I was expecting a bit more detail, so perhaps this is just not a great book for me but would be excellent for those who want a quick overview of some of the sordid/criminal past of the great city of London. Overall, I enjoyed the book and appreciated how it was set up (by crime) with location/map markings as well as descriptive of what the area once was/has become over time. I also appreciated the sensitivity of the authors in their decision not to promote any of the areas of criminal activity post-1975. This would be a fun addition to those already exploring London who want to know a little more of the "dark" history.

As a big fan of true crime as well as English history (and history in general), there is something essential about understanding the setting, WHERE the crime or event happened. And this book is a treasure-trove as it provides you with the crime, as well as where it happened. This works well as a guide book for your next trip to London, and also as an account of crimes that might not be on your radar. The book could stand another round of editing, but otherwise I found this very interesting. 4 stars.

It is London. In all its dark, haunting, mysterious, criminal, glorious past. A unique guide, rich in information and embellished with impressive photographs. Highly recommended!

I am an avid true crime fan and I love exploring London so this book was a winning combination for me, this will definitely come in handy when I visit London again in December and explore the places mentioned in the book.

This book was gripping and hard to put down. It didn't feel like everything else you see out there, it felt very fresh. I really enjoyed this book!

I highly recommend this for other people who enjoy local history, and for people who enjoy the history of crime. In a way, it was a depressing list of terrible things people have done to each other, but it was so fascinating to read what happened to the criminals and see the physical places where these crimes occurred. This would be a fun book to use as a personal guide to get a whole new perspective on this exciting and energetic city. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

London has a long and fascinating history which has not always been pleasant; it has been peppered with murderers, shoplifters, smugglers, prostitutes, grave robbers and highwaymen.
Learn about the darker side of the history of this great city through the buildings and sites on London streets which remain standing to tell the story.

This is quite a short book but it is packed with useful information. It’s well written and would be perfect for a crime tour of the London hot spots. For anyone interested this is a great read.

This book is a true crime resource containing stories and the location where crimes were committed in London before 1975. The writing is repetitive, with incomplete sentences and pictures that do not match the crime location discussed, which made reading a little confusing. While this was an advance copy or proof, errors will be fixed, and I recommend the hardcover over the digital book. However, I enjoyed the history and obscure facts throughout the text.

The book's first half presents the crimes and their locations, while the second half reorganizes this information for practical use. This second section is particularly useful for those interested in creating self-made tours based on the crimes and locations or for personal interest in crime subjects. The photographs provided throughout the book are a great visual aid for your tour. Despite the book's 200-page length, you'll find about 100 pages of practical information.

This book is a must-read for Anglophile crime lovers. It's a great resource for planning your tour of historical crime sites in London. I recommend it for readers who want a self-directed tour of famous historical crime sites in London, complete with pictures and address information, including postal codes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword—White Owl Publishing for the advanced reader's copy (DRC) in exchange for my honest opinion.

It has potential to be better and needs better editing. Lots of paragraphs stop mid sentence. Stories jump around too much as the focus is on locations and not chronology. This makes it difficult to read.

This book doesn't work well as an ebook and there were several paragraphs that stopped mid sentence so lots of information was missing.
The premise of this book is good and I like that it's short and precise and doesn't bog you down with too much detail. My issue with it is that it focuses on locations and orders them in a way that makes sense if you were doing a walking tour. However the story then doesn't make sense as it jumps about due to the location. A good editor would probably find a way for this to work but as it stands it just didn't work for me.

The True Crime Lover's Guide to London by Brian Billington and Charlotte Booth contains snapshots of 65 crime sprees over a period of 700 years, ending in 1975 (out of respect for families). Highlighted are 299 sites divided into three parts which are in date order, fascinating to read but even more compelling to visit. There are organized true crime tours as well as DIY sites, some known, others less common or unknown.

Learn more about body snatching, robberies, the woman who stole and wore three fur coats out of the store, an ex-debutante who smuggled contraband, disguises, false walls, selling coffin wood and nails, murders, prisons to visit, Bow Street Museum, cemeteries, bone houses, pubs home to violence, and murder locations. Though several names (people, locations) were familiar to me, many weren't. Countless London adventures await!

I love London. Next time I will be armed with new-to-me historical information and site descriptions, making my time even richer. If like me you are almost desperate to discover what's hidden behind closed and locked doors in London, this book is for you. I appreciate that useful photographs and tips are included.

My sincere thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this engrossing book.

