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Books > Fiction > True stories
'I knew dogs could make a difference to the children's lives. I
knew it the moment I watched a little boy, exhausted by pain and
sickness, stretch out his hand to touch my dog's paw, and then...he
smiled.' Lyndsey Uglow has endured and overcome mental health
challenges and much personal pain, including her young son's battle
with Leukaemia. Lyndsey knows only too well the emotional
rollercoaster experienced by parents supporting their children
through critical illness, but she also knows just how much the
company of dogs can alleviate just some of their worry and pain.
The healing bond with dogs that helped her, she now shares with
others - in the shape of a dynasty of exceptional Golden
Retrievers, including the incredible Leo. Since 2012, Lyndsey has
made it possible for therapy dogs to visit more than 10,000
children, many critically ill, bringing smiles of simple joy and a
sense of normality to lives ruled by pain, sadness and uncertainty
in paediatric intensive care, cancer wards and palliative care. Leo
has also faced his own battles. After suffering a serious injury on
a beach run, he was saved by a pioneering technique which restored
him to full health for the sake of the children who were missing
him so much. This is Lyndsey and Leo's story and how they have
brought the extraordinary healing powers of dogs to others; while
sharing the stories of just some of the thousands of children for
whom a soft paw or wet nose has brought comfort, care, laughter and
joy at the darkest of times.
It began with a frantic 911 call from a woman in a dusty Arizona
border town. A gang claiming to be affiliated with the Border
Patrol had shot her husband and daughter. It was initially assumed
that the murders were products of border drug wars ravaging the
Southwest until the leader of one of the more prominent offshoots
of the Minutemen movement was arrested for plotting the home
invasion as part of a scheme to finance a violent antigovernment
border militia. And Hell Followed With Her: Crossing to the Dark
Side of the American Border is award-winning journalist David
Neiwert's riveting account of the life and death of America's
Minutemen- and the terrifying story and psychology of movement
leader Shawna Forde. A compulsive and brilliant portrait of
cold-blooded killers and true believers, And Hell Followed With Her
is at once a horrifying crime story and a frontline report on
America's nativist foot soldiers.
The New York Times bestselling True Crime Files series continues
with this haunting collection of the dangers lurking among those we
trust the most-from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The
Stranger Beside Me. Doomed relationships and deadly betrayals are
at the heart of this unputdownable collection of true cases from
the personal files of Ann Rule, "America's best true-crime writer"
(Kirkus Reviews). First is one of the most tragic unsolved crimes
of the last twenty years: the disappearance of Susan Powell and the
murder of her two young sons. With in-depth research and clear-eyed
compassion, Rule leaves no stone unturned as she searches for the
truth in this shocking story. Rule also chronicles the strange tale
of a Coronado, California mansion that was the site of two
horrifying deaths only days apart: a billionaire's son's plunge
from a balcony and his girlfriend's hanging. Although the cases are
quickly closed, baffling questions remain. In these and seven other
riveting cases, Ann Rule exposes the twisted truth behind the
facades of Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors.
Ralph Daugherty is a computer programmer who was drawn to the
Chandra Levy case based on coverage of the critical clues to her
disappearance found on Chandra's computer. He has posted over 7,000
comments as rd on Chandra boards on the Internet and has set up his
own board dedicated to Chandra Levy, Laci Peterson, and missing
women at www.justiceforchandra.com.
He has now pulled together the reported facts with his analysis
and questions, honed by discussions with hundreds of other posters
since Chandra's disappearance. This complex mystery is a compelling
story, and "Murder On A Horse Trail" tries to do justice to that
story.
From 1937 Ireland to petty theft as a teenager in London, Sydney Gottfried grew into a high-life of international double-dealing. Owner of a casino and nightclub, his many deals involve fake scotch, violent Soho hookers, counterfeit money, mobsters, diamonds, Swiss banks and scams against the American public. Gottfried is resolutely crooked and his scams -- some explained in detail -- are at times darkly humorous. Yet the vicious gravitas of his lifestyle draws him tragically, inevitably, to bloody murder.
This is a chronology of a private investigation into the
disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh, the London Estate Agent. It began
on the 28th July 1999 and lasted for four years. The research
revealed a direct link between Suzy and John West - the younger
brother of Fred West. At first the research was given to the
Metropolitan Police who began a new review into the case in 2000.
