titbits, such as farm currently known as Moat Farm is not the actual Moat Farm – so may murder tourists visit the wrong location.
Highly recommended for those enthralled by true Victorian crime.
ARC received in exchange for an honest review.