Scotland Yard: A History of the London Police Force's Most Infamous Murder Cases

by Simon Read

A riveting true-crime history of London's first modern police force as told through its most notorious murder cases.

The idea of "Scotland Yard" is steeped in atmospheric stories of foggy London streets, murder by lamplight, and fiendish killers pursued by gentleman detectives. From its establishment in 1829 through the eve of World War II, Scotland Yard—the world’s first modern, professional, and centrally organized police force—set new standards for policing and investigating.

Scotland Yard advanced ground-breaking use of forensics—from fingerprints to ballistics to evidence collection—made the first attempt at criminal profiling, and captivated the public on both sides of the Atlantic with feats of detective work that rivaled any fictional interpretation.

Based on official case files, contemporary newspaper reporting, trial transcripts, and the first-hand accounts of the detectives on the beat, Scotland Yard tells the tales of some of history’s most notorious murders—with cases that proved to be landmarks in the field of criminal inquiry.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History, Crime, Audiobook, Mystery, British Literature

480 pages, Hardcover

First published September 3, 2024

About the author

I'm the author of nine non-fiction books published on both sides of the Atlantic. Hachette will release my next book, THE IRON SEA, in November.

When I'm not writing, I enjoy reading (naturally), messing about on the piano, listening to classic British rock, and searching for good English pubs (I live in Arizona, where such drinking establishments can sometimes be hard to find).

Please feel free to check out my website or visit me on Twitter.

Reviews

[Namera [The Literary Invertebrate] · Rating 4 out of 5]

⤅ Non-fiction Book of the Month: March 2024

An admission from me: probably my most 'conservative' opinion, as a left-leaning centrist from the UK, is that I am not at all opposed to the death penalty. In fact, I don't really see any reason why someone who kills another person - particularly under aggravating circumstances - shouldn't be deprived of their life in return, with the added benefit of making the general public safer from an obvious menace. Where the crime is severe enough and there's no doubt whatsoever about the perpetrator's guilt - and despite some high-profile miscarriages of justice in the past, advances in technology mean that it's genuinely possible to be completely certain of a person's guilt - I'm totally fine with them getting executed.

I bring this up because Read's book covers the history of London's Metropolitan police force (known after its headquarters as Scotland Yard) from its formation in the early 19th century, up until the 1920s/30s. The one thing that jumps out straightaway is that people convicted of murder generally went to the gallows soon after, thereby ensuring they couldn't hurt anyone else. 'Anyone else' usually being women, who are killed predominantly by men in pretty much every way possible. This range and viciousness is on full display throughout the book, as Read covers some of the highest-profile cases from the Met's first century of life.

Despite the lack of things like DNA analysis and (until the 1900s) fingerprinting, good old-fashioned police work really does get the force its man on many occasions. Impressively so, considering how hard things must've been for them. Though there are obviously some high-profile failures - Jack the Ripper, the Thames Torso Murders, etc - there are also some truly incredible successes, like Crippen. A real snapshot of history - the murderer and his mistress on board a ship to America, completely oblivious to how the invention of the telegraph means there are officers waiting to apprehend them when they pull in, and oblivious to how literally the entire world but them knows the game is up.

The reputation of the Met has taken a severe beating in the 21st century, perhaps most recently when Sarah Everard was murdered by an actual serving police officer, Wayne Couzens. (A great candidate for execution, if we still had those). We don't think of them any longer as hardworking bobbies in the Christie and Doyle style. But this book has definitely made me nostalgic for that specifically Victorian perspective, even knowing how much was wrong with it.

[Krissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3 1/2 star read, rounded down to three. Well researched, but dryly written at times, particularly in the first half of the book, where many of the cases are little more than summaries. The author even made the Jack the Ripper killings seem boring!
The chapters about "The Brides in the Bath," "The Crumbles," Dr Crippen, and bodies-stowed-in-trunks murders were all very interesting.

[Florence Buchholz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Victorian era population of Great Britain was fascinated by murder, the gorier, the better. And the tabloids of the time catered to the unhealthy obsession. This book describes some of the bloodiest crimes I could have ever have imagined. For a nation that was not bristling with firearms, criminals found some creative ways to carve up their enemies and to dispose of the evidence.

