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The Bus Stop Killer
On 23 Jun 2011 the convicted double-murderer Levi Bellfield was found guilty of the murder of 13-year-old school girl Milly Dowler.
Milly disappeared on her way home from school in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey in 2002. Six months later her body was discovered many miles away. A massive police investigation, the largest manhunt in Surrey's history, got nowhere. Only when nightclub bouncer and bare-knuckle boxer Levi Bellfield was arrested for the murder of another young woman did it become clear to police that they had a serial killer on their hands.
This is the full story of the murders, the victims and the pain-staking nine-year investigation and trial by police and prosecutors. It tells of Bellfield's terrifying, controlling personality - a man who went from charming to monstrous in the blink of an eye - and his depraved stalking of young women.
It is a terrifying portrait of the only man in modern British legal history to be given two whole-life sentences.
Milly disappeared on her way home from school in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey in 2002. Six months later her body was discovered many miles away. A massive police investigation, the largest manhunt in Surrey's history, got nowhere. Only when nightclub bouncer and bare-knuckle boxer Levi Bellfield was arrested for the murder of another young woman did it become clear to police that they had a serial killer on their hands.
This is the full story of the murders, the victims and the pain-staking nine-year investigation and trial by police and prosecutors. It tells of Bellfield's terrifying, controlling personality - a man who went from charming to monstrous in the blink of an eye - and his depraved stalking of young women.
It is a terrifying portrait of the only man in modern British legal history to be given two whole-life sentences.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
31 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
Geoffrey Wansell
21 books43 followersGeoffrey Wansell is a London based author and free-lance journalist, who now works principally for the Daily Mail.
He’s published twelve books, including biographies of the movie star Cary Grant, the business tycoon Sir James Goldsmith, and the playwright Sir Terence Rattigan, a book which was short-listed for the Whitbread Prize as book of the year.
Geoffrey Wansell is an experienced true crime author whose past books include The Bus Stop Killer, about the shocking murder of Milly Dowler, and An Evil Love, telling the story of Frederick West through exclusive access to tape recordings.
A member for more than 25 years, he is also the official historian of the Garrick Club in London, one of only four appointed during the Club’s 185 years of existence.
He’s published twelve books, including biographies of the movie star Cary Grant, the business tycoon Sir James Goldsmith, and the playwright Sir Terence Rattigan, a book which was short-listed for the Whitbread Prize as book of the year.
Geoffrey Wansell is an experienced true crime author whose past books include The Bus Stop Killer, about the shocking murder of Milly Dowler, and An Evil Love, telling the story of Frederick West through exclusive access to tape recordings.
A member for more than 25 years, he is also the official historian of the Garrick Club in London, one of only four appointed during the Club’s 185 years of existence.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 28, 2012
I found this book very frustrating, as a regular reader of true crime. I could see that Geoffrey Wansell has clearly done a lot of research, but to me this has been let down by the rushing out of the book after the Milly Dowler trial. It seems to me that this left very little time for proof-reading and further research that would have made the account more credible. As others have pointed out, there are numerous grammatical and spelling errors which are really unforgivable in publishing in this age of electronic media. There are also some minor factual errors e.g. the author calls the 10 Rillington Place killer James Christie - his name was John Reginald Halliday Christie. Such errors could have been easily correctefd by a quick web search for information on this case, so it tends to undermine some of the other research for the book.
That said, this is still an interesting account of one of the most depraved killers in recent history and unfortunately at present there doesn't seem to be a better one out there. The account is quite repetitive, but does give a good outline of the cases concerned and Bellfield's history. For my liking it was not in depth enough - I have seen the evidence against Bellfield presented more convincingly elsewhere than here, and I would have liked more of an examination of the pyschology of Bellfield as a killer than is given here. Is motivation is touched on but not really backed up with an in depth analysis.
All in all, if you are looking for an outline of the case and Bellfield's history then this does the job passably, but if you are looking for an in depth examination of the evidence against Bellfield or his criminal psychology then you will need to look elsewhere. I am firmly convinced of Bellfield's guilt, despite the lack of forensic/DNA evidence, as the list of circumstantial evidence against him is too strong to be considered coincidence and when taken as a whole is compelling proof of his guilt, but saying that I do not feel this account convinced me any further than I aready was when I commenced reading, so to me it does not stand up to the test of a really strong true crime account.
That said, this is still an interesting account of one of the most depraved killers in recent history and unfortunately at present there doesn't seem to be a better one out there. The account is quite repetitive, but does give a good outline of the cases concerned and Bellfield's history. For my liking it was not in depth enough - I have seen the evidence against Bellfield presented more convincingly elsewhere than here, and I would have liked more of an examination of the pyschology of Bellfield as a killer than is given here. Is motivation is touched on but not really backed up with an in depth analysis.
