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Wicked Beyond Belief: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper
For over 20 years, the dark secrets of the biggest criminal manhunt in British history have remained a closed book?until now. Wicked Beyond Belief is a powerful indictment of the calamitous investigation that logged two million man-hours of police work. Its revelation of crucial new evidence relating to Sutcliffe's meticulously planned methods caused newspaper headlines, and it argues convincingly that his crimes were far more extensive than admitted. With exclusive access to the detectives involved, pathologist's archives, and top-secret reports, Michael Bilton's expose is as riveting as any thriller.
640 pages, Paperback
First published February 3, 2003
221 people are currently reading
1995 people want to read
About the author
Michael Bilton
6 books13 followersMichael Bilton is a British investigative journalist and Emmy award winning documentary filmmaker. He has also taught journalism at universities in Great Britain, the United States, and Denmark.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews
November 27, 2021
Now as then, I am not remotely interested in Peter Sutcliffe, the individual. Many have asked whether I ever wanted to interview him. The answer was a resounding, 'No!' What could he tell me that I didn't already know - that he was a sick and perverted killer who got powerful sexual thrills from having women at his mercy as he slaughtered them? For me it would have been a worthless exercise to ask Sutcliffe serious questions and expect believable or valuable answers. The detectives though were another matter completely.
Perhaps one of the most notorious investigations in the history of policing, the hunt for the killer dubbed "The Yorkshire Ripper" stands as an example of how not to run an investigation; Michael Bilton's book lays it out from start to end and gives the reader a remarkably balanced view into what happened.
Wicked Beyond Belief could just as easily have been titled Bureaucracy: A Cautionary Tale - if you've ever run up against red tape in your own life, you'll be all too familiar with most of the causes of failure listed here (most, because it would appear there was also a level of ego and unwillingness to change course that absolutely had a significant impact as well). In the author's own words:
Sutcliffe had in fact been interviewed as a result of every major proactive operation the Ripper squad had mounted during the last three years: the tracking inquiry, the first five-pound note inquiry, the cross-area sightings and the triple-area sightings, and finally the second five-pound note investigation.
The problem was not finding their man - they managed it six times - it was the non-investigative administration and record-keeping behind the scenes, and the breakdown of internal communication. Wicked Beyond Belief doesn't single out officers unfairly, but instead provided what I felt was a pretty bias-free presentation of what happened.
The other thing this book did well - when compared to its peers even today, but phenomenal for being published in 2003 - was focus on the victims of these attacks and murders, as well as the effect on the lives of those impacted. There's detail, but almost clinically factual, and it doesn't slip into the gratuitous, and the reluctance of the investigation (and the police force as a whole) to simply listen to survivors is treated as the willful ignorance that it is.
Definitely a book that tells an important story, one that actually focuses on areas of importance rather than lurid thrills, and one I'm really glad I took the time to read (it is immense but absolutely worth it!)
Perhaps one of the most notorious investigations in the history of policing, the hunt for the killer dubbed "The Yorkshire Ripper" stands as an example of how not to run an investigation; Michael Bilton's book lays it out from start to end and gives the reader a remarkably balanced view into what happened.
Wicked Beyond Belief could just as easily have been titled Bureaucracy: A Cautionary Tale - if you've ever run up against red tape in your own life, you'll be all too familiar with most of the causes of failure listed here (most, because it would appear there was also a level of ego and unwillingness to change course that absolutely had a significant impact as well). In the author's own words:
Sutcliffe had in fact been interviewed as a result of every major proactive operation the Ripper squad had mounted during the last three years: the tracking inquiry, the first five-pound note inquiry, the cross-area sightings and the triple-area sightings, and finally the second five-pound note investigation.
The problem was not finding their man - they managed it six times - it was the non-investigative administration and record-keeping behind the scenes, and the breakdown of internal communication. Wicked Beyond Belief doesn't single out officers unfairly, but instead provided what I felt was a pretty bias-free presentation of what happened.
The other thing this book did well - when compared to its peers even today, but phenomenal for being published in 2003 - was focus on the victims of these attacks and murders, as well as the effect on the lives of those impacted. There's detail, but almost clinically factual, and it doesn't slip into the gratuitous, and the reluctance of the investigation (and the police force as a whole) to simply listen to survivors is treated as the willful ignorance that it is.
Definitely a book that tells an important story, one that actually focuses on areas of importance rather than lurid thrills, and one I'm really glad I took the time to read (it is immense but absolutely worth it!)
