THE THAMES TORSO MURDERS

Hardcover. Dismembered corpses are discovered scattered along the banks of the river Thames. A calculating, clinical, multiple murderer is on the loose, and the London police have no inkling of the killer's identity - and more than a century later, they still don't. In the author's reinvestigation of bizarre and brutal serial killings, he delves deep into the appalling facts of the case; into the futile police investigations, and into the dark history of late Victorian London. The incredible criminal career of the Thames torso murderer has gripped readers and historians ever since he committed his crimes in the 1870s and 1880s. The case poses as many questions as the even more notorious killings of Jack the Riupper. How, over a period of 15yrs., did the Thames murderer get away with a succession of monstrous and sensational misdeeds? What sort of perverted character was he? Why did he take such risks? Why did he kill again and again? The author reveals he was a well-organised killer with a cold, logical streak and a fascination with the river. The methodical dismemberment of at least 8 bodies had more to do with the clinical need to avoid detection than the frenzy of a maniac. Yet the anonymous individual who removed heads and legs and even had the audacity to drop a victim in the foundations of the new Scotland Yard, is a killer worthy to rank alongside Jack the Ripper himself. Using his long experience of reseatrch into criminal history and working in conjunction with the leading forensic psychologist Professor Laurence Alison, M.J. Trow reconstructs each killing in compelling detail and throws new light on this unresolved - and unforgettable - serial murder case. Includes a chapter on Jack the Ripper. Illus., Notes, Bibliog. and Index. 175pp. 8vo. h/back. As New in dw.