All in all, if you are looking for an outline of the case and Bellfield's history then this does the job passably, but if you are looking for an in depth examination of the evidence against Bellfield or his criminal psychology then you will need to look elsewhere. I am firmly convinced of Bellfield's guilt, despite the lack of forensic/DNA evidence, as the list of circumstantial evidence against him is too strong to be considered coincidence and when taken as a whole is compelling proof of his guilt, but saying that I do not feel this account convinced me any further than I aready was when I commenced reading, so to me it does not stand up to the test of a really strong true crime account.
August 29, 2013
Second time I am giving this book a try. I do think the writing is annoying. He jumps all over the place. I do not know this guy and what he exactly did but he jumps from then to the trial and such.
It is that I am so interested in the case otherwise I would have skipped. If he would have written this in a chronological order this book would have been a good book.
It did anger me so much that a criminal, a guy who has been proved to be a killer is allowed to torture his victim's parents during trial.
It disgusts me that nowadays it is all about the criminal's human rights (specially now with the European union and court but you do not hear them about the victim or their families rights.
It is that I am so interested in the case otherwise I would have skipped. If he would have written this in a chronological order this book would have been a good book.
It did anger me so much that a criminal, a guy who has been proved to be a killer is allowed to torture his victim's parents during trial.
It disgusts me that nowadays it is all about the criminal's human rights (specially now with the European union and court but you do not hear them about the victim or their families rights.
July 14, 2019
Very tough read but Geoffrey Wansell as an author has written it well
May 15, 2022
As i read i thought it'd be an average 3 star book. Over sensational, a bit repititous with an over reliance on stories told and sold to tabloids. There is also a constant and irritating commentary on Bellfields state of mind throughout his life that is pure conjecture that's presented as fact. Still, an average, ok-ish book that gives as overview of the case. I'd read worse. However, when giving a bit of background on the old bailey later in the book he gets two infamous serial killers names wrong (John Christie he calls 'James' Christie and Dennis Nielsen he called 'Donald' Nielsen), might seem like a small thing but i had to seriously question the level of research that had gone into the book after that. Had the author just thrown it together from tabloid reports and notes made during the trial!? Ruined it for me.
January 11, 2018
I don't mean to sound harsh but the editor of this book left an embarrassing number of spelling, grammatical and factual errors as well as errors of repetition (to the point where I thought I had forgotten to turn the page). The portrait of the killer comes through but the women around him less so; the idea that he was charming and weaved a spell around them was repetitive and frankly does no service to the writer. He took inexperienced teenage girls and brutalised them until they saw no way out, which is hardly magic. Nor does the shallow attribution of criminality to his ethnic background, however much the writer tries to distinguish between 'true' gypsies and others.
January 16, 2016
A good read about a bad, bad, BAD person. Well worth a look if you are interested in how many different ways one guy can vent his bile on anyone within range; if you are interested in how persistent the police can be with a frustrating case; and if you are interested in the worst-case outcome of permissive childrearing.
July 29, 2014
Found it quite interesting as I remembered the disappearance of Milly Dowler but not her killers trial. It's a decent account but is a bit repetitive and could have done with a bit more copy editing as there were quite a few missing words.
March 30, 2015
The author has plenty of material to work with, but never manages to engage the reader; not this reader, anyway.
December 12, 2017
"The soul of a murderer is blind. Albert Camus, The Outsider"
I had wanted to read this book for some time, as reading a book about a case I have never heard of before is something I rarely do, so I was looking forward to the change, especially since it had been a while since I had read a true crime book.
What quickly started off as an okay read, began to turn downhill when I noticed that the author seemed to blame victims of abuse for not leaving their abusers, and it left a foul taste in my mouth for the rest of the book. Besides that fact, the author seemed to repeat things. He would mention activities that Bellfield had done, and then repeated them later during the court section of the book and it was annoying rereading something you've already read.
I'll admit this book was factual and it focused a lot on Bellfield, but to have Milly Dowler's name on the cover, not much is mentioned about her until nearly the end of the book. It opens with the victims, which is always a bonus in my eyes, and then not much is mentioned until the courts bring them up, which is such a shame because if this book was more focused on the victims I feel like I would have enjoyed it more, but not much is known about the killings so they probably can't be, but more of a mention would be nice.
I had wanted to read this book for some time, as reading a book about a case I have never heard of before is something I rarely do, so I was looking forward to the change, especially since it had been a while since I had read a true crime book.
What quickly started off as an okay read, began to turn downhill when I noticed that the author seemed to blame victims of abuse for not leaving their abusers, and it left a foul taste in my mouth for the rest of the book. Besides that fact, the author seemed to repeat things. He would mention activities that Bellfield had done, and then repeated them later during the court section of the book and it was annoying rereading something you've already read.
I'll admit this book was factual and it focused a lot on Bellfield, but to have Milly Dowler's name on the cover, not much is mentioned about her until nearly the end of the book. It opens with the victims, which is always a bonus in my eyes, and then not much is mentioned until the courts bring them up, which is such a shame because if this book was more focused on the victims I feel like I would have enjoyed it more, but not much is known about the killings so they probably can't be, but more of a mention would be nice.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2019
A sad and shocking tale
At the time of the murder of Molly Dowler, I was living just a few miles from where the body was found. Therefore, I remember her disappearance very cleary and the subsequent trial of Levi Bellfield. The recent screening of the drama on ITV also reassembled my interest.
