Under Their Roof: My shocking true story of surviving serial killers Fred and Rose West

by Kathleen Richards, Ann Cusack

'Under Their Roof...does so much more than chronicle her time living with the Wests. It's a desperately sad insight into what makes someone vulnerable to abusers... but ultimately, this is a book about the triumph - however painful and even fluky - of good over evil.' Simon Hattenstone, GUARDIAN

'My stomach was clenched tight. I knew there was no way I could swallow a single morsel. Playing in my mind was a slideshow of evil, fragments of memory, glued together by Fred and Rose West dragging me off the pavement, Fred pinning me on the sofa while Rose stroked my hair...'

Kathleen Richards was just 17 when she and her sister Deirdre found themselves on the doorstep of 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester, seeking lodgings from a seemingly friendly local Fred and Rose West.

While growing up in poverty-stricken Dublin in the 1960s, Kathleen was abused from a young age. A move to England allowed her to escape, but even so life remained difficult, forcing her to seek refuge.

At first, Cromwell Street provided freedom for the sisters who were entertained by Fred's quirky behaviour. Kathleen was also happy to make a new friend in her fellow lodger, Shirley Robinson.

But then, things took a sinister Fred began to abuse Kathleen with his wife's encouragement. And, when Shirley suddenly disappeared too, Kathleen's world began to grow very dark...

This is a chilling account of what it's like to come face-to-face with Britain's most notorious serial killers, but it is also an inspiring account of the resilience of women and how to find happiness after trauma.

Genres: True Crime, Audiobook, Biography, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

Expected publication November 3, 2026

Reviews

[Wilma Karlsson]

Interesting book that raises the question how it was possible for two serial killers to go undetected for so long. Scary to read, but it puts a great focus on how the authors broken background made it so that she couldn’t reach out for the police when she became a target and how skilled the pair was at finding these vulnerable women.

[Georgia Greenhalgh]

⭐ 3.5/5

Under Their Roof by Kathleen Richards is a well-written and deeply personal account of Kathleen’s life. It’s more than just her surviving Fred and Rose West — it’s about all the hardship, trauma, and abuse she endured both before and after her time with them.

I found myself really invested in her journey. It’s definitely a tough read at times, but it highlights her incredible strength and resilience despite all the monsters who took advantage of her vulnerability. Heartbreaking, raw, and powerful.

[Lou]

I actually started this book back in May when it was first released, but unfortunately my mental health meant I wasn’t in the right place to continue reading it. When I picked it back up, I went into the story relatively new to a lot of the details. I was only six when Rose West stood trial, so much of what I knew previously was very limited.

Once I started reading, I found myself completely immersed, although it was an incredibly disturbing read. The behaviour described throughout was eerie, erratic and at times almost impossible to comprehend. There are themes of mental health, learning difficulties, abuse and murder, alongside some truly horrific things that should never have happened to anyone, particularly within what should have been the safety of a family home.

It certainly isn’t a book I read because of any fascination with the Wests themselves. Dark tourism and visiting places connected to crimes like these has never appealed to me reading about what happened was more than enough.

For me, reading books like this is about understanding the victims and survivors and acknowledging what they endured. Behind a case that became infamous are real people whose lives mattered, and I would much rather my attention remain with them than turn the perpetrators into something to be fascinated by.

A very dark and difficult read, but one that left me thinking about the victims and survivors long after I finished it.

[Dani Rikku]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Four stars

Under Their Roof is a dark, sad, and deeply emotional read — but one I genuinely enjoyed. The audiobook narrator is absolutely brilliant; her Fred West impression of “Girlie, Girlies” will haunt me for a long time.

I’ve listened to similar books before, and the last one dragged on with endless backstory that never really added depth. Kathy, though, has written her story so well that I found myself fully absorbed in every detail of her childhood and family. It never felt heavy for the sake of it — just honest, human, and necessary.

I hope Kathy continues to find peace and learns to be gentler with herself. Her strength shines through every chapter.

[Amber Graver]

Such a sad read, when I finished it I wanted to shelf it quickly to get the darkness away from me. What amazing resilience Kathy shows throughout her childhood and into adulthood. Through reading this book - her stint with the Wests wasn’t even the worst of it and that says something. I’m so glad she got therapy - and is learning to now finally live with and move on from the trauma she experienced. I’m so glad she shared her story for anyone else having experienced anything similar especially perpetual abuse.

[Ieva Valentinavičiūtė]

Although only part of the book is about living in the same place as the notorious serial killers, it was still a worthwhile read. The author talks about her experiences with childhood abuse, living in poverty, and how she and her sister ended up in the Wests’ home, as well as her life after leaving that house of horrors. It’s heartbreaking to read about the repeated trauma she endured, but I’m glad she is learning to accept that none of it was her fault.