The investigation has opened up a whole new perspective on the
Cromwell Street murders and three new victims have been named
together with a possible third. After twenty-five years the mystery
of Suzy Lamplugh has finally been solved.
In One Punch, author Barry Dickins reflects on the many types of
violence that can now affect everyday life. In his heartfelt
exploration of the subject, Barry talks to many of the people whom
this violence impacts, including the parents of children who have
been killed, professionals in the justice system, and children who
live in communities where violence is rife. He looks at how the
world has changed in his lifetime and discusses where we are going
as a society.
The Landscape of Murder documents all the sites where murders
occurred in London between January 1st, 2011 and December 31st,
2012. In total 209 murders were committed over this two year
period. Most murders make the news for only a fleeting moment and
the landscape in which they occur reverts back to normality very
quickly after the forensic teams leave. Yet the scars remain,
sometimes subtle, sometimes very open, whether a single solitary
flower or the gathering of grieving family and friends. Sometimes
nothing remains to show that a life has ended violently in a
particular location. Antonio Zazueta Olmos seeks to give memory to
what are mostly forgotten events, in unseen places where great
violence has occurred. A violence that is mostly silent, private
and unseen by the wider public. The project has taken him to parts
of London he knew little or nothing about and in the process he has
created an alternative portrait of London, one shaped by violence
and inequality.
_______________ WINNER OF THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION
THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER A RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK
_______________ 'A remarkable achievement' - Sunday Times 'A
classic, to my mind, of the finest documentary writing' - John le
Carre 'Absolutely riveting' - Sarah Waters, Guardian
_______________ On a summer's morning in 1860, the Kent family
awakes in their elegant Wiltshire home to a terrible discovery;
their youngest son has been brutally murdered. When celebrated
detective Jack Whicher is summoned from Scotland Yard he faces the
unenviable task of identifying the killer - when the grieving
family are the suspects. The original Victorian whodunnit, the
murder and its investigation provoked national hysteria at the
thought of what might be festering behind the locked doors of
respectable homes - scheming servants, rebellious children,
insanity, jealousy, loneliness and loathing. _______________
'Nothing less than a masterpiece' - Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday
'Terrific' - Ian Rankin 'A triumph' - Observer 'Gripping,
unputdownable' - Sunday Telegraph 'A terrific read in the Wilkie
Collins tradition' - Susan Hill 'The best whodunnit of the year -
and it's all true ... Agatha Christie, eat your heart out' -
Sebastian Shakespeare, Tatler
THE CHICAGO KILLER: The Hunt For Serial Killer John Wayne Gacy is
the story of the capture of John Wayne Gacy, as told from the
perspective of the former Chief of Detectives of the Des Plaines,
Illinois Police Department, Joseph Kozenczak. The conviction of
Gacy on 33 counts of murder is a record in the archives of the
criminal justice system in the United States. Two additional bonus
chapters give the reader a comprehensive insight into the use of
psychics and the lie-detector in a serial murder investigation.
NOW A NETFLIX FILM STARRING EDDIE REDMAYNE AND JESSICA CHASTAIN 'A
stunning book... should and does bring to mind In Cold Blood' New
York Times After his arrest in 2003, registered nurse Charlie
Cullen was quickly dubbed 'The Angel of Death' by the media. But
Cullen was no mercy killer, nor was he a simple monster. He was a
favourite son, husband, beloved father, best friend and celebrated
caregiver. Implicated in the deaths of as many as 300 patients, he
was also perhaps the most prolific serial killer in American
history. Cullen's murderous career in the world's most trusted
profession spanned sixteen years and nine hospitals. Chronicling
Cullen's deadly career and the breathless efforts to stop him, The
Good Nurse paints an incredibly vivid portrait of madness and
offers an urgent, terrifying tale of murder, friendship and
betrayal.
'Goodbye! There's my good girl.' The German got hold of Papa's arm
roughly and said, 'Come on!' They got in the car and sped away,
leaving the two breathless girls standing on the street corner,
staring at where the car had been. 'What on earth was all that
about? Why has my Daddy gone with that German?' It made no sense.