March 16, 2025
An exceptional piece of true crime investigative writing, about a harrowing and dark subject. There is only one person responsible for the evil murders of The Yorkshire Ripper - a series of women killed around Leeds, Bradford and Manchester in the late 1970s, and the policemen and women dragged into the huge, sprawling investigation were no doubt hard working, well intentioned and dedicated, as the author is at pains to point out. However, the incompetence, mismanagement and at times downright idiocy displayed by the police force is breathtaking and needs to be read to be believed (generally of course, its those at the top who remain blinded as to how badly they are getting things wrong, refusing to admit mistakes made). Yet there are heroes amongst them too and the story, whilst gruesome and nightmarish, is also gripping and enthralling. Impeccably researched and written.
December 19, 2020
4.75 Stars — What an absolute triumph of true-crime writing this monster-sized novel is. Structured in a such a well-crafted way, the pace is just right. Even despite being so rich in research & YR Lore, things never get dull or even flirt with turning down slow street whatsoever.
I rarely am able to encompass location when reading but with this I truly did at times feel the dark, damp, dreary and cold streets and paddocks of Leeds and throughout Yorkshire. The author does an excellent job with perspective and encapsulates all aspects of this intensely fascinating case. The further along it goes, the better the writing was and by half-way this quickly turned into an unputdownable all absorbing thought stealing epic of a book.
Peter Sutcliffe and the manner in which the author portrays his murderous rampage had me violently gritting teeth and flexing jaws from anger, frustration, sorrow, bitterness and any number of equally evoking feelings!
A Grade Crime writing—doing one of the most infamous and utterly mind-bending cases of all time— absolute justice. Bravo.
I rarely am able to encompass location when reading but with this I truly did at times feel the dark, damp, dreary and cold streets and paddocks of Leeds and throughout Yorkshire. The author does an excellent job with perspective and encapsulates all aspects of this intensely fascinating case. The further along it goes, the better the writing was and by half-way this quickly turned into an unputdownable all absorbing thought stealing epic of a book.
Peter Sutcliffe and the manner in which the author portrays his murderous rampage had me violently gritting teeth and flexing jaws from anger, frustration, sorrow, bitterness and any number of equally evoking feelings!
A Grade Crime writing—doing one of the most infamous and utterly mind-bending cases of all time— absolute justice. Bravo.
March 14, 2014
This book rightly focuses on the victims of Sutcliffe and the botched police investigation that let his murderous spree go unchecked for so long. For those interested in Sutcliffe Gordon Burns peerless book (Somebodys Husband, Somebodys Son) is the better choice or for a more speculative Journalists approach David Yallop's 'Deliver Us From Evil' delivers the goods.
In the context of a society that seems to have so many examples of the police getting major investigations wrong or dealing with big events in an incompetent way (think Hillsborough, Lawrence, Plebgate) the Ripper investigation still stands out not least because of the growing toll of death, misery and fear that had developed. Whilst its clear that Sutcliffe's crimes are indeed beyond belief what is more so is the constant failure of the police to follow through even the most basic cross referencing. Bilton reminds the reader early on of the equally botched investigation into the Black Panther killings that proceded the Ripper case and from which lessons were supposed to have been learnt. Its well known that Sutcliffe was interviewed numerous times but Bilton's unflashy and careful book lays out how constant was the level of failure to follow up even the most basic of clues in a way that would have caught him relatively quickly. the failure to arrest him early on is indeed beyond belief as well.
Bilton proves that this isn't a case of easy hindsight seeing the wood for the trees but a case of police on the ground not thinking about the simplest of things. Sutcliffe's car was spotted after the first murder but witnesses gave the wrong colour possibly due to the harsh street lighting that affected and seemingly changed the perceived colour. The persistently given description reproduced in many photofits seems to have been discounted despite police seeing Sutcliffe and this is prior to the hoax letters and tape that so affected the police hunt later on. The book reproduces photofits in the illustrations and on the cover though it would have been useful within the text to know which photofit was provided by which victim/witness- this would make some references clearer,
Overall Bilton provides much information some of which seems superflous- potted biographies of the main police involved for example. However, it helps to support a plank of the books argument- that the different police areas didn't or couldn't share information effectively and that the leadership of the cases had too much power to determine the track- often wrongly of the policing. It also rightly highlights those policemen whose instincts about Sutcliffe were right but who were sometimes ignored.
Most powerfully the book details the lives and deaths of the victims and the milieu of their often wretched existence, Bilton also had access to the much buried Byford report which heavily criticised much of the police work and helped Bilton himself build the case at length for the disaster that was the Ripper enquiry.
