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Beyond Belief: Moors Murders Paperback – February, 1969

by Emlyn Williams (Author)

14 customer reviews

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Emlyn Williams' classic account of the notorious Moors Murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, who between 1962 and 1965 abducted, brutally abused and murdered five children - Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans - and buried them in shallow graves on Saddleworth Moor, in Lancashire.

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Product Details

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Pan Books; New Ed edition (February 1969)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0330020889
ISBN-13: 978-0330020886
Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 0.8 x 7 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,133,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #244 in Books > Law > Specialties > Military
- #5423 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Criminology

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Customer Reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars

5 star		43%
4 star		22%
3 star		7%
2 star		7%
1 star		21%

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Top Customer Reviews

Beyond Belief

By Gemma Cheyne on April 3, 2006

Format: Paperback

Here's the thing:

Once you read this book, you'll never forget it. It will give you such a case of the creeps you may conveniently leave it behind when you move house; donate it to the library; but it will stick with you and you'll be drawn to it, because to this day, there is really no explanation for these crimes. And no resolution for the emotions you will be left with after reading about them. Caveat emptor.

Williams' has aptly titled his book "Beyond Belief". He has reconstructed his narrative from research, interviews, and police and trial materials (now sealed until 2027). He's tried to make a kind of map to try and find the answer, the motives for these killings. What it turns out to be is more of a maze.

He takes everything into account about the killers; he knows their backgrounds, their upbringings, the era; he knows how they spent their time, what they read, ate and drank, what they talked about. He's seen (and heard) the evidence of their crimes. What shocks him and the reader the most is the complete banality of these murders. The cruelty in the choice of victim; the almost bad-fairy-tale-like concept of the innocent child beguiled into the gingerbread house, which turns out to be inhabited by witches and monsters.

Probably the most disturbing thing about this couple is they did not fit the profile of the usual type of killer. Nobody saw it coming; and it is this element that shows such extreme cruelty. That this was the part they deliberately enjoyed is the irredeemable aspect, which has made them unworthy of anything but contempt.

Williams leaves the actual crimes in the ether, where they haunt us. He leaves description till the last one - where he has an eyewitness account.Read more ›

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Masterwork

By Jane Jago on July 27, 2008

Format: Paperback

This book is in my top ten list of books from any genre.
It is an atmospheric and detailed portrait of the social landscape that spawned the likes Hindley and Brady. Through his lilting prose, that resonates with the musical dialect of Northern England, Emlyn Williams hypnotically recreates an almost aerial view of the cities, towns, streets and bleak interiors where these horrific events took place and then systematically moves in to locate the perpetrators and the victims within this grey tapestry.
His research and unstinting provision of detail of such a dark but important subject matter is meticulous, his weaving into this factual account of the fictionalised private moments and primitive motivations of the killers' mundane but deadly, secret world is masterful and only adds to our insight of the psychology of evil.
I consider this a masterwork written in a unique voice by a genius mind.

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Haunting and atmospheric treatment of a notorious murder case

By E. A. Moon on June 17, 2013

Format: Paperback

I was 9 when the Moors Murders case broke. I clearly remember the coverage in Life magazine--the black and white photos of the moors, the pictures of the murdered children (Lesley Ann Downey, John Kilbride and Edward Evans), and especially the iconic mug shots of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley which were simply terrifying and unforgettable. The case has haunted me ever since, not surprisingly, as I was close to the same age as some of Brady and Hindley's victims when the case broke. "Beyond Belief" was the first book I read about this case, more than 30 years ago. Several years back I bought a used copy of the first U.S. edition (published in 1968) and I have re-read it several times.

"Beyond Belief" is a mixture of fact and what Williams called "surmise"--and this is clearly stated in his foreword. He writes: "Marshaling the established facts of most 'chronicles of murder', the writer is faced with gaps between those facts which it is doubtful will ever be filled, because the people able to fill them are either dead or unwilling to cooperate (in this case, the guilty man and the guilty woman). Hence the necessity for 'surmise'; that is, between one set of established facts and the next, a reconstruction of behavior, conversation, and thoughts based entirely on the facts, aiming at complete concordance with them, and in no way allowed to conflict with them" (on page viii of my edition).

In this regard it is rather like "In Cold Blood" although Capote did not include a statement saying that some dialogue and situations were his creations. One example is the last scene in the book, in which Alvin Dewey, the law officer who led the investigation of the murders of the Clutter family, has a conversation with one of Nancy Clutter's girl friends at the town cemetery.Read more ›

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Excellent Reading

By Alex on January 3, 2011

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

While I am not finished reading this book, what I have read so far has been written in great style. The facts are interesting and well placed. After I finish this book, I will forward to a friend of mine who is English and now lives in Arizona. He grew up in Manchester was well aware of the Moors Murders and is interested in reading more on this. I believe since the author of this book is written by an English reporter, that many of the words used will have more meaning to one who has grown up with it than an outsider such as myself. All in all, extremely impressed.

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Garbage - Absolute Garbage

By Melvyn Bowler on February 3, 2014

Format: Paperback

I was born and bred within a few miles of where these murders took place, and picked up the book with interest. I wish I hadn't.

This book is basically a work of fiction. It borders on the pornographic, with no literary or factual merit whatsoever. Given that his primary interest is in titillating the public, even his apparent facts must be open to question, unless independently verifiable.

I persevered page by page, thinking that at least I have now experienced the worst writing I have ever read, but that educational aspect was not not enough to take me to the final pages. I have too much respect for myself.

That someone could take these horrendous crimes and turn them into a cheap novel for money is in itself "beyond belief", as is the disrespect shown to the victims and their families.

Garbage - Absolute Garbage.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

I would not recommend this book to anyone

This book took me forever to get through. As an American, the dialect was really hard to follow. I would not recommend this book to anyone.

Published 13 months ago by Dawn Gray

Five Stars

A very sad read."Manchester, so much to answer for"...

Published 13 months ago by Heather Davis

I am pretty sure it was

I read the book in the early 70's. I am pretty sure it was, at the time, titled "Listen To The Silence". Read more

Published 18 months ago by Neil

Annoying Beyond Belief

Okay, I know it's supposed to be a classic, but this is easily the most frustrating true crime book I have ever read in my life. I had to literally FORCE myself to finish it. Read more

Published on September 17, 2010 by The Comtesse DeSpair

Gruesome Tale of Heartlessness

I came across this book while going through a box of stuff from our family home. I had no intention reading it, but then any sort of story about the kidnapping and murdering of... Read more

Published on September 2, 2010 by Fairleigh Brooks

Slow read

I don't know why everyone rates this book so high.
All I read is true crime. I found this book very hard to follow and just plain confusing. Read more

Published on July 4, 2010 by True Crime Fan

Enthralling

Beyond Belief is not the average true-crime account. Author Williams draws us into the mad world of Brady & Hindley as an objective observer, including details of daily life, like... Read more

Published on May 11, 2010 by Jennifer Lucas

missing the single most important parts to true crime novels

to even be readable a true crime book needs to contain explicit, detailed, raw description of each and every murder committed. Read more

Published on January 24, 2009 by Black Raven

One of the Best True Crime Books Ever Written.

I have always been interested in crime, and have read so many true-crime tomes that often i will be partway through a book and realize, "wait, i have read this one before". Read more

Published on February 22, 2007 by C. Park