In the past, the east shore of Lincolnshire's long coastline was well adapted for smuggling and the rural quality of the county aided the transport and hiding of contraband goods. In addition to the pirates, coastal criminals and countryside rogues, there was also murder and mayhem aplenty in such cities as Lincoln, Grimsby, Boston and Stamford. Moreover, being near to the north/south routes from London meant that Lincolnshire was a haven for highwaymen and footpads - even the infamous Dick Turpin had a Lincolnshire connection. With exciting and dramatic tales featuring the worst of Lincolnshire's villains, this book is sure to inform and fascinate everyone interested in Lincolnshire's criminal past.

Built by the Romans, looted by the Danes and conquered by King William I (who devastated the town to build a castle and a cathedral), the city of Lincoln has had a long and most dreadful history. Containing medieval child murder, vile sieges of (and escapes from) the castle, the savage repression of the Lincolnshire rising by King Henry VIII (who had the ringleaders hanged, drawn and quartered) and plagues, lepers, prisons, riots, typhoid, tanks and terrible hangings by the ton, you'll never see the city in the same way again.

The town of Boston lies alongside the peaceful River Witham and has the appearance of a tranquil place where nothing much has ever happened. This first impression is misleading. In terms of murder and mayhem, Boston has tales to rival anywhere else in Lincolnshire. And what of the numerous little villages that cluster around the town? As Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, 'there is more evil in the country than you ever find in the towns'. Stabbings, shootings, poisonings, stranglings and suicides have all made it into the pages of the area's history. Young and old, husbands and wives, parents and children, and even complete strangers fell victim to murderous attacks. The motives for such atrocious crimes ranged from overwhelming jealousy and blinding rage to calculated greed and petty disputes.These fourteen tales of true murder from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, compiled by renowned local author Douglas Wynn, will fascinate anyone wanting to know more about Boston's dark history.

The historic city of Lincoln has a history going back to the Romans and a catalogue of crimes to match it. John Haig, the acid-bath murderer, was born in nearby Stamford and was imprisoned in Lincoln where he experimented on small animals to perfect his acid-bath techniques. The city also has its share of women who drowned unwanted babies in the nearby River Witham, and husbands who beat their wives to death. Then there is the poacher who shot and killed a gamekeeper in the woods near Lincoln, and the borstal boy who took a shine to the matron but battered her to death with a chair when she rebuked his advances. Combining meticulous research with evocative photography, the author provides a feast of crime to haunt the imagination of any reader interested in criminal and local history.

This chilling collection of murder cases delves into some of the villainous deeds that have taken place in Scunthorpe's past. Among those featured are a woman who beat her teenage daughter to death for refusing to get out of bed, a steelworker who stabbed two people before barricading himself and his children in his home, and a policeman who strangled his wife and set up the crime scene to make it look like the work of an intruder. Illustrated with a wide range of archive material and modern photographs, Scunthorpe Murders will appeal to everyone interested in Lincolnshire's criminal past.

Illustrated with more than fifty photographs and drawing upon a variety of sources including court records and newspaper reports, this collection of true-crime stories provides a fascinating introduction to the darker side of Kingston-upon-Hull's past. From the strange case of Nellie Waite, who was found guilty of murdering an infant from beyond the grave, to the amazing story of serial killer William Burkett, who escaped the hangman's noose no fewer than three times, this book documents a wide range of murderous misdeeds and criminal exploits. Featuring cases of poisonings, stabbings, strangulations and suffocations, Murder and Crime in Kingston-upon-Hull is sure to horrify and captivate anyone interested in the criminal history of the area.

Retold for a new generation are shocking stories of infanticide, drunken brawls in town, the jealous, alcohol-fuelled raging of one betrayed husband, as well as the only instance in the town's recorded history when a cooking implement has been used as a lethal weapon. Mixing genuine historical documents with contemporary photography to show the scenes where these disturbing dramas were played out, Wynn's collection of true crimes provides a mesmerising evocation of the past. It's sure to haunt the imagination of any reader with an interest in the history of the town and the surrounding area.

These tales from Lincolnshire's forgotten past are testament to the sinister side of the county's coastal resorts and inland market towns. Retold for a new generation, here are 13 shocking stories of drunken brawls in towns, death from poison, and jealous rages. Mixing genuine historical documents with contemporary photography to show the scenes where these disturbing dramas were played out, Wynn's collection of true crime provides a mesmerizing evocation of the past. It is sure to haunt the imagination of any reader with an interest in the darker history of Lincolnshire.