The Mile End Murder

Even if this the account of a true crime this book can be read like a murder.
The title can be misleading as there's just a tenuous link to Conan Doyle but it's well researched and gives a complete picture of who the victim was and how lived and of the general historical environment.
A fascinating read that I recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

A riveting take on historical true crime, The Mile End Murder harkens to the time and atmosphere of an industrialized London back in the day when Conan Doyle was at his prime and when Sherlock Holmes was, as yet, to be revived once more.

THE MILE END MURDER was the ultimate cold case, until now, when author Sinclair McKay reveals who actually committed the sensational murder in 1860 of a 70-year-old widow. Not even Conan Doyle could solve the case, rife with a host of suspects and shocking revelations, which ended in one of the final public executions at Newgate. Highly recommended for fans of true crime, Conan Doyle and the allure of solving cold cases. 5/5

Thanks to the author, Quarto Publishing Group - Aurum Press, and NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for my true review.

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Thank you NetGalley and the publishing company for the chance to review this novel.
Set in the nineteenth century and very Sherlock Holmes, I was excited to get my hands on this one. Historical crime fiction is a favorite and this was a perfect blend. The only slight change I wished for was less detail in certain areas. Some topics were lengthy, such as a characters past or event. I felt it did not add to the story.
Overall, I thought the writing was great and it kept me interested!

When an elderly woman is found murdered in her home, everyone wonders if they hung the right man. The evidence is far from conclusive and the witnesses seem to contradict each other. The case of the murder of Mrs Elmsley has no shortage of suspects.
The book is rich in atmosphere and history as well as a curious murder. Wrote like a true murder mystery and you have to remind yourself it's a true murder.

I enjoyed reading the book. This true crime book is written like a vintage mystery. The author does a very good job with the Victorian England and describing the life of victim. The murder of a local landlady had plenty of suspects and someone was convicted of the crime but many at the time felt that wrong person was hung. Even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tried to solve the crime. The author presents evidence for his own solution. I really liked reading about the background of the crime and the characters involved. The book was quick and easy to read and very interesting. Anyone with an interest in true crime and historical mysteries will enjoy this book.

In 1860, Mary Emsley, a 70-year-old widow of substantial means, was found bludgeoned to death at her home in London. Although she lived a fairly simple life, Mary was a wealthy woman due to the numerous houses she rented out around the London area, but this wealth brought its own problems. Seemingly disliked by many of her tenants, she employed a few trusted men to collect rents on her behalf although it was not unknown for her to venture into the roughest parts of town to receive the payments herself. Was her death at the hands of a disgruntled tenant or was the cause much closer to home?

With the body remaining undiscovered for several days, clues were limited. It was thought, though, that due to the woman’s distrust of strangers, and there being no evidence of a forced entry, the killer must have been admitted to the house by Mary herself. The police struggled to find a culprit until someone known to the murdered woman came forward with some information. On investigating this tip-off, the police found that there case had suddenly opened up – they now had a firm suspect for the first time.

The Mile End Murder sees Sinclair McKay re-examining the evidence (or lack of) and coming to the conclusion that a huge miscarriage of justice led to the execution of an innocent man. This was a view shared by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the infamous consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. He would, some years later, write his own thoughts on the case, The Debatable Case of Mrs Emsley. Miscarriages of justice were not uncommon in the Victorian era, but it is still shocking to see how a man could be sentenced to death on a small amount of circumstantial evidence. The author has come up with another possible culprit although, again, lack of evidence would not see a modern jury find them guilty.

Victorian crime is something I have always enjoyed reading about and Sinclair McKay has written a very readable book dealing with not just the murder but also the social history of the period. The Mile End Murder has been well-researched and will appeal to anyone interested in historical crime of the Victorian period in general.

A well written book that details the case and solves the cold case that Conan Doyle couldn't. As a lover of true crime I found this book intriguing and a real page turner, I would definitely recommend it if you are a fan of detective stories.

This story is set in 1860's England where a murder is committed that cannot be solved yet a man was executed for the crime. Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes's creator, researched the crime at the request of the convicted man but even he was unable to definitively say who the killer was. The book is written in an easy to read style, not a lot of legalese to confuse a casual reader. I started the book thinking it was a Sherlock Holmes story only to discover it is a real murder with real consequences. Enjoyed it, even if the writer disagreed with the actual crime, giving us his opinion on who done it.

This book is touted as the case that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle could not solve. I was skeptical as I am a huge fan of Conan Doyle. I will say that I was nicely surprised that this book is so well written. Well done Sinclair McKay!!

Sinclair McKay re-examines a crime right at the heart of the Victorian era in 1860. A murder that was committed against an elderly woman in her own home in the East End of London.

