I can't give anything lower than a 5 star on a true crime story. I can say it was a 5 star for me. It was interesting to see their life and how they become to murder. Parts even gave me chills on how can someone do that!

This felt like the most in-depth look into Ian Brady and Myra Hindley that I have come across. You could tell throughout that there was a genuine care and interest to get across, what we all know as a horrific story.

Book Review

Title: Convicting the Moors Murderers: The Arrest, Trial and Imprisonment of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley by Chris Cook

Genre: Non-Fiction, True Crime

Rating: 4 Stars

This book is the second in a series following the Moors Murders but the crimes are very well documented unlike the time Ian Brady and Myra Hindley spent in prison. For the first time ever, this book is told using previously closed Home Office files and details the full story of Myra Hindley’s attempted jailbreak in 1973. The book opens as Brady and Hindley are arrested and point the finger at Hindley’s brother-in-law, David Smith. Shortly after the family of Lesley Ann Downey attacked Myra’s sister and brother in law leading to period of abuse the couple suffered.

On the 19th of April 1966 the trial of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley began. Charges were brought against them for the murders of Edward Evans, Lesley Ann Downey and John Kilbride. Pauline Reade and Keith Bennett were still missing at this point but there wasn’t enough evidence for charges to be brought against Brady and Hindley for these crimes. Both pleaded not guilty and gave evidence in defence of themselves and each other but both made errors which were used against them. Despite following the whole trial process where Brady and Hindley tried to protect each other and blame David Smith, they were both found guilty and sentenced. Brady received three life sentence while Hindley was only convicted of two murders and sentenced to two life sentences and seven years for harbouring Brady. However, at this point only three bodies more to be found and police were convinced that Brady and Hindley were responsible for the disappearance of Keith Bennett and Pauline Reade.

We then turn to looking at Ian Brady’s prison years between 1966 and 1972. Brady was first sent to HMP Durham and during this time he maintained his relationship with Myra Hindley through letters. He also underwent several evaluations but was found to have no mental illness. Brady was determined to see Hindley and petitioned several times to see as she was his common-law wife, however, he had stated during the trial that they didn’t live together in order minimize Hindley’s involvement in the crime and this went against him. As time passes, Hindley began to cut off contact with him which upset Brady but he eventually came to accept that Hindley didn’t want any further involvement with him. He was quite isolated during these years as he spent most of his time in solitary confinement by choice due to the abuse he received from other prisoners but he was also well known for attacking and provoking other child killers on his wing.

We then look at Myra Hindley’s time in prison during the same years. Myra Hindley’s time in prison during these years was very different from Ian Brady’s. Hindley suffered the same amount of abuse but rather than isolating herself like Brady did she ends up becoming a respected figure in prison. Hindley shows herself to have a more manipulative personality than Brady as she uses her relationships with other prisoners and even a guard to gain security and information inside the prison as well as contraband items. Throughout these years Hindley also removed Brady from her life which seems to have a big impact on him but not on her which makes me rethink the traditional dynamic of the overbearing male and meek female since Brady and Hindley seem to inhabit the opposite roles. However, shortly after this Hindley tries to break out of prison which is what we look at next.

The entire section on Hindley’s escape attempt was wild as she uses her relationship with the prison officer; Cairns to do it. Hindley clearly manipulated and brainwashed this woman into believing she was reformed and just being who she was, was punishment enough and spending this long in prison was overkill on the part of the justice system. However, this plan came crumbling down when another inmate who they had been using as a go-between came clean to other officers. Obviously both women and the go-between were taken to court and all received prison sentences. Hindley’s was extended by one year, Cairn’s faced several years and the go-between got 18 months but was cleared through appeal after 6 months. We can’t deny that there is striking difference between Brady and Hindley’s actions during their imprisonment and it is honestly making me think that Hindley was the mastermind not Brady despite what the media says.

We then turn to the prison years of Brady and Hindley from 1974-1985. Hindley’s prison years in this time really highlight her manipulative nature and personality. Despite her escape attempt she continues to pursue different relationships as a form of protection even though she is warned repeatedly about the behaviour. She also petitions to speak or visit with Cairns and is repeatedly denied but she didn’t stop trying. As she has spent nearly twenty years in prison at this point, she begins to petition for her release which doesn’t go well but it doesn’t stir up public interest once more. It is at this point when Hindley was getting a lot of attention in the media that Ian Brady decided to weigh in on the situation and Hindley seems aware of what he is going to do but is under the impression that he won’t because of his lingering affection for her.

Brady’s prison years in the same period were noticeable quieter than Hindley’s. Despite this it didn’t lessen his attempts to move around the system, while he turned away from Broadmoor for a time because he was being housed with younger male inmates, this soon caused concern for the officers and removed Brady from the situation. Brady once again renewed his efforts to get transferred to Broadmoor and things seemed to be moving in his favour but it is also here that he turns on Hindley. Knowing that she is trying to get out he essentially vows she’s never going to get out while he is stuck in prison and begins speaking to detectives about the children that were still missing including Keith Bennett.

