The was so far away from my usual type of book but I found it fascinating. Very gripping and easy to follow for amatuers to the genre like me.

Murder :The Biography is a legal history of murder and the author details strange and varied cases that form part of the UK murder law. I found this to be a well written, compelling and educational read and was completely gripped by and involved in the true crime stories.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

A “biography” of murder and manslaughter in the UK told through legislation. This is really a biography of the law of homicide, rather than of homicide itself.

This was a fascinating read and gave a good insight into things like insanity defences, etc, through various test cases.

That said, other reviewers have complained it wasn’t what they expected, because they thought it was going to be a “biography”/ history of murder itself, rather than the legislation (clearly they didn't read the blurb). I didn’t make that mistake, but I still felt this was lacking somewhat. For example, one issue I’m very interested in is Joint Enterprise and while this book covered that, it didn’t really do the topic justice (excuse the pun).

Also, I didn’t find the book particularly illuminating on more recent history, such as the abolition of double jeopardy (which was covered, but not in enough detail).

This title was much more interesting on historical cases, such as the grisly case that looked at cannibalism amongst sailors and the law of the sea.

Unfortunately I gave up on this book as I felt that it is boring.
It wasnot what I was expecting it to be

A fascinating book, I wasn’t expecting to be as gripped by this as I actually was. True crime is a fascinating genre, and one with many fans, but how many of us know the background of how cases came to be tried the way they are? Or how the laws have developed over time as science has improved and cases have become more complex?

Not as sensationalised as you might expect, this is a thought-provoking and interesting book that I picked up and put down over a few weeks. It isn’t quite as gruesome and gory as it could be, but if you’re of a slightly more sensitive disposition - like I am! - it might be one you need to read alongside something with a slightly lighter subject matter.

Overall, an interesting book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely love a true crime book, but this goes one step further. It explores how certain crimes have brought about changes to the law going forward. A great insight in to how the legal system works or in some cases doesn’t work. A fascinating read as to how laws have to evolve and adapt to a changing society’s views.

Firstly, I would like to thank Net Galley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Although I enjoyed this book overall, some of it was a bit longwinded. It did give a good insight into how the law has evolved regarding the categorisation of the crime of Murder and the treatment of the perpetrators. It is a good book for those who are studying this subject.

This book is insightful and well researched. Kate Morgan takes us through some important cases, discussing topics that provoke conversation. Topics like the difference between murder and manslaughter. Is cannibalism murder if it would mean saving the life of others? She uses real cases to delve into the topics. I didn’t know that Richard Parker in life of pi was named after a real life person who was eaten by men after a ship wreck. Being from Hampshire I was surprised how much Hampshire and the south coast of England was mentioned. I think this would be a great read for anyone who loves history, real crime or even a law student.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK for this advanced copy.

In Murder: The Biography Kate Morgan traces the history of her subject through British law over the centuries. She writes deftly and is engaged without straying into tawdriness.

I listen to several true crime podcasts regularly but had never really thought about where our laws on the subject come from. It was interesting to see how particular cases shaped British justice for centuries to come, and was very accessible.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in justice, law or true crime.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to read this as I thought it sounded like a really interesting premise - a book that traces the concept of murder, almost all the way back to the dawn of time. It traces its origins back to how it gained its name and then working forwards through history, using significant cases to demonstrate how they have impacted the charge of murder and how this is applied through the years.

This is a great read - strong on details, and written in an engaging style. It is an interesting concept and one that does bear further review. Everyone is familiar with the idea of murder, but I was intrigued to realise how long ago the law and its application was developed, and how it has changed relatively little since then. I liked the framing of the book, and how it draws on important and significant cases through history in order to show where crimes occurred and how these highlighted flaws in the law and it’s application, and how change was then engineered as a result.