Mrs Emsley was no cuddly granny-type lady though, she was a miser worthy of a part in one of Charles Dickens (more of him later) novels. Born in the East End of London under the bells of St Anne’s in Stepney she came from humble beginnings but by the time she met her end she’d been married twice and amassed an enormous amount of wealth in the form of housing stock. Although she employed some men to collect her substantial rents she also visited the hovels packed with families who lived close by to her own home, not known for her compassion she would frequently evict her struggling tenants if they were even a week behind with their payments. She was therefore fairly universally disliked. All in all the best kind of murder victim for a good mystery; anyone and everyone can be a suspect.

Mrs Emsley had bought some wallpaper which she was attempting to sell and so it came to be that her badly bludgeoned body was found in her house with the rolls of precious wallpaper close by. For a woman known to be suspicious of visitors the lack of forced entry suggests that she admitted her killer herself. The only clue was a a bloody footprint on the landing when the body was discovered by one of her rent collectors by which time it had attracted some maggots for good measure!

The police were called and soon fixed on a suspect and indeed this man was hung for the crimes committed. Unsurprisingly, and those of you who have read my previous reviews of Victorian true crimes will also detect a theme developing here, dear old Charles Dickens was apparently one of the 20,000 people who attended the public hanging while of course decrying the ghoulishness of those citizens eager for a bit of excitement.
In a twist to the tale in 1901 Arthur Conan Doyle took a look at the case as he wasn’t sure that the man who hung deserved his fate, his thoughts were published as a serialised book The Debatable Case Of Mrs. Emsley. In 2017 Sinclair McKay took up the baton and went back to the evidence and builds a case for another perpetrator entirely.

This is an incredibly readable book of the type I enjoy most in this sub-genre; Sinclair McKay keeps a running commentary of the social history alongside the background to the victim, the suspect and the resultant trial and hanging. There is also a substantial information on how relatives came out of the woodwork to claim her fortune and to keep it out of the hands of Queen Victoria since our miserly widow had not made a will.
I found it a fascinating read and whilst I have to admit that the author has perhaps hit upon a more worthy suspect than that of the police, I wasn’t altogether convinced that he had a watertight case either, but coming up with a credible alternative at the distance of more than 150 years is no mean feat.

I’d like to thank the publishers Aurum Press for allowing me to read a copy of The Mile End Murder and for Sinclair McKay who transported me back to a darker, dingier and poverty ridden East End of London.

First Published UK: 7 September 2017
Publisher: Aurum Press
No of Pages: 320
Genre: Non Fiction
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McKay presented an alternative theory to the murder of property baron Mary Emsely that definitely raised a reasonable doubt that the correct man was found guilty, and hanged. I found the police and courtroom procedures of the day (1860) very interesting, and it left me grateful that evidence and oral arguments are handled so much more carefully today.

In 1860, a 70 year old widow turned landlady named Mary Emsley was found dead in her own home, killed by a blow to the back of her head.
What followed was a murder case that gripped the nation, a veritable locked room mystery which baffled even legendary Sherlock Holmes author, Arthur Conan Doyle. With an abundance of suspects, from disgruntled step children concerned about their inheritance and a spurned admirer repeatedly rejected by the widow, to a trusted employee, former police officer and spy, the case led to a public trial dominated by surprise revelations and shock witnesses, before culminating with one of the final public executions at Newgate.
This is the case Conan Doyle couldn’t solve and, after confounding the best detectives for years, has finally be solved by author Sinclair McKay. Discover 'whodunit' as the real murderer is revealed for the first time exclusively in this captivating study of a murder case in the nineteenth century, a story never told before.
This is a highly engrossing cold case study and makes for a fascinating read that I recommend.

If you are a sucker for true crime books, then this one will surely satisfy the urge. This is an interesting case, and one that, as the title suggests, even Arthur Conan Doyle's attention was captured by.

I liked the way the author approached this, giving the reader information about the victim a little at a time and allowing you to make connections between the different events in the book without an information overload at the beginning. I felt like I was on the case as I read this, trying to work out what happened to the victim and why.

This book is written in such a way that you feel as if you are having a pleasant conversation with a neighbour or friend, sharing in the news of the day. The writing is not cold and clinical, and you come away from it feeling like you have privileged information, but also like you knew the victim and that they were a real person. The author does a lot to humanise the central figure of the book, even though they had passed on many years before.

This was an interesting and exciting read with a lot of unexpected twists, and it makes it all the more interesting to imagine that it really happened. I look forward to further books from this author and recommend this to anyone interested in true or unsolved crimes.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley All opinions are my own.

A solid crime story for us gaslit murder enthusiasts; Mr. McKay doesn't sweep the reader away with his stunning prose, but he does provide a well-researched, gamely paced true crime story that kept me interested throughout. The Conan Doyle tie in seems like a bit of merchandising hokum, as the connections are tenuous at best, but whatever gets the pages open, I guess. A solid recommend for niche readers if not especially for general true crime fans.