Featured in

The Sherlock Holmes Journal, The Sherlock Holmes Society

It is useful for the student and a fascinating story for the general reader.

Reviewed by Dr Guy Woolnough

Author Ben W. Johnson became fascinated by this story and his book, Charlie Peace: Murder, Mayhem and the Master of Disguise, brings this intriguing tale onto our bookshelves and into our modern-day kindle devices. His style is light and refreshing, producing an engaging book and an interesting read from start to finish.

Ben Johnson has pieced together the life of Charlie Peace, from his childhood in the 1840’s in Sheffield, England through to his death in the gallows of London in 1879 aged just 47 years old. This story reads effortlessly through flowing narrative without any dalliance into distracting detail, simply a focus on the story and on the man who was Charlie Peace.

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Crime Traveller, reviewed by Fiona Guy

As featured in

Ripperologist, August 2016 - Paul Begg

The author though he adds the caveat he should not be admired, describes Peace as a criminal genius which is an overemphasis of the skill needed to be a burglar and killer and given he spent so much time in prison. He did of course murder, was caught and executed. The author also writes that for every time he was caught, he had committed several over offences for which he was not identified or charged. That is nothing new; that is quite the norm. Not many if any criminals get convicted for every offence they commit. The author concludes that Peace’s terrible crimes should not be celebrated but the extraordinary life should be remembered by, “ink and paper so they may not be repeated in flesh and blood.”

Robert Bartlett, Police History Society