This is an important book and whatever improvements have been made in modern police work it is clear that the mistakes made by the Ripper team must not be forgotten.
In the context of a society that seems to have so many examples of the police getting major investigations wrong or dealing with big events in an incompetent way (think Hillsborough, Lawrence, Plebgate) the Ripper investigation still stands out not least because of the growing toll of death, misery and fear that had developed. Whilst its clear that Sutcliffe's crimes are indeed beyond belief what is more so is the constant failure of the police to follow through even the most basic cross referencing. Bilton reminds the reader early on of the equally botched investigation into the Black Panther killings that proceded the Ripper case and from which lessons were supposed to have been learnt. Its well known that Sutcliffe was interviewed numerous times but Bilton's unflashy and careful book lays out how constant was the level of failure to follow up even the most basic of clues in a way that would have caught him relatively quickly. the failure to arrest him early on is indeed beyond belief as well.
Bilton proves that this isn't a case of easy hindsight seeing the wood for the trees but a case of police on the ground not thinking about the simplest of things. Sutcliffe's car was spotted after the first murder but witnesses gave the wrong colour possibly due to the harsh street lighting that affected and seemingly changed the perceived colour. The persistently given description reproduced in many photofits seems to have been discounted despite police seeing Sutcliffe and this is prior to the hoax letters and tape that so affected the police hunt later on. The book reproduces photofits in the illustrations and on the cover though it would have been useful within the text to know which photofit was provided by which victim/witness- this would make some references clearer,
Overall Bilton provides much information some of which seems superflous- potted biographies of the main police involved for example. However, it helps to support a plank of the books argument- that the different police areas didn't or couldn't share information effectively and that the leadership of the cases had too much power to determine the track- often wrongly of the policing. It also rightly highlights those policemen whose instincts about Sutcliffe were right but who were sometimes ignored.
Most powerfully the book details the lives and deaths of the victims and the milieu of their often wretched existence, Bilton also had access to the much buried Byford report which heavily criticised much of the police work and helped Bilton himself build the case at length for the disaster that was the Ripper enquiry.
This is an important book and whatever improvements have been made in modern police work it is clear that the mistakes made by the Ripper team must not be forgotten.
July 14, 2013
This is the first book I’ve read about this horrific serial killer and I found it gripping and harrowing reading. It focuses on the investigation into the murders and attempted murders rather than on Sutcliffe himself. It is of course easy to see with hindsight that there were many mistakes made during the investigation but it is also clear that at least some of those same mistakes could have been avoided at the time.
Sutcliffe was interviewed many times during the course of the investigation and more than one of the police officers who spoke to him believed there was something about him which needed looking into. One took the trouble to write a detailed report about him which was totally ignored by the senior detectives in charge of the enquiry. It was disastrous that George Oldfield – in charge of the enquiry – became wholly fixated on the Ripper being from Sunderland because of the hoax tape and letters from ‘Wearside Jack’.
Doubts about the authenticity of the letters and tape were raised at the time and dismissed out of hand. In defence of the investigation team they were drowning under information – hundreds of thousands of pieces of it. As little as ten years later there would have been the computer technology available to make sense of all this information and to pick out the likely suspects. At the time it was all kept on paper and as always happens with paper it can be misfiled, mislaid or destroyed.
It was a recipe for disaster to have new index cards made out for information which related to someone who was already listed in the system. Anyone with a modicum of office experience should have realised that this policy doubled and trebled the likelihood of a vital piece of information being lost or misplaced. However, even if everything had been filed in the right place, the strongly held belief of the senior detectives that they were looking for someone with a Sunderland accent could have led to them underestimating the evidence which they did have against Sutcliffe.
When Sutcliffe was finally caught you would have thought everyone would have made sure every detail was attended to but that wasn’t the case. Sutcliffe was not searched and he was not asked to hand over his clothes. If he had been then it would have been clear from the start that these were pre-planned and organised attacks and not spur of the moment events. Everyone was in a rush to get him into court in front of a magistrate and the detectives questioning him were sleep deprived otherwise they might have dealt with things in a different fashion.
When the case came to court it was only thanks to the judge that a trial actually took place. The prosecution had agreed with the defence that they would accept a plea of guilty of manslaughter because of the defendant’s mental state so that there didn’t need to be a trial. The judge took a different view and told the barristers concerned that Sutcliffe’s mental state was a matter for the jury to decide on. Sutcliffe was found guilty of murder by a majority verdict.
