Books written about murdered people-by their parents/relatives-recommendations?

[Patienceisntvirtuous]

Any you've read that you love?

I've read;

My Sister Millie by Gemma Dowler-excellent, I couldn't put it down. I've read it more than once, it seems it hits different depending on where one is in life.

'Our April' about April Jones' murder Bit clumsily written in comparison but worth a read

'Sarah Payne: a Mother's story-again astonishingly good. I admire Sara so much for her pioneering work since Sarah was murdered.

'I let him go' by Denis Fergus-again an addictive read.

'My James' by Ralph Bulger-I felt it was required after reading Denise's book. Very good.

'The Murder of Rachel' by her Mother Wanda-I can't remember much about this book if I am honest.

'Beyond Evil' about Tracie Andrews by her victim's Mum. Another one I couldn't put down-so so awful.

Of course, all of them are upsetting and compelling

I feel I've read every one of this category that there is now, but I am sure I can't have done! Can anyone recommend any, or have any opinions on any of them?

@OnGoldenPond that's so lovely of your DD and her school. I am going to see if that musical is available anywhere. I know it was news at the time but nothing seemed to really focus on the victims who were all 'real' women with lives to live that ended in tragedy. It made me sad.

This is weird just opened this thread news on in the background; about Rachel's family taking the met police to accountability about her murder on Wimbledon common 😮

I can’t remember the name,but Charlene downs mum wrote a book about her disappearance in blackpool
it glossed over the problems the family had (ss where,or should have been involved) but the reader can feel the mums pain and the shock about her husband having an alter ego
ive watched the program about the case-Charlene deserved better and she didn’t deserve to be murdered (as if anyone does) but the police really let her down on the case and the two men that where arrested for it,got off
i don’t know if they where guilty but everyone let that girl down

Mae West's book is excellent. Easy to read and follow but some graphic descriptions of all kinds of abuse.
She does a great job of explaining their internal conflict around the abuse and particularly around their Mum and her involvement.

Its a great read for anyone who works with children, Mae explains all the ways their family fooled authorities and ensured no one would question the children about their homelife.

For the love of Julie. Ann Ming. The way she found her daughters body after police had searched the house...and the law she changed in the end.

Taken by Sharon Hamilton about her sister Vicky. So sad her mum never found out what happened

Stay with me Rhys...by Melanie Jones

Oh for goodness sake. Read the first book.

We were chaotic, McDonald's wrappers always underfoot. Annoyance that they left wearing damp clothes because one of the kids set the dryer to cold? Alcohol was always a big part of our social lives.

It's nicely phrased but when you think about it, it actually sounds unpleasant.

No, it is absolutely not their fault. If Sarah hadn't been so photogenic then that shit would have been leapt on. It was July, slow news.

And then this absolute shit naming paedophiles? Where a paediatrician was attacked because it appealed to the mentality of those who didn't understand the difference?

Forgive me but I saw a woman who sold her husband and kids down the river because now she was important.

Sara Payne actually wrote a second book. She is very honest in it and admits there were problems with alcohol and describes her relationship as ‘toxic.’

It has no bearing on what happened to Sarah, but subsequent events were shaped by this.

Nooooo this is disfunctional. Reading one maybe but lots of books about murdered children/ relatives? I think those murdered individuals deserve better than that.

People don't write books for them not to be read. Most seem to be written by relatives.

They deserved better than torture, sexual assault and murder, and in some cases never to be buried.

Some of these cases had huge social and cultural impacts, and I won’t apologise for finding that fascinating. It doesn’t detract from the sadness and from the individual tragedy but some cases were absolutely key in shaping the judicial system, in our attitudes to children and to women and our understanding of the media. The Yorkshire Ripper murders are probably the clearest example of this, with the press only becoming interested when he murdered ‘respectable’ women. Rachel Nickell’s murderer was responsible for an equally horrendous murder of a woman and child which was barely mentioned in the press. Unlike Rachel, who was murdered on a bright July day in an affluent area of London, Samantha Bissett was killed on a dingy November night in a council flat. Is her story somehow less tragic because of this? No, but the press think so.

Books fill out the context, they are a voice, there is nothing disrespectful I’ve read in any.

Well you’ve asked for opinions and that’s mine… I’ve worked in policing for 23 years and my DH for 30 so we’ve both been around plenty of crime scenes and dead bodies unfortunately. I don’t really like the expression Trauma Porn but that’s the closest thing I can of right now. The study of forensic or criminal psychology is completely different.

No one asked for opinions about whether they should read them or not.

I think it's called'a letter to you' from a father of a girl killed on train tracks.

I listened to an interview and it sounded heartbreaking.

Ah, so if you actively choose to study it then it's different? Making the choice to spend years of your life studying it?

Why is it completely different? I'd say it's a far greater level of investment than reading the odd book, wouldn't you?

And yes, I have studied it myself. I make a living out of it, so I'm not being an arse.

This isn’t really my thing (though I’m not one to judge as I have listened to several true crime podcasts), but I stumbled on a book which falls into this category and that really resonated with me.

It’s about Sophie Elliott, a young woman who could have been me - grew up in a loving family in provincial NZ, middle-class, a bit studious, went to uni, and was about to start her first job, all packed up and ready to relocate, when her boyfriend knocked on the door of the family home, was let in by her mother, went up to her bedroom, and stabbed her 216 times while her poor mother was powerless to do anything behind the closed door.

It just went to show that anyone can be susceptible to an abusive relationship, even women with good self-esteem and boundaries and all the usual ‘shark cage’ protections.

I’m not sure if you’ll be able to get the book in the UK - maybe on Kindle. It’s called Sophie’s Legacy, written by her mother Lesley Elliott.

And on googling the book title, I’ve learnt that her mother died just last month - she campaigned tirelessly to raise awareness of violence against women in the wake of her daughter’s brutal death.

Do you know what that book is called please @Brokendonkey ? Is it 'letters to Sarah'?

@Divebar2021 I don't read books written by journalists etc as a rule, I do feel there's something slightly crass about those. I don't think anyone who has written a book about their child wants nobody to buy/read it. I am with brokendonkey on this, they help change attitudes, shape the world, help subsequent victims. The Yorkshire Ripper I agree with this-although WYP are still dire unfortunately with their attitude toward females-I don't suppose they're unique.

Sarah's law is another example. I wonder what a petition to stop victims of these crimes (I am also referring to parents of victims in that category, as they are!) writing books about them would achieve or how it would be received.

I have read plenty of the books you describe due to what I did at University and Post Grad.

@HitMeWithAHotNoteAndWatchMeBounce (that username's a bit short, could you not think of a longer one ) thank you, I will try to find that one.

"About a Boy" by Richard McCann covers the story of his mother Wilma, murdered by Sutcliffe. Richard is a motivational speaker - I've seen him speak on several occasions and met and talked with him. He wrote a sequel too. Sadly his older sister Sonia became addicted to alcohol and took her own life several years ago.

@ilovesooty that's very sad. I will probably read that-the only thing putting me off is I've seen him on the TV and he speaks a lot about the abuse he suffers. I do struggle reading that sort of thing-is it described much in his book?

Suffered* sorry. In the care system.

Another vote for About a Son, which is nominated for various awards this year. Based on diaries of the boy's father, with his collaboration, so very much in his words.