This book is relatively unusual - non-fiction that almost feels like fiction. I would definitely recommend it, it’s extremely well written in an engaging style. I’ll definitely be looking out for other books by Kate Morgan.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Murder: The Biography by Kate Morgan

I was presuming this book to be about murders and murderers, when actually it was about the legal history of murder.
Had I not had such presumptions, I probably wouldn’t have chosen a book, which is basically about the law.
But no harm done! I’m really glad to have read this book. The law can be confusing, long-winded, and, dare I say, incredibly dull. But Kate Morgan, a lawyer, writes so succinctly and explains the legal definitions between murder and manslaughter in such an easy to understand manner, that I was surprised to find myself captivated.
* Thanks to Harper Collins and Netgalley for the ARC

A different biography, this one is the life of 'murder'. It was a macabre reading, not that I'm complaining, and yet very 'fun' to read.

This was an interesting book - not one I would have naturally picked up but I was glad I read it. The author managed to combine a lot of facts with interesting enough stories to make it almost an easy read. I definitely learnt quite a few things about how the crime of murder has evolved over the decades.

As a criminology graduate this was hugely of interest to me. Full disclosure is that I didn't read this in full, but did dip in and out of it and will continue to do so, but felt like it was probably time to leave a review! Kate Morgan explores lots of different cases and examines them in great detail. Covering a huge time span from a legal point of view, this was an intriguing and informative read, and I look forward to continuing tor read this.

This book will sit well on the shelves of enthusiasts of “true crime” but it is so much more than that. Ms Morgan has traced the history of the concept of murder from its earliest days to our current times via some well known and not so well known cases. We meet Ruth Ellis, Derek Bentley, and Richard Parker (the cabin boy eaten by his marooned shipmates) but we also meet many others whose stories I am unfamiliar with and many are fascinating. But this is also a political and philosophical look at “murder” and why we had to create a tiered system when we started to recognise that not all deaths by another are equal.

Things race along at a good clip and the learning is lightly sprinkled so it does read like a true crime best seller despite being a deep and meaningful look at a despicable crime. Why was it “acceptable” for the wealthy to kill or injure each other in a duel and yet if you were poor you would be locked up for stealing a loaf of bread.

Ms Morgan gives lots of examples and certainly lots to think about. It also leaves you thinking who makes our laws, who holds the power to change them, and what motivation drives the changes. The way the BMA came out in support of a doctor who “killed” a patient will have you contemplating class and society as you read this well written and enlightening book.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley.

I really liked the topic of this book and enjoyed learning about murder and history of its legalities but I found the book confusing in places and found myself having to reread bits after drifting off into my own head a bit. The cases themselves were really interesting and incredibly researched though, so would recommend.
Read through netgalley

This book was FASCINATING, particularly from a lawyer's perspective. Morgan's writing style is engaging and her subject is well-researched. Again, such a gripping book, thank you for the ARC!

I really enjoyed some elements of this biography, which examines the history and evolution of the charge of murder within English law. Unfortunately I did find my attention wandering at some points, especially once the book began to drift into heavier legal history and some quite technical definitions and distinctions, and I found myself putting the book down around the midpoint and not being especially inclined to pick it back up again.

Whilst the case law that Kate Morgan is writing about if often fascinating, there are also (quite understandably) many technicalities and quite a lot of terminology that has to be relayed in order to convey the importance of the case in question. This meant the book was a much drier - albeit very through - examination than I thought it would be.

This wasn’t what I was expecting.
I thought that it was. Ok but it wasn’t anything overly rememberable in my opinion.

This is a really interesting book to read, it documents the history of murder from when it became a recognised crime to what we see today in courts of law in the UK.

There is quite a long introduction that gives a glimpse into the research that has been brought to this book. The author, a lawyer herself, has covered many aspects and crimes to give quite a comprehensive and detailed background as to what constitutes murder. She differentiates between murder and manslaughter and how manslaughter has various differences when it comes to the courts.

This is a well laid out book, there are little stories and snippets of news from the previous centuries to add evidence. These are also really interesting in their own right and could lead you onto further reading if you were interested in learning more.

I really enjoyed this book, it is quite serious but at times there is some humour to it especially when it comes to some of the documented accounts. This is a book that will appeal to fans of history, criminal history and law in the UK.

I enjoyed this and I would happily recommend it.