But the story doesn’t end there and this book covers the subsequent investigation into the police handling of the case, the transfer of Sutcliffe to Broadmoor, his appeal against the length of his sentence and the prosecution of the author of the tape and letters which so drastically mislead the detectives in charge of the Yorkshire Ripper case. It also reports briefly on the lives of the victims who survived.
The book contains comprehensive notes on the text and a bibliography as well as an appendix containing Sutcliffe’s statement when he was arrested in 1981. If you want a comprehensive book about this case then you could do worse than start with this one. It is detailed and well written and provides some interesting insights into the thoughts of those involved in tracking down Peter Sutcliffe – one of the most notorious murderers of the twentieth century.
Sutcliffe was interviewed many times during the course of the investigation and more than one of the police officers who spoke to him believed there was something about him which needed looking into. One took the trouble to write a detailed report about him which was totally ignored by the senior detectives in charge of the enquiry. It was disastrous that George Oldfield – in charge of the enquiry – became wholly fixated on the Ripper being from Sunderland because of the hoax tape and letters from ‘Wearside Jack’.
Doubts about the authenticity of the letters and tape were raised at the time and dismissed out of hand. In defence of the investigation team they were drowning under information – hundreds of thousands of pieces of it. As little as ten years later there would have been the computer technology available to make sense of all this information and to pick out the likely suspects. At the time it was all kept on paper and as always happens with paper it can be misfiled, mislaid or destroyed.
It was a recipe for disaster to have new index cards made out for information which related to someone who was already listed in the system. Anyone with a modicum of office experience should have realised that this policy doubled and trebled the likelihood of a vital piece of information being lost or misplaced. However, even if everything had been filed in the right place, the strongly held belief of the senior detectives that they were looking for someone with a Sunderland accent could have led to them underestimating the evidence which they did have against Sutcliffe.
When Sutcliffe was finally caught you would have thought everyone would have made sure every detail was attended to but that wasn’t the case. Sutcliffe was not searched and he was not asked to hand over his clothes. If he had been then it would have been clear from the start that these were pre-planned and organised attacks and not spur of the moment events. Everyone was in a rush to get him into court in front of a magistrate and the detectives questioning him were sleep deprived otherwise they might have dealt with things in a different fashion.
When the case came to court it was only thanks to the judge that a trial actually took place. The prosecution had agreed with the defence that they would accept a plea of guilty of manslaughter because of the defendant’s mental state so that there didn’t need to be a trial. The judge took a different view and told the barristers concerned that Sutcliffe’s mental state was a matter for the jury to decide on. Sutcliffe was found guilty of murder by a majority verdict.
But the story doesn’t end there and this book covers the subsequent investigation into the police handling of the case, the transfer of Sutcliffe to Broadmoor, his appeal against the length of his sentence and the prosecution of the author of the tape and letters which so drastically mislead the detectives in charge of the Yorkshire Ripper case. It also reports briefly on the lives of the victims who survived.
The book contains comprehensive notes on the text and a bibliography as well as an appendix containing Sutcliffe’s statement when he was arrested in 1981. If you want a comprehensive book about this case then you could do worse than start with this one. It is detailed and well written and provides some interesting insights into the thoughts of those involved in tracking down Peter Sutcliffe – one of the most notorious murderers of the twentieth century.
May 2, 2011
This was my first book reading about the Yorkshire Ripper. Perhaps I should have read another book first cause this one was so detailed but all in all I did think it was very interesting. It was hard to read and read more murders and he still wasn't caught. To read about all the mistakes that were made and especially the mistake about the letters from someone who was not the ripper. I was also annoyed to find out how against the advice of the judge the psychiatrist still did what they wanted with Sutcliffe. Pissed me off. 3.6
February 6, 2024
Really good, well narrated.
July 9, 2018
The 1970s were a different time ‘there were no computers in which local intelligence could be stored …detectives in a murder incident room relied on a card index system, with its complex classifications’.
This book is not interviews with the ‘Yorkshire Ripper’, Peter Sutcliffe, but it looks at the police procedural and the process they went through to finally get their man. A burglar in Liverpool could have a certain Modus Operandi (MO) that only police in Liverpool would know. They would index that but if he started his criminal activities in Leeds they would have no clue and it would be all new to the Leeds detectives. This is just one factor they were up against. Mistakes were made. Huge and fatal mistakes.
The detail is incredible and very graphic from the very first murder of Wilma McCann who was found on 30-Oct-1975 it is unsettling. I had not realised quite how ferocious, vicious and downright hideous the murders were. If you are at all squeamish it is best to leave this book to one side. His MO was plain to see. After the fourth murder: ‘What he was looking at confirmed what they had seen in the three other murders – a clear and established pattern: similar kinds of head injuries; similar movement of the clothing; the absence of sexual intercourse; and multiple stab wounds produced by a variety of different instruments’. There had been murder attempts before as well. Peter Sutcliffe murdered 13 women and attempted to kill 7. That is the official total anyway.
