Customer Reviews

Bloody Business

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I just finished reading Bloody Business by H. Paul Jeffers and I must say I was not terribly impressed. The Edward Gorey cover is fantastic and there are a few interesting stories, but not nearly enough to hold my interest. If you are interested in learning about the history of Scotland Yard - such as how the police department was originally set-up and who led it over the years - then you might find it very satisfying, but I was hoping for a bit more blood and guts.

I'd like to politely disagree with the previous reviewer: there is PLENTY of "blood and guts" in this book. True, much space is given to the various changes at Scotland Yard - including the formation of new departments, changes in uniform, and changes in the administration - but the weight of the book leans much more toward the dozens of sensational crimes which the Yard has attempted (and usually succeeded) to solve.

Nice, basic summaries of the most famous murder cases in Great Britain, with a particular focus on those which took place during the Victorian and Edwardian Eras. Just what this reader wanted! I've been devoting a lot of time recently to reading "literary" true-crime stories from the 1800s and turn-of-the-century, and appreciated this overview of the most sensational ones - many of which I've already read about at length.

I borrowed this from the library, but I'll be wanting my own copy as a future reference source. One day I'll probably be researching and writing about one of these British crimes in greater detail than is offered here. I'll just have to pick one from the dozens Jeffers writes about.