The Deadly Game: The Chilling True Story of How a City Was Held to Ransom

by Simon Cooper

Wrapped in cheery festive paper, six parcels were delivered to branches of Barclays Bank across London. But the paper hid a deadly Christmas gift. Inside each parcel was a videocassette box and inside each box lurked a booby-trapped shotgun cartridge. As the box was opened, a simple firing mechanism snapped down, detonating the cartridges in the faces of two Barclays workers. Thus began one of the greatest police manhunts of all time. The bomber's targets were branches of banks and supermarkets, which were systematically attacked with devices which increased in their sophistication and deadlines as the campaign progressed. The bomber wanted money—10,000 pounds a day, for life, drawn from cashpoints with special cards. And he wasn't going to stop bombing until he got his way. The psychological profile of the bomber told police they were looking for an obsessive man over 35. But they could never have guessed who would eventually walk into their trap.

237 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2002