[Amy M]

While this was an interestig insight in to what it was like living with the Wests- there was more to it. This poor woman has been through so much and her multiple abuse situations were missed by many who should have done more. I am however pleased that she saw a therapist and realised that everything that happened to her was not her fault. I am also glad she managed to get out of the Wests house alive (although sadly not unscathed).

[Jenny Hansson]

Vilken bok. Jag hade först tänkt skriva en recension på engelska, men det fanns redan så många och ingen på svenska så nu kör jag på här på svenska.
Det är ren och skär misär att följa Kathleens uppväxt och tonårsår från början till slut. Miserabla första år hos föräldrar som hade tio år och inte gav dem ens det mest grundläggande. En pappa som äter godis och glass framför barnen och inte delar med sig till ett enda av dem, som slår, ryter och utnyttjar. Det är inte undra på att flickan blir kuvad och växer upp till en ung vuxen med noll i självförtroende. Mamman är inte mycket bättre, som låter barnen gå i illaluktande kläder och inte kan sätta ordentlig mat på bordet. Att Kathleen senare tycker att hon gjorde det bästa under omständigheterna köper jag inte, jag blir så arg på hela vuxenvärlden kring henne.
När jag nästan trodde att botten var nådd med detta så börjar grooming och sexuella övergrepp av män i Kathleens närhet, från och med att hon är ÅTTA år. I många år, även som ung vuxen, klandrar hon sig själv för detta. Det är helt förståeligt i hennes fall eftersom hon är ett offer och blir behandlad som luft hemma, men hur kan inte någon vuxen i närheten reagera? Hon berättar en gång för sin mamma, men får en utskällning och ett slag istället för förståelse.
När hon senare flyttar in som inneboende hos paret West tillsammans med sin syster är hon redan kuvad och det är därför inte märkligt att hon undrar om det är hon som är onormal när Fred West börjar göra närmanden.
Hennes syster har haft samma miserabla uppväxt, och har dessutom en bebis med sig att ta hand om, men vuxna människor går förbi utanför på gatan när hon blir antastad och hälsar på Fred som om det där skulle vara normalt!?!
Framförallt är det som slår mig hur det här paret kunnat flyga under radarn så länge trots att de utnyttjar de som har allra svårast att försvara sig - barn eller unga vuxna - samtidigt som myndigheter och världen tittar på. Hur Kathleen gång på gång utsätts för övergrepp och att det får fortsätta. Att hon till och med tror att det är hon som är onormal!?! Det är enkelt att skylla på tiden, det var annorlunda på 70- och 80-talet, men det är inte hela förklaringen.
I Sverige prövas flera sådana här fall per år där skulden ibland läggs på tonåringen som blivit utsatt och antastad. I många domar frias förövaren, ibland för att flickan kan anses ha gett tyst medgivande och jag vet inte allt. De som stiftar lagarna borde lyssna på offrens historier i poddar eller lyssna på berättelser från överlevare som Kathleen. Förövarna vet precis hur de ska utse sina offer, de kikar efter de svagaste i samhället, och vet också hur de ska föra sig hos myndigheter. Kathleen skriver flera gånger att hon inte trodde att myndigheterna skulle tro henne, och förmodligen har hon tragiskt nog rätt. Fred West blev anmäld flera gånger men friades från misstankar varje gång tills det slutligen fallerade - efter 20 år som aktiv seriemördare.
Jag blir arg, ledsen och upprörd av att lyssna på den här boken och på hur Kathleen behandlats och att vi inte har kommit längre.
För den som är mest intresserad av seriemördare kan boken nog vara lite av en besvikelse, och titeln kanske aningen missvisande. Boken utspelar sig visserligen en tid hos paret West men är mer en biografi där Kathleen berättar om sina upplevelser. Det är som tur är (enligt mig) inga snaskiga detaljer, utan mer en respektfull berättelse när det kommer till offren.
Jag fick lyssna i sjok eftersom det inte skulle bli för tungt. Jag har svårt för när barn utsätts för hemska saker och hade inte klarat detta med fler detaljer.
En viktig bok. Uppläsaren Carina Ehrenholm läser riktigt bra!

[Moravian1297]

When you enter this book's ISBN into the Goodreads search engine, nothing comes up, and the Kindle Edition is the only version that is available when entering the title manually, very strange indeed. I'd just like to point out, that I read this book in Paperback, not Kindle.