Just when you thought that you had heard everything there is a big reveal. I am going to give nothing away suffice to say it will make you think about the ‘mad vs bad’ debate. Should Sutcliffe have been moved from Parkhurst to Broadmoor?
This book blew me away, it really did. True crime books can, sometimes, be dull and buried in minutiae but this one was gripping, sickening and extremely well written. Bilton is an investigative journalist and this is his magnum opus without a doubt. It is an incredible work. I cannot believe that there is a better book out there on this subject. The fact that it is from the point-of-view of the police rather than the serial killer made it all the more interesting for me. He doesn’t stop with the conviction of Sutcliffe but goes on to show how this case effected policing in Britain and how it was turned around following this debacle.
Highly recommended for true crime fans that are not in it just for the graphic violence although, be warned, it does not shy away from the facts. At over 700 pages you are going to need to invest some time. I was glad I did.
This book is not interviews with the ‘Yorkshire Ripper’, Peter Sutcliffe, but it looks at the police procedural and the process they went through to finally get their man. A burglar in Liverpool could have a certain Modus Operandi (MO) that only police in Liverpool would know. They would index that but if he started his criminal activities in Leeds they would have no clue and it would be all new to the Leeds detectives. This is just one factor they were up against. Mistakes were made. Huge and fatal mistakes.
The detail is incredible and very graphic from the very first murder of Wilma McCann who was found on 30-Oct-1975 it is unsettling. I had not realised quite how ferocious, vicious and downright hideous the murders were. If you are at all squeamish it is best to leave this book to one side. His MO was plain to see. After the fourth murder: ‘What he was looking at confirmed what they had seen in the three other murders – a clear and established pattern: similar kinds of head injuries; similar movement of the clothing; the absence of sexual intercourse; and multiple stab wounds produced by a variety of different instruments’. There had been murder attempts before as well. Peter Sutcliffe murdered 13 women and attempted to kill 7. That is the official total anyway.
Just when you thought that you had heard everything there is a big reveal. I am going to give nothing away suffice to say it will make you think about the ‘mad vs bad’ debate. Should Sutcliffe have been moved from Parkhurst to Broadmoor?
This book blew me away, it really did. True crime books can, sometimes, be dull and buried in minutiae but this one was gripping, sickening and extremely well written. Bilton is an investigative journalist and this is his magnum opus without a doubt. It is an incredible work. I cannot believe that there is a better book out there on this subject. The fact that it is from the point-of-view of the police rather than the serial killer made it all the more interesting for me. He doesn’t stop with the conviction of Sutcliffe but goes on to show how this case effected policing in Britain and how it was turned around following this debacle.
Highly recommended for true crime fans that are not in it just for the graphic violence although, be warned, it does not shy away from the facts. At over 700 pages you are going to need to invest some time. I was glad I did.
December 15, 2011
Michael Bilton has, in my view, produced the best book yet on the Yorkshire Ripper. Bilton takes you through the entire case and each murder individually, highlighting the evidence and events without sensationalising them at all. He does not just accept the recorded version of events but examines thoroughly any errors or discrepancies he sees before coming to a conclusion about the reality of events. For example, he looks into the possibility that one of the Ripper's victims in Manchester may in fact not have been killed by him at all, and comes up with some pretty convincing arguments. He backs all of this up with detail of Yorkshire life and policing, and portraits of the officers involved in the case to provide a thorough study of how events unfolded.
The book could have been improved by some interview with the Ripper himself. I can understand why Bilton did not want to do this, but I cannot concur that the Ripper could not tell him anything about the crime of use. It is essential that we try to understand these people and their motivations. Unfortunatly this means given them the attention some of them crave, but it is a worthwhile sacrifice if it assists our understanding of such evil people.
Bilton focuses also on the victims and their lives, rather than glossing over them and focusing on the criminal alone as many books of this genre too. He provides a good insight into how the lives of the families and the police officers involved were affected. Whilst undoubtedly the police made mistakes, they are too often turned into the enemy, with little understanding as to the pressure they were under. Bilton looks closely at methods of investigation at the time and the problems this caused in such a massive investigation. A small criticism is that he does tend to be slightly biased towards the police and give them a bit too much benefit of the doubt over their mistakes, which really were far too many whatever the pressure of the investigation.