The book is a condensed history of the internationally venerable Scotland Yard. Starting in the mid nineteenth century, periodically cases of heinous murder drove the public into a frightened panic. Thus spurred on, the Yard grew into a respected organization employing new professionals, known as detectives, who were eventually armed with revolutionary crime solving skills like fingerprinting, blood splatter analysis, and firearm ballistics. They never dreamed of something as fool proof as DNA analysis.

[Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might be good for a woman obsessed with true crime. The text is otherwise dry and redundant.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this overview of the history of Scotland Yard. Whilst most of the crimes mentioned I have already read in detail it was good to see where they come within the development of Scotland Yard.
A really good book to use as a springboard to learn more about individual cases.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a true crime reader’s delight: a mix of true crimes cases and history that combine to make an entertaining read. I would caution the reader because many of these cases are discussed with gruesome specifics.

I would have given this book five stars except for a glaring error in the Jack the Ripper case discussion. Mr. Read, you need to read The Five by Hallie Rubenhold.

[K.P. Gillespie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.00 Rating
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“Scotland Yard has been called in.” Those authoritative words imply the renowned reputation of the London Metropolitan Police, first established in 1829 as the world’s first professional, centrally organized police department. The name, in case you were wondering, comes from the fact that its headquarters were built on a piece of land facing a small street called Great Scotland Yard.

Simon Read eloquently explains the force’s long-standing allure in his hard-to-put-down history, Scotland Yard: A History of the London Police Force’s Most Infamous Murder Cases. “It’s something woven into our cultural fabric,” Read writes, “a conduit between history and pop culture. We can trace today’s true crime obsession, in large part, to the Yard’s early cases with their sensational news coverage, in-depth narratives of criminal trials and the celebration of detectives.”

Read brings all of the gory details to life in 19 notable cases that span the course of a century, drawing from official case files, newspaper reportage, trial transcripts and detectives’ notes. His crisp, evocative prose gets right to the heart of the matter, which is usually bloody: foggy nights, a cavalcade of shady characters and a surprising number of dismembered bodies, many discovered in trunks. With chapter titles like “A Death in Duddlewick” and “A Murder in the Manor,” readers will be forgiven for feeling entertained by these grisly tales: Some cases read like Charles Dickens’ novels brought to life, and, in fact, Dickens modeled Bleak House’s Mademoiselle Hortense after Maria Manning, whose execution he witnessed in 1849.

I was interested in learning about the evolution of detective work and forensics. During the Jack the Ripper investigation, for instance, “sniffer dogs” were briefly deployed for the first time. “The Crumbles” chapter describes a house of horrors in which crime scene investigators began using rubber gloves (thank goodness!). Ballistics started playing a role in the 1927 murder of police constable George Gutteridge, with the press declaring that the murderers were “hanged by a microscope.”

I have always been fascinated by true crime novels, and Scotland Yard belongs at the top of the list.

Some of the murder details are on the gory side, but beyond that highly recommended for the true crime enthusiast.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book might be one of my favorite true crime books that I have read. I loved how the author made the history come alive with a narrative rather than just spitting facts and figures at us. It was interesting how each major crime covered in the book shed some light on where modern policing theories and practices developed as well as honoring some of the names that developed these practices.

This book is a must read for any that love a good true crime mixed with history. Be warned though, there are points where the narrative falls to the side and the pacing changes. I appreciated these moments as it was mostly filled with primary sources and interesting anecdotes, but it did bog down the read at times.

Avoid this book if you are at all squeamish at descriptions of gore, abuse, forensic methods, or dismemberment.

[Katherine Kappelmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - An interesting overview of some of the Yard's most famous cases and how they were solved (or not!). While there was some of the history of the Yard and policing woven into the summaries of cases, I would have appreciated even more of that alongside the very gory and macabre murder stories.

[Raquel Comden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting in a slightly horrifying and disgusting way. Glad to learn about the Yard's early days, but "his throat was slit and brains were bashed about the room" gets a little old after the first twenty instances. Guess that's what you get for picking up a true crime bio.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Miriam Kahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! a powerful book full of gruesome details of murder and mayhem in England in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Details the history, development, and growth of Scotland Yard and The Met through the various and bloody murder cases from the 1811 Ratcliffe Highway murders to Jack the Ripper and the Whitechapel murders, and beyond. Learn about the development of the policing, detective, and investigating forces of Scotland Yard, and the many crime-fighting and criminal investigating tools developed in that period. The US and Europe are also mentioned as their police forces evolve and as British criminals 'try to escape' capture.