Abuse seemed to follow Kathleen Richards around like a dark shadow. Abusers seemed to be able to pick her out in a crowded room, as if she had some sort of sign around her neck. Her vulnerability must have illuminated her out like a beacon, making her easy pickings for narcissistic, sociopathic, predators. Asking herself, that one age old question of the victim, why me?.

Kathleen Richards was not only prey to a litany of predators and paedophiles, shockingly including her own grandfather and of course, Fred and Rose West, she was also the victim of the institutionalized failure and neglect of the authorities. Then to rub salt in the wounds, she was later the target of rogue police predator, PC Darren Heath! You honestly couldn't make it up, Kathleen was failed again and again and again.
But unfortunately, for as harrowing and upsetting as Kathleen's life story was, and being brutally honest, I was only really interested in the periods pertaining to her time in and around the life of Fred and Rose West.

I felt therefore, that there was far too much time spent on her backstory, before herself and her sister, Derdrie ended up on the doorstep of 25 Cromwell Street. Yes, that previous period of her life, with its heart breaking financial and emotional poverty, and some more than uncomfortable reading about abuse and paedophilia, were pretty difficult subjects to get your head around, especially coming from a warm and loving family background myself. But, and in all honesty, it was the time spent with the West's that I really wanted to hear about. Serial killers are where my interest lies, not individual tales of woe, otherwise it all becomes like a form of the Victorian Freak Show, and ostensibly, it’s just another ’poverty safari’. And for me, my full attention wasn't really piqued until we arrived at this point in the story, nearly a quarter of the way into the book! And even then, Fred's dreadful assaults on Kathleen were so terrifyingly frequent, the book was seemingly becoming repetitive! Why not just leave, I suppose some would ask? Unfortunately for the abused, and certainly in Kathleen’s place, they mistakenly blame themselves, and so are trapped by the egregious situations in which they find themselves. The question I asked, was why her sister left her there alone, to go visit her boyfriend? I felt that I'd have asked my sibling to come with me!? But you never really know how you would react in any given situation, until you, God forbid, experience it yourself! Rational thinking is swamped in a morass of irrational guilt and blind confusion, and the poor lass must've been living a veritable nightmare. It just doesn’t bear thinking about.

Anyway, the book didn't really pick up again, until years after the sisters had finally escaped the Gloucester 'House of Horrors', and focused on the arrest and trial of Fred and Rose West.
I appreciate that my review of this book might sound a bit callous, but honestly, that most definitely isn't my intention. It just felt like the part of the book that concentrated on Kathleen's childhood (or lack thereof) and youth, was harrowing, for harrowing sake, and I'd have just been as well reading a Frank McCourt novel!
Indeed my heart goes out to Kathleen Richards in every sense, failed time and again by those who chose to abuse and neglect her, instead of being her safety net of love and support, and the systemic failure of the authorities, complicit in their enabling of abusers and what they do.
The book is well written and eminently heartbreaking, but for me, there’s too much focus on time spent not under their roof.

[LAURA JONES]

A very gripping read about a former tenant of Fred and Rosemary West. This woman grew up in a poverty-stricken background with a history of abuse from an early age. Firstly, to get sweets and pennies, she allowed a night watchman to abuse her, and later her grandad did the same.
In the end, her sister, who had a young baby and was a single parent, said she had heard of lodgings in Gloucester where she was living.
Right from the start, she was introduced by Fred to his wife Rosemary and his lover Shirley, who was pregnant with his child. The room was alright, but seemed to have peepholes in the wall, which they covered up, but they were constantly reopened.
Though her sister was left alone, Kathleen was constantly trying to dodge Fred who was constantly trying to touch her so in the end she kept running away. At first her sister dismissed it but after finding her so upset she arranged for them to leave next morning which they did.
Staying with her brother Kathleen's life spiralled out of control. The past, the sudden disappearance of Shirley who she had become good friends for, Fred and Rosemary trying to lure her into their room for goodness knows what, the abuse as a child it all impacted on her. When she heard of Fred and Rosemary being prosecuted, it brought it all to a head.
This book is compelling and really worth reading.

[Kim Stern]

⭐️ 3,8

Een schrijnend verhaal over Kathleen, die vanaf jonge leeftijd wordt misbruikt, iets wat haar hele verdere leven blijft terugkomen. Door al deze gebeurtenissen is haar zelfbeeld beneden nul: ze komt niet voor zichzelf op, bagatelliseert situaties vaak en geeft zichzelf overal de schuld van. Als lezer voelde dit geregeld erg frustrerend, want het is natuurlijk absoluut niet haar schuld.