By the time the investigation is reignited with both Brady and Hindley admitting there are more bodies on the moors than what was found originally. Hindley tries to use this to advantage by minimising her role in the murders but Brady is brazen in claiming that she could kill in cold blood as well as he could. Eventually, Pauline Reade was found on the moors and laid to rest but Keith Bennett remains have never been found until the day. It is speculated that Keith was special to Brady in some way and the reason he never gave up the location.

We then follow both Brady and Hindley’s remaining time in prison until their deaths. Nothing substantial happens with Hindley during this time but Brady was being pressured for the final body location especially since they had already admitted to the killings. Brady despite being the meeker of the two, shows how cunning he could be with how he makes the detectives run around in circles looking for Keith when he never really had any intention of giving up his location. Overall, this was an informative read and clearly showed why Brady and Hindley belonged in prison until their deaths but it also challenged the media narrative on certain aspects of their personalities and the case itself.

Wow. The Moors Murderers was a book that I read within just a few sittings, due to how the author, Chris Cook told the story. It's very apparent that the author took meticulous notes and wrote such an informative story about the killing spree that Ian Brady and Myra Hindley terrorized children with. The story was absolutely shocking about how awful the crimes were of these two people. It was chilling to see the photos and read the eye witness accounts of the chase of the police to catch these murderers. Excellent read.

Very good insight to the pair with a fair bit of new info I didn’t know, a difficult but necessary book in my opinion which I liked. Very interesting and one to look out for

Many people have heard of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, often referred to as the evilest couple in English history. In the 1960's, they had a two year murder spree as they kidnapped, tortured and then killed young children, burying them on the nearby moors. In this book, Chris Cook outlines the case after extensive research, delineating each murder victim and the murder timeline.

Myra Hindley was an average girl growing up but changed after she met Ian Brady at work. He was a moody, temperamental man who was unpopular at work but she was attracted to him. Soon they were a couple and remained so for several years. Myra would do anything Ian told her to do even though he was also physically and mentally abusive to her. He was racist and idolized the Nazis and Adolf Hitler. He seemed to want to kill someone just for the thrill of it and to have a secret that others knew nothing about.

In all five murders can be tracked to the couple although police feel that there were more than that. The young victims, ten to fourteen, were buried on the moor. The couple took other children to the burial spots but did not kill them. They also took numerous photographs and audio tapes of the murders which helped the police find the graves. They were caught when they killed an older victim in front of Myra's brother-in-law, assuming that he would be on board with their plans. Instead, he and his wife went to the police the next morning and turned the couple in.

This is the first book and is about the actual murders. A second book covers the trials and the imprisonment years of the couple. They remained enthralled with each other for years after their sentencing, writing to each other in code to relive their memories of murder. This book has been extensively researched with photographs of the couple and their victims, many of which have not been available prior to publication. The evil of this couple will ensure that they go down in the annals of true crime as models of depravity and horror yet to the average eye they seemed a common couple. This book is recommended for true crime readers.

I knew this book would be a difficult read, and it was. It took me a few weeks to finish it - I couldn’t read it for long and had to be in a good headspace before delving in.

I’ve seen documentaries over the years, and I find them disturbing but still very intriguing as a true crime fan. This book delves a little deeper, shares some facts I didn’t know before (Myra used to be good with children and used to be relied on as a babysitter…?! Wtf) and is a perfect read for those true crime fans that can stomach things a little darker. (Not a reflection on the writer, purely my limits of what I could stomach)

This book was a very interesting true crime read. I have read a bit about this case before but I still find it hard to read about it in detail, due to the nature of the crimes. I felt that this book was very interesting and I learnt quite a few things about Ian Brady and Myra Hindley that I did not know before.

I was sent this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, so here it is. I read this book in two sittings whilst I was in hospital last year after having a couple of epileptic episodes at home and I thought it was quite a fascinating read. I'm just glad both perpetrators of this heinous crime have since kicked the bucket, especially Ian Brady (no relation, you'll be glad to hear!) who never told Keith Bennett's poor mum where he hid his remains. It does make you wonder why some people set out to kidnap children and then murder them. Just let Brady and Hindley rot six feet under. It's the least they deserve.

As a true crime fan I was expecting a lot from this book but it was a struggle to get through and I almost DNF’d it.

I didn’t know a huge amount about Brady and Hindley before reading this book so wasn’t too concerned about learning something new, which is often an issue with true crime books which can be quite repetitive if you’re familiar with the case. My biggest problem here was with the writing style. I found it inconsistent and lacking any emotion, I’d best describe this book as written like a Wikipedia article and unfortunately it wasn’t for me.

Unfortunately, I have been locked out of my netgalley account for a few months and was not able to see which books I had on my list, in order to properly read and review. I do apologize and am doing a 3 for neutral. Will update once I’m able to obtain a copy and read!

This book details the lives of serial child murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. It describes their childhoods, how they met, and ultimately, their killing spree.

I was particularly shocked when I read that before Myra met Ian, she loved children and was great with them, and she used to babysit. Apparently, this has all changed when she met Ian and she began listening to his ravings and love of Nazi Germany.