The book is a very thorough study of the case but one aspect I would have liked a bit more of an examination into is the Wearside Jack issue - who the hoaxer might have been and his motivations. This was a crucial part of the investigation and I felt a bit more detail on this would have been useful to put the hoaxer issue into context. However, overall this really is an excellent and important book and well worth a read for anyone with an interest in true crime.
The book could have been improved by some interview with the Ripper himself. I can understand why Bilton did not want to do this, but I cannot concur that the Ripper could not tell him anything about the crime of use. It is essential that we try to understand these people and their motivations. Unfortunatly this means given them the attention some of them crave, but it is a worthwhile sacrifice if it assists our understanding of such evil people.
Bilton focuses also on the victims and their lives, rather than glossing over them and focusing on the criminal alone as many books of this genre too. He provides a good insight into how the lives of the families and the police officers involved were affected. Whilst undoubtedly the police made mistakes, they are too often turned into the enemy, with little understanding as to the pressure they were under. Bilton looks closely at methods of investigation at the time and the problems this caused in such a massive investigation. A small criticism is that he does tend to be slightly biased towards the police and give them a bit too much benefit of the doubt over their mistakes, which really were far too many whatever the pressure of the investigation.
The book is a very thorough study of the case but one aspect I would have liked a bit more of an examination into is the Wearside Jack issue - who the hoaxer might have been and his motivations. This was a crucial part of the investigation and I felt a bit more detail on this would have been useful to put the hoaxer issue into context. However, overall this really is an excellent and important book and well worth a read for anyone with an interest in true crime.
April 16, 2020
If you are from Yorkshire you have heard of the Yorkshire Ripper. If like me you are from Leeds where the murders took place the scars are still there just less visible.
Peter Sutcliffe murdered 13 women and attacked 7 more in the space of a few years. Wicked Beyond Belief is the most detailed account of what happened on the streets of Leeds, Bradford and other parts of the north of England. The police believed that there was a man murdering sex workers, there didn't seem to be any rush to look into the murders as they were deemed unsavoury women and as it was the seventies not deemed to be as 'worthy.'
Matters changed when non sex workers were now being murdered.
DNA testing wasn't there and no computers so mountains of papers and with so many leads Peter Sutcliffe, even though he had been interviewed before (more than once), slipped through the net.
The police thought a break through had come when a tape came through from a man claiming to be the Ripper. All the police's eggs went into that basket leading to the investigation being taken in the wrong direction and further away from Sutcliffe being captured - the man on the tapes dubbed Wearside Jack was found after many years, was charged and spent time in prison. In the end over 2 million man-hours of police work were logged making it the biggest manhunt in British history.
Peter Sutcliffe was eventually captured by chance by South Yorkshire Police who stopped him for a traffic violation. When searching the car police found tools and other paraphernalia in the boot of his car. He was arrested and eventually the whole story came out.
The book doesn't focus on Sutcliffe but rather his victims and the case as a whole. It's a well written book full of detail and in depth knowledge. It does not portray the West Yorkshire Police in a good light however sadly mistakes were made.
If you are a fan of true crime this is one to read 5/5.
Peter Sutcliffe murdered 13 women and attacked 7 more in the space of a few years. Wicked Beyond Belief is the most detailed account of what happened on the streets of Leeds, Bradford and other parts of the north of England. The police believed that there was a man murdering sex workers, there didn't seem to be any rush to look into the murders as they were deemed unsavoury women and as it was the seventies not deemed to be as 'worthy.'
Matters changed when non sex workers were now being murdered.
DNA testing wasn't there and no computers so mountains of papers and with so many leads Peter Sutcliffe, even though he had been interviewed before (more than once), slipped through the net.
The police thought a break through had come when a tape came through from a man claiming to be the Ripper. All the police's eggs went into that basket leading to the investigation being taken in the wrong direction and further away from Sutcliffe being captured - the man on the tapes dubbed Wearside Jack was found after many years, was charged and spent time in prison. In the end over 2 million man-hours of police work were logged making it the biggest manhunt in British history.
Peter Sutcliffe was eventually captured by chance by South Yorkshire Police who stopped him for a traffic violation. When searching the car police found tools and other paraphernalia in the boot of his car. He was arrested and eventually the whole story came out.
The book doesn't focus on Sutcliffe but rather his victims and the case as a whole. It's a well written book full of detail and in depth knowledge. It does not portray the West Yorkshire Police in a good light however sadly mistakes were made.
