The Murder of Judith Roberts by Chris Clark and Tanita Matthews is a true crime book about Judith Roberts who was only 14 year old girl who took off for a bike ride within the vicinity of her Staffordshire home in the summer of 1972, Her body was discovered after a three-day manhunt, concealed from view in a thick privet having been brutally attacked. The community of Tamworth was rocked by the news of her death and an outcry for justice ensued.

Within weeks of her murder, an impressionable and troubled soldier, based in the nearby barracks, 17-year-old Andrew Evans, walked into a police station and confessed to the killing. Relentlessly interviewed for hours on end without representation or an appropriate adult present, Andrew was swiftly charged with Judith's murder. Despite attempting to recount his statement and a legal defence at trial that defied the prosecution's arguments that Andrew Evans was guilty, a judge sentenced him to life behind bars. He was eventually acquitted in 1997 in what was, at the time, Britain's longest miscarriage of justice.

While Andrew Evans fought for his freedom, another man drove up and down England undetected:

Peter William Sutcliffe. Eventually proven capable of inflicting unimaginable horror at any given opportunity, an independent inquiry dubbed him likely responsible for more murders than the 13 he was convicted of and the seven others he attempted between 1975 and 1980.

This book was a very interesting read and I am so glad I had the chance to read and review it.

Big thank you to NetGalley and especially Pen and Sword True Crime for my ARC.

Reminding us of the brutal murder of a 14 year old schoolgirl for which an innocent man Andrew Evans served over 20 years in prison but which is generally 'accredited' to Peter Sutcliff, the 'Yorkshire Ripper'. Quite repetitive in places and I am not sure the detailed descriptions and information of various towns and areas really added much to the otherwise excellent research and writing of the two authors.
Unfortunately we will probably never know for sure who was culpable of this terrible crime.
My thanks to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for this arc in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

ARC provided by Pen & Sword (True Crime) in exchange for an honest review.

In The Murder of Judith Roberts (The Mark of Peter Sutcliffe), Chris Clark and Tanita Matthews revisit the tragic case of Judith Roberts, examining possible connections to Peter Sutcliffe, infamously known as the Yorkshire Ripper. This meticulously researched book is both a chilling true-crime narrative and a compelling exploration into the unsolved elements surrounding Roberts’ murder, revealing new insights that will captivate both true-crime aficionados and those familiar with Sutcliffe’s history.

Clark and Matthews skillfully weave historical context with investigative detail, presenting fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions surrounding the case. The book navigates through complex investigative challenges and the nuances of forensic advancements, illuminating how these might have influenced earlier conclusions. Their research and dedication to uncovering hidden details shine throughout, creating an immersive, respectful tribute to the victim’s story.

At times, the forensic depth might feel heavy for casual readers, but true-crime enthusiasts will appreciate the authors’ commitment to detail. With thoughtful narrative flow and well-supported insights, The Murder of Judith Roberts is an absorbing, thought-provoking read that raises important questions about justice, evidence, and the impact of unresolved cases on victims and society alike.

A well researched book on the crime. It makes you feel for the victims and their justice. A wrong conviction and the one who deserved to be convicted. A well presented and narrated book.

Thank you Pen & Sword and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

I was very excited to start this book, but it did take me quite a while to get through. It read more as a book outlining Peter Sutcliffe and his crimes, than the murder of Judith herself. While it was very detailed, sometimes this took away from the story, like when the area and towns were explained in great detail. This attention to detail in turn was super interesting when it came to the outlining of the actual murders. My main struggle with this book was how repetetive it was at times. A little recap is not a problem, but sometimes it felt as if I was reading the exact same paragraph as a chapter ago. All in all I do think it is a super interesting book, but it is not one of my favourite true crime reads.

Britain’s Longest Injustice Ever Served.

The Murder of Judith Roberts by Chris Clark and Tanita Mathews is the story of a 14-year-old girl who was brutally murdered in the summer of 1972 in Tamworth England. A few weeks later a 17-year-old young man with a lot of issues called Andrew Evans was arrested, charged and sentenced to life in prison. Evans was eventually acquitted 24 years later as Britain’s longest injustice ever served.
Mathews and Clark do an excellent job and research on Peter Sutcliff and the unknown victims of this serial killer. The book is a compelling argument as to why they think Sutcliff could be Judith Roberts murderer. There were plenty of flaws in the initial investigation which led to the wrongful imprisonment of Evans. This is an excellent read and is still a very disturbing book about all the women attacked and murdered by Sutcliff. It is professionally researched and defiantly a book for true crime readers. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Received this book from NetGalley! I love, love, love true crime so was excited to read this. The book itself had some great info and research, and I did like the story. I had to only give it 3 stars for a few reasons. I felt like it did repeat itself more than a few times, and not like later in the book as a recap it was usually a paragraph or so later and it felt like it said the same exact thing. While this is titled as the story about Judith’s murder, I felt like most of the story was about Sutcliffe (which was great background and information to give and did well for the book) than about Judith’s case. There also was way more back story about the cities and areas than needed (IMO). I honesty feel like I skipped a few of those paragraphs about how the cities came about and didn’t miss a thing. I also wished the pictures would have been more in the middle of the book as opposed to the end. In the end it was still a good story.