It made no sense at all. France, 1940: The British have retreated,
evacuating their forces from Dunkirk. Nell and her girls stand on
the beach on a clear day and see the outline of Dover Castle but it
will be four and a half long years before they return to Britain.
Jeanne, her sisters and their mother Nell are left to fend for
themselves in occupied France when her father is arrested by the
Nazis and taken to an internment camp.Proudly British, they have
also been raised speaking French. Nell is determined to keep going,
keep food on the table and see her girls continue in education. She
takes in washing, teaches English and tries growing vegetables but
the soil is too poor. They apply for Red Cross Parcels but are
told, as they are not behind barbed wire, they don't qualify.Yet
amid the struggles come great friendships and pleasure in the
smallest things; the rare treat of a piece of cake or tart, a
Christmas tree decorated with cotton or singing in church. Jeanne's
sisters are distinct personalities, one bookish and quiet, the
other outgoing. Letters from her interned husband Tom Sarginson and
occasional visits to see him only temporarily eases the pain of
being parted. Nell falls in love with a kindly German soldier. When
liberation comes in 1944 Nell and the girls' excitement is tempered
by a shocking event in their then home village of
Rieux-en-Cambresis. There follows an exhilarating and frustrating
stay in newly liberated Paris and the shock of arriving back in the
war weary Britain of late 1944. Nell and the Girls is a remarkable,
dramatic and heartwarming true story of a family told from the
viewpoint of young Jeanne Sarginson, later Gask.
La Bte du Gvaudan was a real wolf-like monster living in the
Auvergne from 1764 to 1767. She killed about one hundred people.
Prowling Catholic pre-Revolutionary France, she spread terror among
the aristocrats and peasants of the beautiful Auvergne countryside.
Her story beats most mystery novels in false trails, horror and
atmosphere. The big difference is La Bte was real, not fiction, and
leaves for ever the unanswered question, "What was she?" All
efforts to stop her failed and she became infamous throughout
France. The king - Louis XV - took a personal interest in her
activities and how to destroy her. Many explanations - alien,
prehistoric beast, mutant etc. - were put forward at the time and
during the two centuries since but none have ever been widely
accepted. A mass of evidence remains that La Bte did exist and was
not just a legend. Compared with other monster mysteries she is
unique, leaving graves, witnessed parish records, and archives of
official documents, many of them included in this book, proving her
real and guilty beyond doubt. Read Pourcher's book carefully and
draw your own conclusions. Even if you arrive at a conventional
solution to the mystery, doubts might linger as darkness falls. If
twigs crack, don't whistle.
'Packed with insights and details that will both amaze and appal
you' - Oliver Bullough, author of Butler to the World Across the
world, HSBC likes to sell itself as 'the world's local bank', the
friendly face of corporate and personal finance. And yet, a decade
ago, the same bank was hit with a record US fine of $1.9 billion
for facilitating money laundering for 'drug kingpins and rogue
nations'. In pursuit of their goal of becoming the biggest bank in
the world, between 2003 to 2010, HSBC allowed El Chapo and the
Sinaloa cartel, one of the most notorious and murderous criminal
organizations in the world, to turn its ill-gotten money into clean
dollars and thereby grow one of the deadliest drugs empires the
world has ever seen. How did a bank, which boasts 'we're committed
to helping protect the world's financial system on which millions
of people depend, by only doing business with customers who meet
our high standards of transparency' come to facilitate Mexico's
richest drug baron? And how did a bank that had been named 'one of
the best-run organizations in the world' become so entwined with
one of the most barbaric groups of gangsters on the planet? Too Big
to Jail is an extraordinary story brilliantly told by writer,
commentator, and former editor of The Independent, Chris
Blackhurst, that starts in Hong Kong and ranges across London,
Washington, the Cayman Islands and Mexico, where HSBC saw the
opportunity to become the largest bank in the world, and El Chapo
seized the chance to fuel his murderous empire by laundering his
drug proceeds through the bank. It brings together an extraordinary
cast of politicians, bankers, drug dealers, FBI officers and
whistle-blowers, and asks what price does greed have? Whose job is
it to police global finance? And why did not a single person go to
prison for facilitating the murderous expansion of a global drug
empire?
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