If you are a fan of true crime this is one to read 5/5.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2017
It saddens me to give this book 2 stars, given the monumental events it writes about. Although born in the UK and a semi-proud resident for 32 years I've never really looked into or read about the Yorkshire Ripper case. This book is a definitive account from the investigation point of view and is very well researched. Unfortunately, in many places, it's boring as F**k!!
A book about a 13 time murderer should be gripping and unnerving. This was neither. At several points in the book the author randomly gives a complete biography of someone new being added to the investigation, such as the medical examiner or the dialect expert. You know what, i really don't care. This book could easily have lost a hundred pages of this type of unnecessary filler.
What really nailed this as a 2 star book was the last chapter - DNA, DNA, DNA, which rambles on about the background and advancement of DNA technology. If i want a boring lesson in DNA i'd visit Wikipedia. I wouldn't get my lesson from a book about Peter Sutcliffe who may have been caught through DNA if he'd started his killing spree 20 years later. I skimmed this chapter and the epilogue as i was pretty annoyed and just wanted the book to be over.
A book about a 13 time murderer should be gripping and unnerving. This was neither. At several points in the book the author randomly gives a complete biography of someone new being added to the investigation, such as the medical examiner or the dialect expert. You know what, i really don't care. This book could easily have lost a hundred pages of this type of unnecessary filler.
What really nailed this as a 2 star book was the last chapter - DNA, DNA, DNA, which rambles on about the background and advancement of DNA technology. If i want a boring lesson in DNA i'd visit Wikipedia. I wouldn't get my lesson from a book about Peter Sutcliffe who may have been caught through DNA if he'd started his killing spree 20 years later. I skimmed this chapter and the epilogue as i was pretty annoyed and just wanted the book to be over.
August 11, 2021
I usually like to read about true-life crimes but sadly I found this very 'wordy'. This is a harrowing account of The Yorkshire Ripper, his horrendous crimes and the different paths the investigation followed.
June 16, 2022
This sure is one in depth research into this case and what mammoth of a book this is. There’s information from A to Z not even missing out on histories of cities relevant to the events or short biographies of men who worked the case. I felt like this book was a bit too bloated though. Not that I don’t appreciate an in depth research and fact reporting, but some of the information was minute by minute detailed and unless Sutcliffe is your very top case of interest - this drags and becomes tedious to trudge through. I did enjoy later year additions with more context and information about what happened after the trial, I also enjoyed added information of transcribed interviews. The writing style is also fitting to the genre so the whole story doesn’t shrink a to tabloid type reporting.
Overall - for case enthusiasts this must be a mother-lode. For me - it was a little dry and definitely a little too intensive report on a research. Then again - if it was split in two tomes it would be even worse. I’ll leave it at that.
Overall - for case enthusiasts this must be a mother-lode. For me - it was a little dry and definitely a little too intensive report on a research. Then again - if it was split in two tomes it would be even worse. I’ll leave it at that.
January 29, 2018
I’ve been glued to the page, grimly fascinated, since I picked this up. It would be difficult to sensationalise just how botched and unlucky the investigation was, and this book is far more absorbing than any fiction. This focuses on the investigation, not the Ripper, and shows the horrible impact it all had on the police officers involved, and also snippets of background about the victims and their families.
June 28, 2023
A very in depth look at the Yorkshire Ripper murders but I feel that a number of things could be changed/added;
• the use of the word prostitute, although used throughout the case at the time, could be changed at points to sex workers.
• mention of the fact that those who were sex workers were probably doing so out of necessity. Also, mention of the fact that barely any of the victims were sex workers, and this narrow thinking was brought about by the misogyny of the police force and society of the times.
• I don’t think a biography of nearly every detective working the case was necessary.
• the use of the word prostitute, although used throughout the case at the time, could be changed at points to sex workers.
• mention of the fact that those who were sex workers were probably doing so out of necessity. Also, mention of the fact that barely any of the victims were sex workers, and this narrow thinking was brought about by the misogyny of the police force and society of the times.
• I don’t think a biography of nearly every detective working the case was necessary.
February 7, 2017
This went on a bit at times, but let's be frank there was a lot to get through. 13 women murdered, countless others attacked and some earlier attacks on males also suspected. Quite a piece of work!
This book focuses on the police investigation and how Sutcliffe was able to remain at large for at least five years, despite being interviewed by police multiple times in connection with the case and having been eventually picked up almost coincidentally on a routine patrol of a Sheffield red light district. Staggering, really.