I was lucky enough to be gifted a copy of this book by NetGalley and Pen and Sword True Crime publishing in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells the story of Judith Roberts - "In the Summer of 1972, 14-year-old Judith Roberts took off for a bike ride within the vicinity of her Staffordshire home. Her body was discovered after a three-day manhunt, concealed from view in a thick privet having been brutally attacked. The community of Tamworth was rocked by the news of her death and an outcry for justice ensued."

A few weeks later a local man, from the near by army barracks, 17-year-old Andrew Evans was arrested and charged with murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. . He was eventually acquitted in 1997 in what was, at the time, Britain's longest miscarriage of justice. Looking back at the arrest, police records and court documents it is quite obvious that this man should never have been charged nor treated in the way he was by the police or justice system.

Tanita Matthews has obviously carried out some brilliant and painstaking research into Sutcliffe with the help of Chris Clark who has written previous books about unknown victims. Including Yorkshire Ripper - The Secret Murders: The True Story of Serial Killer Peter Sutcliffe's Reign of Terror which is well worth reading and was also made into a television programme. The edvidence presented is thorough and unarguable. The only negative about the book for me, is that some sections because a little repetitive and the same victims and crime scenes were repeated throughout the book and it is only 192 pages this seemed unnecessary.

I love the fact that books like this are still be written and published that in the hope one day Judith Roberts parents and other families out there get answers about how their loved ones died and finally be able to put them to rest properly. There is almost no doubt that Judith was another victim of this man. I just wish there was someway these victims could get the closure they need. And Sutcliffe could be help accountable for all he has done. The investigation work in this book alone proves that we should always keep opening cold cases and re testing and researching records and any samples.

I have always been interested in what makes someone become a serial killer. And have read various books and articles about Peter Sutcliffe over the years. The more I read about this man, the more I am appalled about how he was left to get away with some many other crimes because of police failings. I don't think we will ever truly begin to know how many crimes he successfully committed or even attempted.
As I grow older and read more about his approach to his victims and locations he visited, I could have quite easily been one of those unfortunate souls, walking home alone after a night out with friends or being approached by a handsome man in a bar not knowing the true evil that lurked beneath. And I think because of this it has become a bit or a morbid fascination for me.
He also has links to my local area, his remains were scattered in the sea in Arnside, close to where his fathers had been some years before. I remember there being total outrange in the local community at the time.

The Westmoreland Gazette at the time quoted - The ashes of Sutcliffe's father John were scattered in Arnside in 2004 in a ceremony that the murderer was refused permission to attend.
But his visit the following year sparked local fury after authorities allowed him to grieve at the site under the supervision of prison staff on a day-trip from his Broadmoor high-security hospital cell. The visit was said to be permitted 'on compassionate grounds'.

MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale in 2005, Tim Collins, said at the time: "It is both breathtaking and despicable that a serial killer should be brought to Arnside because he was apparently feeling depressed. "There is a real risk both that local people will feel threatened and that potential tourists may feel put off coming."

The fact that this man should find peace at sea or anywhere is abhorrent to me. And sadly the beautiful coastal village has been tainted somewhat ever since.

I received a free copy of, The Murder of Judith Roberts, by Chris Clark, Tanita Matthews, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Its 1972 in England and only 14 years old Judith Roberts has been brutally murdered. Andrews Evans confessed to the murder, even though he did not commit the crime, Peter Sutcliffe did. This was a sad story, poor Judith Roberts murdered so young, and Andrew Evans with his own issues wrongfully convicted. Im so glad the man who did the actual killings is now being held accountable. This was a good but sad read.

The Murder of Judith Roberts is a gripping true crime investigation that delves into the tragic case of 14-year-old Judith Roberts, who was brutally murdered in 1972. The book meticulously examines the evidence and presents a compelling argument that Peter Sutcliffe, infamously known as the Yorkshire Ripper, was the true perpetrator12.