When examining the book, the layout and typography is inelegant and off-putting. Nevertheless, the contents, while stomach-turning and nightmarish, are fascinating.

For fans of true crime.

For a review of the stellar vocal performance, see AudioFile Magazine, http://www.audiofilemagazine.com

[laristas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a comprehensive account of alllll the cases handled by Scotland Yard - I understand that. But in telling the (morbidly interesting) history of the evolution of police work and investigative techniques (use the rubber gloves!), all the victims of violent, gory, hands-on crime were women. And then the women were cut into pieces, boiled, shoved into trunks, tossed in construction sites. (These are not spoilers.) -> When guns were the cause of death, men killed men. This book - while verrrry interesting - was a long, sickening progression of explicit violence toward women. Is this a misogynistic reading of this book? Perhaps. That's where my head is at these days.

[Erik Josephson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scotland Yard tells the tale of this iconic police organization that revolutionized how policing is done around the world. The book begins leading up its formation in 1829 and goes through a series of cases over its history that traces how Scotland Yard adapted to changing times. This book is perfect for fans of true crime, I think especially because it shows a world before modern systems were in place. It’s hard to picture now there being a crime scene where every little detail isn’t scrutinized and sectioned off. It’s hard to picture no one wearing gloves or testing blood types or searching a database of possible suspects. But what’s so great about this book is you see how and why all of those things evolved.

The book is very well put together. It’s basically a series of CSI episodes that also happen to capture Scotland Yard’s history. For me, this book worked on both levels. I loved hearing the cases they brought up and how they resolved, and I loved seeing the evolution of Scotland Yard.

I came away with this book with a strong desire to read historical fiction that stars a Scotland Yard detective. There’s a reason that this Victorian era is so romanticized. As the back of this book puts it, the world of “foggy London streets, murder by lamplight, and fiendish killers pursued by gentleman detectives.”

That being said, this is also a book that doesn’t shy away from gory details. I’m glad it doesn’t because the gory details are part of the plot. It’s what the detectives have to work with to catch the killer. But it’s good to have as a warning going into the book.

One other aspect of the book that I really enjoyed is how it was a window into Victorian culture. You kind of get a sense of the class system, the gender roles, marriage, and so on in these stories. Also the death penalty. If you are found guilty of murder in this time period, you are hanged. At least that’s how the vast majority of the cases in this book end.

I loved hearing about police procedures evolved. He goes through how fingerprinting was developed and how it became implemented in standard police procedure. This was a new idea in the beginning, how everyone has a unique fingerprint that is left behind wherever you go. Or ballistics. Or testing the saliva on a cigarette butt and linking it to the killer, or finding an almost invisible strand of silk at a crime scene that leads to a murderer getting caught. Now we just expect police to take all these steps, but these processes are the product of many years of police work.

One last thing that I really liked about the book is the narrator. I’m glad I listened to this one, because the narrator has a cockney accent that perfectly fits the tone of the book perfectly. I was also impressed with how he was able to switch accents if an American was talking. Just a side benefit for the audio version.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes either true crime or the Victorian England setting, and especially to those who love both.

[Jerry Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having lived most of my life in the UK, most of that within and around London, the Met Police in general and Scotland Yard in particular, have always been on my radar. This is an interesting take on the development of the Yard, in particular how the detective division developed and became a world leader in policing. Interestingly, the idea of a coordinated metropolitan police department was initially to deter, rather than investigate crime, although the detection and punishment of crime became more and more important as the years rolled on.

In the vanguard of this was the development of crime detection techniques such as fingerprinting, crime scene preservation etc. which were often copied by forces around the World. I like the idea of this book. It presents the development of the Yard through the lens of some of the city's most infamous, and grisly, murder cases. Many of these were familiar to me through my somewhat unhealthy interest in true crime cases. For example we are given brief case studies of Jack the Ripper, Brides in the Bath etc. However there were many with which I was unaware and they were covered with equal thoroughness.

However, this approach does rather create the impression, whether realistic or not, that London was a hotbed of murder and mayhem in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries replete with trunk murders, dismembered corpses, serial killings, bodies showing up everywhere and knife wielding maniacs and sociopaths all over the place. This is the danger of looking through this lens, you see such things everywhere and that is really all the book is about. One goes from one scene of sordid murder and carnage to another which creates the impression that society was all about man's inhumanity to man, and especially to women. I am sure there was more of this activity then; after all, we hear a lot about crime today but rarely of this type of crime.