There were moments in the book that I found particularly hard to read, especially the descriptions of how they killed the children. They called their murders “sacrifices”, something I found chilling and abhorrent.

The new addition to the book are unseen photographs of the killers, it was quite uneasy watching them in normal situations.

Overall, it’s a well researched book, perfect for fans of true crime.

I normally rate the books I review, but on this occasion I won’t – I feel it’s disrespectful to the victims and their families.

Thank you to Pen and Sword History for approving my NetGalley request to read and review this title.

If you know me at all, you know that I’m a bit of a true crime nut. I like reading up about serial killers and unsolved murders and I like delving into the psychology of all things horrific. It’s morbid, but it’s fascinating to me, just as it is to millions of others, and well. It is what it is. So when I was trawling the true crime section of the netgalley shelves and saw this book, I just had to take my shot at getting a copy!

I’ve read about Ian Brady and Myra Hindley before. I’ve also watched documentary styled in-depth videos on their lives and the horrific crimes they committed. I know quite a bit about this case, so to speak, but I was still intrigued and wanted to see if this book would give me a different account of what happened, or delve deeper into the court proceedings or something else novel. If nothing, I hoped it would just be a recounting of the events, and as someone who doesn’t remember much of anything most of the time, I thought I’d be having an engaging time, either way.

And then I tried to read this book.

And DNFd it at 12%.

Now, I’m usually very forgiving of ARCs that I pick up, because they *are* review copies and it’s the least I can do to, like, finish the book I’ve been generously gifted. Even when writing and narration aren’t all that, I tend to push through and then I vent about them in the review. That’s what I tried to do with this book, too, even though the writing is absolutely unreadable. There’s no narrative voice whatsoever, and the book doesn’t seem to have a point. I truly did hold on, until the recounting of the sexual crimes committed by Ian Brady in his youth started. The details were gratuitous and gory, and again, absolutely pointless. It just seemed like the book was revelling in the violence of it all. It felt disrespectful and disgusting, and I cannot believe someone really picked this book up to be published.

I can usually stomach a lot of stupid shit, honestly, and I realize that with true crime, it’s really hard to omit details when it comes to some of these cases, because they are relevant to the whole…picture you’re trying to paint while recounting the cases. But there’s definitely a tone. There has to be some level of respect while handling these stories. There’s a line you don’t cross, I think. And this book definitely crossed it for me.

Don’t read it, don’t recommend it. And sure as hell don’t buy it. It’s awful and if I could get away with giving it zero stars, I would.

Cook's recounting of the crimes of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley was so extremely thorough. I found this to the be the most detailed and thorough true crime book I have read. The author included direct quotes from those involved with the case as well as case related pictures. Brady and Hindley were truly evil and disturbed people and this book does a good job of detailing their lives and backgrounds while acknowledging that there is no "explanation" or "reasoning" behind their behavior. I was interested to see a second book mentioned at the end that will cover the time these two spent in prison. I think that would be a unique take on something we don't often open the window to peek at.

This accurately and succinctly, yet never drily or without emotion, delivered the harrowing life stories of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, This chronicled their childhoods, their meeting, the crimes they committed, and the justice they were served. The focus on the victims was sensitive and yet this still delivered to the reader all of the facts surrounding the horrors the duo enacted.

I love true crime and this was wonderfully written. Very informative and engaging. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well this was a gruesome, miserable and horrific read. I'm not sure true crime is for me!

I knew very little about the Moors Murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley which is what drew me to this book when I saw it on netgalley. This book is certainly a very detailed account on both of them, their lives before they met and the absolutely atrocious crimes they committed.

It was a tough read, like a really really tough read. It took me 3 months to read it. As it was on netgalley I didn't have pages numbers, I thought this book must be like 400 pages, it's taking me forever to read. According to Story graph it's 224 pages!! But it was just too much for me to really read more than a few pages at a time.

The book was very informative and I've achieved what I set out to, which was to learn more about them. Now I'd be quite happy to never hear their names again

There isn’t much you can say about two people when they seem to literally be born without souls. Some say we are all born innocent, that pure evil does not exist. I believe these two individuals were not born evil but embraced it so fully they literally became embodiments of it. There’s no other explaination for the levels of cruelty, callousness and depravity this chilling boom so faithfully chronically. I pity the author in some ways and admire him in others for his ability to put himself so fully into the minds of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. This book is intoxicating, one you can’t put down, but at the same time will never feel wholly safe after delving into.

DNF at 48%

There is no reason to have a "cropped" picture of a terrified child in the act of being tortured being placed in a book about her murders.

Absolutely not.

If you're interested in this case, Stephanie Harlow has a three part series about the relationship history of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.

True crime is my jam. Everyone that truly knows me knows that I am always with one AirPod on listening to one of my true crime podcasts or a true-crime audiobook. For the longest time, I wanted to be a psychiatric nurse. Trying to understand the despicable things humans are capable of is incredibly interesting and disturbing at the same time. There's the real eye-opener and wake-up call for everyone. It makes you watch your back and always be alert. This story is no different in that aspect. Great format and amazingly well researched.