The twin fascinations of death and villainy will always hold us in their grim but thrilling grip. In Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Bristol the chill is brought close to home as each chapter investigates the darker side of humanity in cases of murder, deceit and pure malice committed over the last three centuries in the city. From crimes of passion to opportunistic killings and coldly premeditated acts of murder, the full spectrum of Bristol's criminal past is recounted here.
For this sinister journey, Veronica Smith has selected over 20 notorious episodes that give a telling insight into criminal acts and the criminal mind. Among them are the tale of Russell Pascoe who was the last man to hang in Bristol, the son who killed his bullying father, two Victorian infanticides, the fate of the man who liked to be tied up in the woods, the killing by a woman of her faithless lover and the neighbours who covered up a murder. Fascinating details of day-to-day existence in the past emerge as she recalls these notorious episodes. Her grisly chronicle of Bristol's hidden history will be compelling reading for anyone who is interested in the dark side of human nature.