So it's hard to get some perspective and, of course, that isn't the goal of this book and the cases themselves are often interesting enough. I do sometimes wonder if the message of the development of policing gets a bit lost in all the mayhem of the cases but I do understand why SR wrote it this way. After all, I am not sure there would be a whole book in the history of Scotland Yard without reference to these cases and I certainly don't think there would be a larger readership for that. I am guessing a lot of readers are like me; interest is peaked by the depravity of murders and the justice involved when the perpetrators are apprehended. Also, we like detective novels so writing a book that looks at that in the context of true crime is also a good approach.

I enjoyed this book and I think it would be of interest to those of us who take a, perhaps slightly morbid, interest in such matters!

[Avid Reader and Geek Girl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read if you're in the mood for something: dark, informative, & medium-paced

Book Rating: 2.25 stars
While the book was informative, it was heavily skewed in the "police only do good things" direction, and Scotland Yard is the superior police force tilt as well.

He didn't bother to mention the recent kidnapping and murder of a young woman by a police officer in London. Or I'm sure others that have occurred and got less press attention.

The author also credited Scotland Yard with introducing basically any forensic tool that hasn't been discredited, yet didn't bother to mention any that may have later been discovered to be disreputable.

While I was glad this book got into some cases from after the 1940s, it covered the same information as a lot of historical accounts of crime in London. It says infamous cases in the subtitles, but I'd like a book that covers some lesser-known cases. It's like the author just slightly reworded other books for everything before the 20th century.

Overall, a meh book. If you've read other historical true crime books about England or London, don't bother to read this book.

Narrator Rating: 2.25 stars
The narrator did a decent job narrating but I don't know what was going on with his accent, but it just got grating at points, as well as distracting from the information.

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Sexism, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of a parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Antisemitism, Alcohol, and War

[Cynthia Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very informative book. Those interested in police practices and the history of Scotland Yard will find this book worthwhile.

Scotland Yard instituted alot of firsts in policing including the use of fingerprints, the telephone and telegraph, the automobile, profiling and the use of dogs in tracking. American cities like New York, Boston and Philadelphia modelled their police forces after Scotland Yard.

I found the book to be a bit of a drudge. A number of cases are analyzed. All in synopsis form. The author uses primary sources extensively. Many of these sources are taken from cases in the 1800's and early 1900's. The style and language employed in these quotes is antiquated and florid and makes for difficult reading. In the early portions of the book, the author' prose takes on a similar style. It makes for some dull, dry narrative.

I will say this. It seems that dismembering bodies was very prevalent in England.

[Lucy Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scotland Yard by Simon Read is an amazing history of the London police force and of how the institution’s efforts paved the way for modern policing in everything from criminal profiling to forensic study. For those who love Victorian and Edwardian history, true crime or justice studies, this book will be riveting. Researched with academic proficiency yet written in an accessible, polished style, the author reviews some of the most famous criminal cases in London’s history with a view to demonstrating their significance to the development of policing as we now know it. Graphic details involving dismembering, and famous cases such as the exploits of Jack the Ripper, are presented with journalistic specificity to emphasize both the science and art of policing. Highly engaging and highly recommended.

[Kemp · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. I listened to 35% of the audiobook which was far longer than it deserved. The combination of Read’s writing and Myers narration makes crime, the development of Scotland Yard, and the evolution of forensic sciences boring. Really boring.

As an example, Read wrote as both detective and suspect sailed separate ships to New York, “…of crossing the white tipped waves”. One sailed a schooner and one a steamship. Why couldn’t Read have written something like, “The blowing wind and churning waves bounced the schooner far more than the steamer as the detective raced across the North Atlantic to arrive ahead of the suspect.” I don’t think that stretches the nonfictional aspect of the book yet makes it are more evocative. Now, multiple that by 10 fold and you’ve got this book.

Find another avenue to learn about Scotland Yard.