The True Crime Lovers Guide To London by Brian Billington and Charlotte Booth this book is full of true crime stories in and around London their crimes from the past in a little bit more recent and everything from robbery to murder. I could read books like this all day and sometimes I do but in this book I found the way it was written distracting for example when talking about one of the thieves from the 40 elephants or any place once she named the place she also puts the address even if she’s already previously stated it. It also seem like some stories would be cut off while she would comment on another story and then abruptly with no fanfare go back to the original story. I really enjoy reading about True Crime whether it be robbery or the most vicious murder and I totally understand given peoples names and death and birth dates but constantly mentioning the full address and history of a building that keeps coming up to me seemed unnecessary. Having said that if you can weed through all the excess information a lot of these stories are not well known in any capacity and I think would thrill a true crime lover.#PenAndSwordHistory, #NetGalley, #CharlotteBooth,#BrianBillington, #TheTrueCrimeLoversGuideToLondon,

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, White Owl Publishing, Charlotte Booth, and Brian Billington for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

London is one of my favorite places to travel to. In the past few years, I’ve been there about five times and still feel there is so much more there to see. I’ve ridden the hop-on, hop-off bus a number of times and love hearing the stories behind many of the places around the city. With that in mind, I approached The True Crime Lover’s Guide to London as a possible tool to use the next time I’m in the city.

Upon reading it, I could see the book being used from two perspectives. The first half of the book is a guide to locations based on crimes. Trying to be sensitive, the authors did not focus on any murders after 1975. There were plenty of other crimes to highlight, though. Some of the infamous robberies that took place I had never heard of and it was a bit humorous to read about the female gangs that were present in the mid-20th century.

The second half of the book was the crimes by location. It was really just a different sorting order with the same information as the other half. I found this part to be the one I would pay attention to if I were a true crime lover in London. I have been to some of the locations they highlight. I can’t remember if I was told any information that’s in this book, though. It does honestly portray the connections to various crimes, even clearing up rumors about one of the pubs I’ve been to several times.

This last section also helps people interested in creating their own tours of true crime locations in London. There are pub crawls and walking tours highlighted making it easy for readers to plan their day based on what interests them. There’s some overlap with churches, cemeteries, former prisons, and the like.

I liked The True Crime Lover’s Guide to London for what it was. At 200 pages, you’re actually only getting 100 pages (or less) of information and the rest is a repetition of the information being sorted a different way. There are also pictures of many of the locations, making it easy to find the place a reader might be looking for. Far from complete, it’s still interesting for people who are true crime fans.

This works best as a guide book to take with you on a trip to London. It attempts to be as respectful as possible considering the subject matter, with only historic murders (50+ years ago or more) being covered.

More of travel guide than a literary read, The True Crime Lover's Guide to London by Brian Billington and Charlotte Booth would be a handy tool if you were to travel to London. With colorful images and tidbits on every page, it leads you through the history of London's more seedy side, and give your small tidbits of each location listed within.

Do not expect to be able to sit down and read this simply as a book. You could do that of course, but it would be more useful to you if you were to use it as a guide when you travel. I know I personally would make sure this book was in my luggage were I too travel to London.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Pen & Sword for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. Find this on shelves on August 30,2024.

Anyone who is interested in true crime will find this book to be a treat. Pick your crime, pick your neighborhood, and explore London. Each entry gives just enough detail to whet the interest of the reader and make them want to visit the scene of the crime.

This book has a lot of interesting info on many sites and stories about crime in London. It provides addresses for easy locating using online maps. Lots of history and pictures of some sites that are still standing. Some repetition near the end, but overall a decent read.

I found this to be a very interesting, if not a bit morbid book about the various crimes committed in London a long time ago. There is also pre-set tours that can be followed upon a visit to London. Beautifully photographed.

5 stars

This is a fantastic travel resource for any true crime aficionado who wants to set their own pace and tour of some of London's most recognised, reviled and revered historical true crime locations. It's set up in two useful ways - in the first half of the book you can find locations summarised based on the types of crimes that were committed (theft, murder, treason, etc.) and how each particular site is linked. You'll find there's plenty of overlap for certain sites like jails, cemeteries, pubs, churches and courthouses. Plus, actual address info with postal codes is also included to help with personal GPS navigation. The second half of the book has everything divided into sections of the city for themed DIY tours, where to find the true crime museums, heck there's even a DIY pub crawl of some of the more notorious taverns and gin palaces.

Throughout the guide there are plenty of photos provided, which are mostly courtesy of the authors themselves. Many of these infamous sites no longer have the original buildings at said locations - many having been demolished or refurbished over the intervening years - so the photos of current businesses, flats, stations and parks will help immensely with navigation. I really enjoyed the photos, as well as all the fascinating tidbits of history and little-known facts that are sprinkled throughout the whole guide.

The expected publication date is 30 August 2024. Being a hardcore Anglophile and true crime aficionado myself, whenever I take my next trip to London I will certainly be making sure that this handy dandy travel guide is stowed safely in my suitcase!

Thank you to NetGalley, authors Charlotte Booth and Brian Billington, and White Owl Publishing for this advanced digital readers copy. All opinions are my own.

An interesting concept which does not translate well in kindle format. I suspect this is one to be read in hard copy only.