Overall, I found that this was a very good book presenting the facts well. It is easy to blame the partners of Levi Bellfield for not going to the police earlier. There are reviews saying that the author is doing just that. In my view he does not do this, just reporting what happened. One thing which is clear is the hold that Bellfield had on his partners. You can almost feel their fear of him which meant that the could not come forward or even defend themselves against him.
The author does an excellent job of showing what kind of man Bellfield was whilst trying to stay objective. You can almost feel the evil on every page. Particularly interesting are the revelations of what happened to Bellfield's first series girlfriend.
An excellent read but not for the faint hearted given the nature of the case.
At the time of the murder of Molly Dowler, I was living just a few miles from where the body was found. Therefore, I remember her disappearance very cleary and the subsequent trial of Levi Bellfield. The recent screening of the drama on ITV also reassembled my interest.
Overall, I found that this was a very good book presenting the facts well. It is easy to blame the partners of Levi Bellfield for not going to the police earlier. There are reviews saying that the author is doing just that. In my view he does not do this, just reporting what happened. One thing which is clear is the hold that Bellfield had on his partners. You can almost feel their fear of him which meant that the could not come forward or even defend themselves against him.
The author does an excellent job of showing what kind of man Bellfield was whilst trying to stay objective. You can almost feel the evil on every page. Particularly interesting are the revelations of what happened to Bellfield's first series girlfriend.
An excellent read but not for the faint hearted given the nature of the case.
February 14, 2022
very good worth a read, i started to read it after the recent news of Bellfield being a major serial killer after the news reports of him confessing to the chillendon Murders in 1996, it says nothing of this but if you join the dots he is guilty of that to, he knew Kent, he attended dogfights so had no problem killing animals, he had no issue killing children, he used blunt force, he was also reckless as to being seen in the act and he knew how to get rid of cars. The thing that seems to make a serial killer so successful is the ability to be ghost like, the ripper had this to.
July 4, 2023
On 23 June 2011, the convicted double-murderer Levi Bellfield was found guilty of the murder of 13-year-old school girl Milly Dowler. The tragedy of this conviction is that the women for whose deaths he was already serving a whole life tariff were killed after Milly and, had police been luckier (for none can doubt their efforts in finding her killer), Amélie Delagrange and Marsha McDonnell might still be alive.
Wansell explains things clearly and is at pains to point out where the legal system must go in order to do its job of defending the accused.
Wansell explains things clearly and is at pains to point out where the legal system must go in order to do its job of defending the accused.
June 13, 2024
I think the author was on something when he was writing this book because there's a lot of misspelled words and also repeated words and I've been reading this book for months and I finally gave up on it.
April 17, 2018
Intense read.
This is a very intense read of an horrific murder and how two subsequent murders could of been avoided. The court case is also covered in full.
This is a very intense read of an horrific murder and how two subsequent murders could of been avoided. The court case is also covered in full.
January 3, 2019
Average
Don't normally read these type of books, found it a bit repetitive, and although plenty of detail, still seemed to lack depth.
Don't normally read these type of books, found it a bit repetitive, and although plenty of detail, still seemed to lack depth.
October 10, 2019
If you are a fan of repetition and grammatical errors on almost every page, then this is the book for you.
January 15, 2020
Really interesting read, gives us a good picture of this twisted pile of pork and what hes done. Read this before the Gemma Dowler book
February 6, 2019
Evil
A very sad story but a brilliant read! Couldn’t put it down definitely recommend. What an evil man he is !
A very sad story but a brilliant read! Couldn’t put it down definitely recommend. What an evil man he is !
September 25, 2024
Well written and shared a lot of information
March 5, 2017
I read the Kindle version of this book and was frustrated and annoyed at the number of spelling mistakes and other grammatical errors that frequented the book. I can understand that if there has been a "print run" then you can hardly correct them but surely this can be done with e-books?
That aside this book is a depressing read. It is a very detailed expose of the life of Levi Bellfield and one can only feel overwhelmingly sadness at finishing this book and to be honest I'd wish I'd not bothered.
That aside this book is a depressing read. It is a very detailed expose of the life of Levi Bellfield and one can only feel overwhelmingly sadness at finishing this book and to be honest I'd wish I'd not bothered.
January 20, 2016
I enjoyed this book to the extent that the content held my interest. I generally read a lot of true crime so this was one on my list. However, I found the grammar and spelling mistakes incredibly frustrating, which left me in doubt over the credibility of the facts presented. With a book like this it also relies on the portrayal of an accurate timeline, so when dates were also written wrongly I found myself becoming very confused. For such a highly regarded and established publisher, I was quite appalled at the level of mistakes in this. Was it even proof read? The content was also quite repetitive, which meant the facts provided were actually quite sparse.
December 19, 2012
Well researched
July 14, 2015
Very boring
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews