They Got Away With Murder

Many murders are solved, but unfortunately many are also not and the perpetrators never face justice. Leonard Gribble's book collects together a number of these unsolved crimes, both from the UK and abroad. The book was published in 1971, so maybe there have been breakthroughs in some of these cases in the fifty odd years since... alas no, i looked up all of the cases and all remain unsolved crimes.

The variety is good, including domestic murders and suspicious deaths, at first thought to be suicide but later found to probably not be. The book is well written and and keeps you engaged with good build-up and post-crime information. The variety of crimes and settings also helps.

All these crimes took place long before DNA evidence and mass camera surveillance were things, so maybe that would have caught some of the murderers out otherwise. Truthfully though, if you have no link to the victim and no one actually witnessed you committing the crime then it is a lot easier to get away with murder than you might imagine. Or fear.

The Twenties

I have always found the decade of 1920s very interesting, it is amazing to think now we that are 100 years later though the 2020s is not as bright or fun as the 1920s, it seems to lack flappers or cool jazz anyway.

Alan Jenkin's book covers the decade which started with the West beginning to recover from the First World War and ended with the seeds sown for the next one History, society and popular culture are all covered with a plethora of period photographs and illustrations.

I would have liked to see a bit more on the silver screen perhaps but this book is a general history and not a movie one. Of course it is better to watch 1920s films rather than just read about them. The Bishop Murder Case, The Unholy Night and The Voice of the City are three films i recommend you tracking down on YouTube. 

Interestingly, the last of those three films was the one Al Capone, that icon of the 1920s, was watching when he was arrested!

Illustrated Tales of Derbyshire

I like a bit of local folklore me. This interesting book by David Paul takes us on a tour around Derbyshire (a county i am very fond of) and recounts some of the folklore at various spots around the county. The folklore includes tales of witches, stories of old mysteries and crimes and even an odd marriage. 

The stories are accompanied by photographs taken by the author of the various locations. A lovely book that includes well known Derbyshire towns like Bakewell and Chesterfield and also more obscure and little known villages too.

I do enjoy books like this, i have a number of similar books in my collection. The only thing this book could do with is a map of the locations included but that is a minor criticism.

The Falklands War

To someone like myself who remembers the Falklands War of 1982 very vividly (maybe the most abiding TV memory of my childhood) a graphic novel telling the story of that war at first appears a bit strange. But then again graphic novels of WW2 and even more recent conflicts like Vietnam are common and for some people they are still vivid memories, so why not?

And indeed this is a very beautiful piece of work with excellent artwork. To fit the whole conflict into the confines of one volume was difficult, and at times the story races along at breakneck speed and also puts somewhat odd speech into the "characters'" mouths in order to advance the narrative sufficiently.

I did notice a couple of inaccuracies with the events portrayed here but something only a military or history geek would really pick up on.

This is a very good piece of work indeed.

Argentinian Pucara at RAF Cosford museum