THE GOOD DOCTOR. Portrait of a Serial Killer

Hardback. The story of a doctor who was, literally, addicted to murder: a man who wickedly abused the trust of his patients with horrifying results. Dr Harold Shipman was a pillar of the community, serving on local committees, donating prizes to sports clubs and organising charity collections. His patients thought the world of him: he was attentive, kind, never too busy to chat. Yet behind the charming facade lay the world's most prolific serial killer with at least 300 victims. Dr Shipman was making house calls - and then committing murder with bloodcurdling expertise and professionalism. He saw himself as playing God. The good doctor's crimes were virtually undetectable. He targeted middle-aged and elderly women who willing rolled up their sleeves for what would prove a fatal jab of morphine from his syringe. Shipman's murderous career only came to an end when police in Manchester, England, were called to investigate a forged will left by one of his victims. Overnight, detectives found themselves embroiled in one of the biggest murder cases in history. Not only a compelling account of Shipman's appalling crimes, but also for the first time provides an insight into how he developed a taste for murder which was sparked by the traumatic death of his mother at an early age. The author looks behind the man and reveals how, throughout his 25yr. campaign of evil, Shipman continued to be a doting husband and father, trusted and adored by the majority of his patients. Illus. 343pp. lge. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true-crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. F. in f. dw.