After human remains were found at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester, husband and wife Fred and Rose West were arrested on suspicion of the murder of their daughter. Little did the police know what they were about to discover. What followed was one of the most horrific murder cases Britain has ever seen with the murders of at least 12 girls and women (two of them their own daughters) being attributed to the couple. Inside the Mind of Rose West looks at the case as a whole, posing the question whether Fred was, indeed, the driving force or whether Rose played a much more key role in everything that happened.

Over the years, I have read many books on Fred and Rose West but this brings a new perspective on what actually happened. By telling the life stories of Fred and Rose chronologically, the authors really help to build up a clear picture of their lives before they met and how depravity followed them both through life from an early age. With Rose West never speaking about her crimes, it is difficult to actually get inside her mind as the title of the book suggests, but we do certainly get more of an insight into the serial killer.

One of the things I liked most about this book is that the victims are treated more than just names in the life story of the Wests. Here, we discover more about the women and girls, their families and the lives they would have led if they had never met Rose and Fred. It is important to give the victims of crime a voice and the authors certainly do this here – I really felt I developed a clearer picture of the victims, something I have never felt after reading other books on the subject.

If this is the sort of topic that interests you, I have no hesitation in recommending Inside the Mind of Rose West.

I found this to be a fascinating read.
I feel like this is a case not wildly discussed in America. I only heard about it for the first time on the podcast MORBID.
The podcast did a great job at introducing me to the absolute depravity of the case.
My interest has been peaked in this case ever sense.
This book did a great job of laying out who Rose and Fred were and how they came to be the scum they ended up.
I really think this book was able to really honor the victims well.
These books that look into the minds of some of the most depraved humans are important, but please check your trigger warnings first to see if this book will be right for you.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

I'm not really sure how best to summarise this book since there's not really much I could say that people wouldn't already know! And if you don't know the story of Fred and Rose West, have you been living under a rock?

That said, it was interesting to read a book focused on Rose instead of her and Fred, or her as an afterthought to Fred. It is very clear that she was just as evil as Fred, if not more so! I found this an easy read, so it was quick and easy to get through whilst giving you plenty of important and interesting information about the case.

I’ve read a number of books about the Wests and this is one of the best. I’m interested in true crime; not the gore, but trying to get some insight into what motivates people to commit such appalling crimes. Are they mad or bad? In the rare case of partnership killers, is there a leader? How do they feed off one another. In the mid 1980s, I had a trade stand at a traction engine rally in a field near Ledbury. It was a fine afternoon and I remember an odd family coming to look over my tables. I assumed it was mother, father and a ragbag of kids; he was swarthy, grubby and short. She was wearing an incongruous mix of plaid skirt, short grubby white socks and sandals and large glasses. The kids were all over the place and I was sure they were pilfering whilst the adults tried to engage me small talk. They left but their presence in my memory remained. It wasn’t until years later I realised it was the West family and in a strange way, it’s remained a rather haunting memory.

This book brings the whole family to life. It’s difficult to imagine what it was like to live in a home with psychopathic parents. Their idea of ‘normal’ was one with no moral compass and the surviving children must be badly scarred. That said, as far as I’m aware, they haven’t displayed similar characteristics. Fred was an inveterate liar. Rose was and is a manipulator and by no means a subjugated follower. Their paths crossed and the rest is history.

This is a detailed account of the when and how. The crimes are appalling. Rose West was a victim from an early age, but it’s still difficult to understand how that enabled her to normalise her later approach to life. Some things are beyond understanding but learning about them gives valuable
insight into the human psyche. There’s an extensive bibliography as source reference and ideal for further reading. This is a comprehensive account of the life and times of the West family and those they murdered and abused. It’s uncomfortable reading at times, but it’s not gratuitous. There are new insights and this will interest anyone who likes true crime.

I love true crime and I have always been fascinated with serial killers especially ones from the UK. The Wests have held a long fascination for me as my great grandparents lived on Cromwell Street.
This provided a good knowledge base some of which wasn't new to me but a lot that was and I like that it concentrated on just Rose as I have always found her so interesting but so chilling

Inside the mind of Rose West: Wife, Mother, Monster by Tanya Farber and Jeremy Daniel is a well written, shocking and heartbreaking book. The author's managed to strike a delicate balance of informing us about Rose and Fred West's lives as well as honoring the victims and their lives. It was fascinating to read how both Fred and Rose West came from really screwed up home lives yet they were the only known ones to turn to this level of depravity and murder. It is shocking and heartbreaking to learn how many of the murders could have been prevented if people just paid attention and did their jobs. If you are a fan of reading true crime or just interested to know more about this infamous case then this is the read for you.

Thank you to Tanya Farber and Jeremy Daniel along with Gemini books for providing NetGalley with an Advanced Reader Copy. I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

I found this a good read. Lots of detail specifically about Rose which was interesting. I think hands off to her children who survived an awful horrific childhood. I sometimes feel these kind of books are written with too much gratuitous violence

Really interesting and helpfully concise, but incredibly sickening at points. I wouldn't say this is focused on her mindset though, but it is informative as to what happened

The entire dark saga of Fred West and his serial killing, began on his own but ended with his partner in crime, Rose West.

Rosemary West found a very bad man, made him worse, and discovered in herself the darkest of capabilities.

Inside the Mind of Rose West by Tanya Farber and Jeremy Daniel, takes you inside the House of Horrors, letting the walls of 25 Cromwell Street do the talking.