Ik had vooraf vooral een verhaal verwacht over de seriemoordenaars Fred en Rose West, maar het was zoveel meer dan dat. Het is een indringend, persoonlijk verhaal van Kathleen over armoede, je niet geliefd voelen en de nasleep van misbruik.

Verder blijft het volstrekt bizar en onbegrijpelijk dat Fred en Rose zo lang hun gang hebben kunnen gaan en zoveel slachtoffers hebben kunnen maken. Een indrukwekkend en heftig boek.

[Lucinda]

Even though I've read various books about this horrible couple, this book hits differently.. to hear how Kathleen has grown up with abuse to living with The Wests and going through what she has AND SURVIVED, is just a miracle in itself. Kathleen could have quite easily become another victim, another name in the news, another daughter hurt and harmed by these evil beings. Even though she survived, Kathleen has lived with all the what ifs and maybes, the guilt, the hurt, but made it through and made a difference to not only her adult life, but to the children she has fostered and hopefully to others who have been through similar.

[Phil Rice]

All i can say is this is a story from a True Survivor, and when i say survivor, I mean survivor at the hands of one of Britain's worst serial killing couples. So i will finish by saying Kathleen, you wrote this book superbly well to give everyone an insight into your own experiences at the hands of Fred and Rose West and how nasty they really were when nobody knew of their horrid crimes back in the day. Well done, Kathleen, it's five stars from me with this review

[Amber Fleming]

This book is an account of one unfortunate yet incredibly lucky woman, whom again and again, shows strength and resilience against the evil she has faced. Although parts of this book had me feeling sick to my stomach from the detail described of her abuse, I was in-captivated by Kathy’s story throughout. By writing this book I truly hope she is able to close that harrowing chapter of her life and continue to advocate for women affected by abuse ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Kirstie Cooper]

What an absolutely heartbreaking read 💔
This story is all about Kathleen, and although it's advertised as to do with Fred and Rose West, there is so much more to her life before and after her time at Cromwell Street too.
I listened to this on audiobook and devoured it - I literally could not stop despite how hard it was to listen to at times.
For anyone who enjoys true crime, I highly recommend

[Joanne Rathbone]

A heartbreaking read at times but, with such strength and courage dealing with the demons in her past. It is not just about the West’s but, also about surviving poverty and the harsh ramifications that brings with it, floored governments systems and sexual abuse. It was well written and succinct.

[Beth]

I have given it 5 stars purely for Kathy. The abuse she dealt with before, during and after living with the West’s is unimaginable.
Every spare moment I had was spent reading this book. A real mixture of emotions with this read. Have a tissue on hand!

[Catherine Charnock]

Very moving read, a true testament, it’s worth reading a very good book

[Amberly]

Started and finished date - 15.12.25 to 17.12.25.
My rating – Three and Half Stars.
This book was pretty good and informative, but I think Fred and Rose west a British horror story documentary directed by Daniel Dewsbury was little bit better. I think people who like mother california by Kenneth E. Hartman or blood brother by Anne Bird may like book. The cover of book was great, and I really like the cover of the book also I think the colour palette at was used on the cover of book was pretty good. I think the writing was okay and the writing were easy to follow also the ending of book was pretty good. I think author did a great job at describing the horrors at had happened in at house of horrors. I think found both the structured of the book and the paced of book was fine, but it could have be better also I wise this book was longer.

[Sonia Critchlow]

oh my goodness, my heart goes out to Kathy, she is extraordinarily strong. such a moving book about her life before, during and after the West's. it's well written.

[Tessa]

Een aaneenschakeling van clichés.

[Jess]

A hard read but pushed through

[Kathryn Orr]

Quite a hard read

[Davitt O'Neill]

Great

[Rebecca Fowkes]

It's a good book.

[Leah Bee]

A compelling read thank you for sharing your life story

[Sarah]

This book should be a resource for students studying psychology and trauma.
You are stronger than you know and braver than you think K.Richards!!!

[Ilse]

Harrowing, but Hopeful

A tremendous story of one woman’s terrible experiences at the hands of wicked men and her eventual triumph over them all.

[Ieva Valentinavičiūtė]

Although only part of the book is about living in the same place as the notorious serial killers, it was still a worthwhile read. The author talks about her experiences with childhood abuse, living in poverty, and how she and her sister ended up in the Wests’ home, as well as her life after leaving that house of horrors. It’s heartbreaking to read about the repeated trauma she endured, but I’m glad she is learning to accept that none of it was her fault.

[Kaz Jones]

This is a book that will live in your brain for a while after you've finished it. Written using very simple language, it's an easy, but difficult read. Let's just say I was SO pleased she finally got therapy at the end.