Clark and Matthews provide a detailed narrative that not only explores the crime itself but also highlights the flaws in the initial investigation, which led to the wrongful imprisonment of Andrew Evans for 24 years. The book is immensely readable despite covering a lot of ground, and some disturbing crimes.

The authors’ thorough research and engaging writing style make this book a must-read for true crime enthusiasts and for those who are interested in how investigations can go badly awry with such serious consequences,

We firmly believe that there is not an expiration date on truth and justice - Chris Clark & Tanita Matthews

In the Summer of 1972, 14-year-old Judith Roberts took off for a bike ride within the vicinity of her Staffordshire home. Her body was discovered three days later in a field adjacent to the road, and a subsequent postmortem concluded she had been beaten to death.

The Murder of Judith Roberts: The Mark of Peter Sutcliffe by Chris Clark and Tanita Matthews takes the reader inside the case, from the confession of 17-year-old Andrew Evans, to his fight for freedom and subsequent acquittal.

They put forth their theories based on years of research, that maybe Judith along with many others just may well have been victims of the infamous Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe.

This book starts off a little shaky, but once you get past all the geographical history, it becomes quite interesting. The authors clearly show links between unsolved murders and the murders committed by Sutcliffe, who was convicted of brutally murdering thirteen women and the attempted murders of seven others between 1975 and 1980.

The end of the book tends to be a bit repetitive, but overall I felt this was an interesting read on unsolved murders of young ladies that were potentially victims of the Yorkshire Ripper.

A fascinating and incitful read about a case that has gone under the radar. All of the evidence is investigated and used to reflect their opinion. There have been many books on Peter Sutcliffe and his victims and crimes. Whilist I understand the emphasis on him in this at times this felt Judith murder eas an afterthought as there was so much background. I would have liked to have known more about Judith and the wrong accused this focused on evidence and forgot about Judith as a person. It is highly recommended and there should be more public information about these.
Thank netgallery and publisher and authors. This is perfect for true crime lovers but be warned the facts are still as disturbing today as they wre then.

A great read if you are a true crime fan. This is a brilliant edition to any fans book shelve
Thankyou for the copy of this

This is a well-researched and in-depth analysis of the work done to find the killer of Judith Roberts. The author puts forth his own well-backed assumptions of who the killer is. It points out a lot of the mistakes made by investigators during the course of the investigation. Some of them were a lack of the knowledge we are now privileged with, some of them were poor police work even then. Very interesting!

This was a respectfully written true crime nonfiction book, it had that educational element that I was looking for. Chris Clark and Tanita Matthews wrote this perfectly and you could tell the research was done perfectly. I didn't know a lot about this case and thought it was researched well and glad I was able to learn about this.

While this book initially looked interesting to me, I didn’t feel that I really got into it the same way I have with other true crime books. I also came to realise I really did not want to read about this subject matter right now, too heinous of a crime and too disturbing and sad. Thanks for the opportunity to reF this book, it just wasn’t for me.

I’m a big fan of true crime and this title was of particular interest as I lived near the area at the time of Judith Roberts murder and recall the case. This book is a real eye opener. I remember there were doubts about the conviction of Evan’s at the time and an innocent man spent many years incarcerated, trying to prove his innocence. But what was worse was that the real killer was still at large, free to continue his killing spree.

I find it disgraceful the Laurence Byford’s report was suppressed for decades. That’s so wrong. There has long been a belief that Sutcliffe was responsible for numerous other murders. These have not been fully explored but this book makes a truly compelling case. It deserves a wide audience.
Clark is a former police intelligence officer. He and his Co author have conducted extensive and meticulous research including an independent pathologist review of evidence. This is a story which reads like a thriller, but it’s chilling as it’s all true and the people are real. Detailed and well written a must for true crime enthusiasts but also a fascinating slice of very recent social history.

In the Summer of 1972, 14-year-old Judith Roberts took off for a bike ride within the vicinity of her Staffordshire home. Her body was discovered after a three-day manhunt, concealed from view in a thick privet having been brutally attacked. The community of Tamworth was rocked by the news of her death and an outcry for justice ensued.

This is a well written, well researched book. It’s obvious that there are gaping holes in the investigation and particularly the interviews of Evans. These were clearly definite failings but it is meticulously documented in this book. I enjoyed reading it and it was excellent and easy to follow the theory surrounding the case. A great read and the introduction of Sutcliffe isdefinitely food for thought.

A very interesting book which goes into incredible detail about police procedures and the law as it was at the time of the crimes. I enjoyed reading the theories and how the authors came to their positions on the cases. It seemed very well researched and thought through. As always with Chris Clark’s work, the victims are treated respectfully and their importance never forgotten.