I still vividly remember the first time I read about this case, it has stuck with me to this day and it has been a while since I have read anything on Fred and Rose that was not written by their own children, in their books they have released over the years.

I really liked the layout of this book. The story was well told. The facts were given but not sensationalised. I will definitely be purchasing a physical hard copy of this book for my own collection.

The crimes committed by both Fred and Rosemary West were beyond horrific, however IMO this is an important case to talk about. Especially when it comes to child abuse. How many people could have saved these children from the horrors then endured, how many lives could have been spared if those who came in and out of Cromwell street said something….

How intense it was to read this book because you know that you are not reading any fiction... it is all real, and it must have been much more raw and ruthless in reality, but here, at least that is what I felt, although they tell us the things that Many others have happened and they leave them aside. Out of respect, because it is not necessary to know the details, but one imagines it, and suffers.

I think these types of books are super necessary. Personally, I did not know the history of any of the people presented here. Neither from the ruthless couple who decided to play with the girls' lives nor from them. And that was and continues to be a story that resonates quite strongly.

I can't criticize a book of this style, I can only be grateful that they were written, wish that people like that didn't exist, and hope that none of this happens again. But women are increasingly vulnerable, even though they want us to believe otherwise.

We will continue fighting, we will continue telling our reality, the reality of women... and we will fight. For our freedom, for our peace. Because we are not free. And these books show us that.

Thank you Gemini Books Group for the ARC I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had never heard of this case so it was all very fresh for me. It did take me a little longer to finish because the details were so horrendous I had to take breaks. I highlighted and made many notes while reading but the one that encompasses the case the best is “when you think it can’t get worse… it does”

“What remains one of the most baffling aspects of the gruesome story is the number of times anyone with half an eye or interest could have figured out what was happening and put a stop to it.”

The frustration I felt while reading this case is unlike any I’ve ever experienced before. The amount of times someone in a place of authority could have made a difference by simply asking more questions is enough to make you scream. I really appreciated the background on the victims (even if there wasn’t much.) I also think it was important to highlight the terrors the West children experienced at the hands of their parents as well.

I do recommend reading this book if you are interested in true crime or this case specifically. I’ve already recommended it to my sister.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Gemini Books Group for a copy of this ARC, in return for an honest review! ✝️🩵

My thanks to Gemini Books Group and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Inside the Mind of Rose West – Wife, Mother, Monster’ written by Jeremy Daniel and Tanya Farber in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Rosemary Pauline Letts is fifteen years old when she meets Fred West at a bus stop in Cheltenham and although she isn’t particularly attracted to him it isn’t long before they start living together, firstly in a cramped caravan, then a flat in Midland Road and finally at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester. It’s at this house where Fred alters the layout to make more rooms for enticing single female lodgers, and puts in a room used only by Rose for plying her ‘trade’ while he watches through peepholes.

‘Inside the Mind of Rose West’ is a well-researched and carefully written account of Rose and Fred’s horrific crimes that’s been accurately compiled without any sensationalising. It gives the history of Rose from childhood with her depressed mother and abusive father, through adolescence when she’ll sleep with men for money, to the fateful day she meets Fred West and their reign of abuse, terror and murder is set in motion.

This book is a harrowing read as it gives graphic details of the shocking treatment meted out to their children, and although the Wests committed crimes at various addresses 25 Cromwell Street, later known as the House of Horrors, will always be an address synonymous with pure evil. I’m pleased that the house was demolished following the search for bodies as the excavations made it unsafe. Throughout the book I was appalled at how these poor children were dismally failed not only by the police but by social services, educators, medical staff and the residential homes they were intermittently placed in; no one listened to them!

A good look into the mind of one of the most evil people to ever exist. This is a scary woman, the amount of stuff she did to her own children and other people and was still able to say she was innocent.

This was hard to read due to the subject matter. ( I had to break it up a bit and read some lighter stuff in between.) What the Wests did to their own children, and all those other females, was absolutely horrific. This book seemed to be really well researched—the authors gave us a lot of info without bogging down the story.

This was a harrowing read. It was very well written and informative, it didn't bog you down with information however I still learned a lot about both Rose & Fred West and their horrific crimes.

I love that the author went into detail about the victims and their lives, rather than the entire focus being on Rose/Fred. I consider myself well versed in true crime, and thought I already knew a lot about this case but there was a lot of information covered here that I wasn't aware of.

I'd recommend to anyone that enjoys true crime.

An absolutely vile and horrific subject but a compelling read none the less. The book is extremely well put together. It's concise and doesn't bog you down with too much detail. There's no avoiding how depraved and graphic the crimes were but it's done without glorifying it.

This book is very disturbing but I guess that's the point. It was a pretty quick read, I did want to finish it once I started it.

This was a well-researched and respectable account of two horrific people, their gruesome crimes, and the victims slain in their wake. Be prepared for this one because Rose and Fred held nothing back in their brutality. I'm A true crime Jimmy and I found some these accounts too hard to get through.

I’ve read “Love As Always, Mum” by Mae West so was looking forward to reading this to delve more into the mind of the abhorrent Rose West.

This really focussed on Rose and Fred’s home life when they were children and how this could have come to shape who they eventually became.

It’s a heartbreaking read as you can imagine and I did like the focus on the victims giving more details about them, not what happened to them, but their life before and what hardships they faced.

For any true crime fan I would definitely recommend this for more insight into the twisted mind of Rose West.

Wow! This book is crazy, it had me shocked by what I was reading! This is a heart wrenching story, poor children! Such a thrilling book!