[Beth Peninger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fascinating look at the creation of the famed Scotland Yard through a series of violent crimes, in which there was initially no police presence or practical methods for investigating crimes that could be solved. This was light-years before forensics, fingerprinting, or any structured investigation. The author, Simon Read, undertakes a thorough examination of the crimes that led to the formation of Scotland Yard and its detective division. These crimes were gruesome. And that is an understatement. While forensics may have been developed in other parts of the world, Scotland Yard CID advanced the use of these methods, thanks to the numerous opportunities presented by the crimes they were tasked with investigating. If you are interested in true crime, investigation, and the introduction of forensics, then this book is worth reading.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! The author brings all the gory details to life in 19 notable cases that span the course of a century, drawing from official case files, newspaper reports, trial transcripts and detectives’ notes.
Chapter titles include “A Death in Duddlewick” and “A Murder in the Manor.” Some of the cases read like Charles Dickens’ novels and in fact Dickens modeled Bleak House’s Mademoiselle Hortense after Maria Manning whose execution he witnessed in 1849. “Sniffer dogs” were briefly deployed for the first time during the Jack the Ripper investigation. Ballistics started playing a role in the 1927 murder of police constable George Gutteridge with the press reporting that the murderers were “hanged by a microscope.”
Recommended!

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Fascinating history of Scotland Yard! So many of the most heinous murders are profiled, including the Ripper case and the Dr. Crippen case. I was surprised at how many of the murders ended with the criminal cutting up the deceased and packing the parts and dropping them at various sites around the town or countryside, or boiling them. Ugh - not for the squeamish. Anything not to be caught, but with the innovations of fingerprint identification, murder bags with rubber gloves, etc issued to all detectives, identification of ballistics, etc. most of the time they get their man or woman. Speedy trial and off to the gallows, which in the early days was a "spectator sport." Extensive bibliography for those that want to read further.

[M Delea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book with some fine insights. Even cases for which I have read complete books about were presented here with other information. And there are lesser known cases here that are fascinating, such as the fact that there was another serial killer in London while Jack the Ripper was murdering women. Warning: murder scenes are described in graphic detail.

However, Hallie Rubenhold's Story of a Murder and The Five for a better (and less sexist) look at the victims of, respectively, Dr. Crippen and Jack the Ripper.

I also would have enjoyed more information on the people who created Scotland Yard.

[Amber Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed reading this, it was interesting to see how forensic science developed and the approach to solving crimes grew more sophisticated. Police literally went from crudely scooping human remains with their bare hands to delicate analysis of clues.
It was a fascinating historical true crime record covering a lot of history.

I listened to this on audiobook and the reader had a lower class British accent with a slight nasal edge. The reader’s voice might have been sort of appropriate for the setting, but I found it a rather harsh voice to listen to.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an excellent non-fiction book! A must read for anyone reading English mystery novels. This book cleared up so many things I didn't realize I was missing from Dickens, Collins, Doyle and more modern series by King and Winspear. The only thing missing is a timeline.
It is gruesome true crime, so not for the faint hearted. But it makes a clear history showing the Yard as the basis for good policing world wide. I recently read "All That Remains: A Life in Death" which tells about forensics in modern times (and the training of Scotland Yard Detectives). I highly recommend reading both.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely a WOW read!

This book was a fantastic look into Scotland Yard, and the early cases that they undertook. While forensics was not where it is today, there were little things that they were able to learn. Each item in turn, works much like today. Bring the killers or guilty party to justice.

For those that love true crime, this is the perfect book! You won't want to put this one down.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5 stars. The history of Scotland Yard [the London Metropolitan Police], its forerunners, and its infamous, gruesome crimes, many of which led to innovations in crimefighting, that are still used today. The descriptions of the crimes were too gory for my taste, but I did enjoy how the innovations came about--such things as sniffer dogs, fingerprinting, ballistics, forensics, gloves and crime scene kits, etc. The book was interesting, on the whole.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read uses infamous historical cases to show the development of Scotland Yard and of crime detection in general. Gentle readers be warned, the crimes covered are pretty gruesome at times, though Read writes in such a way as to desensationalize.

This isn't a detailed history of the Yard in terms of internal politics, scandals, etc. It stays firmly focused on how different cases affected the growth of the organization.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great introduction into the history of Scotland yard. I enjoyed the strange introduction to true crime and how England's law enforcement got started and how it spread to other countries. I felt the last chapter was a bit rushed and was somewhat dissapointed that Jack the Ripper got a minor mention. The book flows well and keeps the readers attention.

[Emma (littledollreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nonfiction November 2024 Read #1

This was a very fascinating read. It is less of a true crime narrative and more of a look at the evolution of detective work though the lense of several murder cases. It was really interesting to me to see how as science got better different elements of detevie work as we know it today were introduced and used to solve these cases.