In my honest opinion, Pen & Sword is at it’s best with their selection of true crime books. I appreciate them a lot because most authors have a tendency to tread the same roads that have been used for decades, whereas Pen & Sword like to go at these topics from fresh perspectives. I, truthfully, am not too knowledgeable about this case, but I am aware that it’s a fairly significant case in UK history spanning film and TV adaptations due to it’s “popularity” or infamy, rather. Whenever something like that starts to happen, you can guarantee that the truth in the history can start to veer into mythology as with any noteworthy American serial killer. In this book, Dr. Jonathan Oates tries to strip away the media circus that erupted due to Christie’s arrest and the fascination the media had with the legal procedures themselves. He tries to look at the man himself, giving a nuanced, well-researched biography on a man that had many opportunities to get on the right path, but let his dark past lead him astray.

NetGalley, Stephen Kelley

A really interesting and well researched story about one of the most notorious crimes that isn't focused on too much. I really enjoyed the writing style!

NetGalley, Meggan Turner

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This is a factual account of the serial murderer John Reginald Halliday Christie. This covers his life, his crimes and also examines whether he committed the Evans murders or not which many think should be added to the number of murders for which he was convicted.

It was really interesting, gave a large amount of detail. The author displays in detail Christie and his role or not in the Evans murders. This also gives a good account of any fiction and other non-fiction books about the man. This is worth buying for a good, factual account.

NetGalley, Karl Wardlaw

This book provides interesting details, compelling insight, and unbiased analysis of Christie's background, personality, and motivations before, during, and after he was discovered to be a serial murderer. It is apparent a lot of research and referencing of newly available source materials was performed by the author to give us a deep dive into the facts of Christie's life and the series of murders he committed. This is followed up with a great presentation of the court case which resulted in his sentence of death by hanging.

NetGalley, Brenda Yeager

For those unfamiliar with the case of John Christie, I would avoid any other films, or books involved with the case and start with this one. It will give any true crime enthusiast good grounding to delve into the case further. Dr Jonathan Oates is a London historian and is academic, however, his narrative is accessible and easy to read. The writer presents the facts, timelines, relating characters, and case notes without sounding pretentious, and on that basis, we read it in a matter of days!

NetGalley, VivaLa Books

John Christie of 10 Rillington Place was an informative read. The information was delivered in a concise manner, and as I've been researching the Rillington Place murders I appreciated the extra notes and opinions the author provided... I got a lot out of this one, so I'm glad I read it!

NetGalley, Amber G

I thought that this was a great book and it gave a great overview of John Christie and his crimes at 10 Rillington Place, a place made infamous due to his activities at the location.

I thought that the book was well researched and you could see the attention to detail that the author put in to the work. They had clearly done a lot of background work.

I thought it was an easy book to read and the later chapters for me were the most interesting. It has a great layout and flow with the chapters being broken down to keep the biography concise too.

The trial and execution of Timothy Evans who took the rap for one, if not two, of Christie’s crimes was one of the main catalysts for changing the legislation on capital punishments in the UK so that was an interesting angle in the book too.

It is 4 stars from me for this one, I thought it was a well written book, it had plenty of detail and even though the subject matter is not an easy in places I did enjoy the book and I thought it was a great true crime biography – highly recommended

NetGalley, Donna Maguire

Something I really liked about this book is that the author points out from the beginning that any account of Christie’s life, when recounted by Christie himself, should be taken with skepticism. All too often, killers’ information about their lives are treated as statements of fact without being substantiated. Wherever possible, as others have noted, the author uses multiple sources to determine authenticity.

NetGalley, Craig Colla

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This book is a biography of a serial killer John Christine. The book starts out by talking about his life growing up. Then it explains the crime he committee and tries to explain why he murdered people.

NetGalley, Kasey Mccarthy

A must for true crime fans who like to understand the ins and outs of evidence and criminal justice processes.

NetGalley, Louise Gray

I liked getting more insight into what made John Tick. What made him do the things he did. This book was both engaging and well written.

NetGalley, Laura A

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This book was probably the best book about John Christie to date. I have read many true crime books over the years and many only mention Christie in passing, highlighting his crimes and capture with a lot of claims. This book tries to weed out the things that are embellished or flat out untrue. Very good book.

NetGalley, Norma Carroll

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A thoroughly interesting book. It delves into Christie’s life and provides a fuller picture than I had previously been aware of.
Well researched and informative.

NetGalley, K.M. Kenyon

Four stars. Recommended for readers of history, local history, aberrant psychology, and allied subjects; readers of lurid explicit true-crime might not find much here which is titillating.

NetGalley, Annie Buchanan

I thought that this was a great book and it gave a great overview of John Christie and his crimes at 10 Rillington Place, a place made infamous due to his activities at the location.

I thought that the book was well researched and you could see the attention to detail that the author put in to the work. They had clearly done a lot of background work.

I thought it was an easy book to read and the later chapters for me were the most interesting. It has a great layout and flow with the chapters being broken down to keep the biography concise too.

The trial and execution of Timothy Evans who took the rap for one, if not two, of Christie’s crimes was one of the main catalysts for changing the legislation on capital punishments in the UK so that was an interesting angle in the book too.

It is 4 stars from me for this one, I thought it was a well written book, it had plenty of detail and even though the subject matter is not an easy in places I did enjoy the book and I thought it was a great true crime biography – highly recommended

Read the full review here

Donnas Book Blog

As Ealing Borough Archivist and Local History Librarian, Jonathan Oates is in the perfect spot to poke into grisly crimes and murders. This reassessment uses police and Home Office files within a compelling insight into Christie's life and crimes.

Buckinghamshire Life