That's not to say Sutcliffe is some kind of criminal mastermind. The main failings seem to be in the vast amount of paperwork amassed in the pre-digital age and the fact the killings took place in different cities with different ways of doing things. If Sutcliffe was out there today, there's no way he would have been able to avoid capture for so long. One of the closing chapters looks at advances in DNA and police computer systems which hopefully shows a repeat performance is now impossible.
I liked the style of the book, which was very readable yet still felt like a true factual account as opposed to a gossipy tabloid read. The attacks themselves were of course the most gripping, but reading about the bungled investigation was also very interesting. Not a quick read, but glad to have ticked it off the list.
This book focuses on the police investigation and how Sutcliffe was able to remain at large for at least five years, despite being interviewed by police multiple times in connection with the case and having been eventually picked up almost coincidentally on a routine patrol of a Sheffield red light district. Staggering, really.
That's not to say Sutcliffe is some kind of criminal mastermind. The main failings seem to be in the vast amount of paperwork amassed in the pre-digital age and the fact the killings took place in different cities with different ways of doing things. If Sutcliffe was out there today, there's no way he would have been able to avoid capture for so long. One of the closing chapters looks at advances in DNA and police computer systems which hopefully shows a repeat performance is now impossible.
I liked the style of the book, which was very readable yet still felt like a true factual account as opposed to a gossipy tabloid read. The attacks themselves were of course the most gripping, but reading about the bungled investigation was also very interesting. Not a quick read, but glad to have ticked it off the list.
January 28, 2019
Interesting overview of the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper and good insights into the problems with the massive investigation. I found I skipped large chunks of text as it seemed irrelevant to the details of the investigation, particularly with details about some of the officers. Also there were several parts that I thought repeated the same information or phrases which to me could have been written better and should have been edited.
January 26, 2016
It is a must read for all true crime fans. It was beautifully written and very detailed as to the backgrounds and victims families before and after this vicious brutal killer did his evil deeds.
March 17, 2018
This was too much reportage for my tastes. The result was, for me, yawn-inducing. Especially given how insanely long the book is, I decided to abandon ship after about 150 pages.
November 26, 2025
The atrocious crimes of the Yorkshire Ripper are masterfully integrated into wider social commentary on the times and although never shying away from how truly horrific his crimes were it stops short of romanticising the events or sifting through the tortured soul to absolve or rationalise and reads to highlight the investigative and evidential.
However, where Sutcliffe’s actions seemingly end, his incontrovertible influence on the victims and their families begins and the book comprehends their lives into standalone narratives offering a harrowing insight and refreshing depth to each crime.
Naturally the overriding draw is the investigation itself and it is handled with a refreshing neutrality that owes much to the succinct and thorough research as it does to the humanising stories of those involved in the investigation. The investigation ebbed and flowed with glimmers of light but it is a warts and all account; mismanagement, incompetence and hoax.
Outstanding true crime writing that goes far beyond the realms of morbid curiosity culminating in a thorough and detailed anatomy that not only offers reference level for this crime series but for True Crime writing going forward.
However, where Sutcliffe’s actions seemingly end, his incontrovertible influence on the victims and their families begins and the book comprehends their lives into standalone narratives offering a harrowing insight and refreshing depth to each crime.
Naturally the overriding draw is the investigation itself and it is handled with a refreshing neutrality that owes much to the succinct and thorough research as it does to the humanising stories of those involved in the investigation. The investigation ebbed and flowed with glimmers of light but it is a warts and all account; mismanagement, incompetence and hoax.
Outstanding true crime writing that goes far beyond the realms of morbid curiosity culminating in a thorough and detailed anatomy that not only offers reference level for this crime series but for True Crime writing going forward.
July 18, 2025
Very well-researched, and more importantly well-balanced. It would have been very easy to 'pile on' with the easy and comm0nly-held assumption that Peter Sutcliffe was only able to kill as many women as he did due to an incompetent police force which for some reason didn't take attacks on sex workers as seriously as they should have. Bilton paints a much more rounded assessment of the crimes in chronological order, putting into context the sheer magnitude of the task facing a pre-computers, decentralised and fragmented organisation prior to most of the forensic advances which would make things so different had they taken place fifty (or even ten or twenty) years later. The author paints a picture of the times and the challenges faced by the public and those investigating the crimes, mainly ordinary men working extremely hard under great pressure who made mistakes easy now to criticise. Not an enjoyable read though, the victims - be they 'innocent' in 1970s media parlance, or prostitutes due to grim circumstances - sympathetically and thoroughly depicted.
April 22, 2019
Much too detailed for me (I have no attention span) but fascinating nonetheless. Tragic to hear how many times the police questioned Sutcliffe. I can’t even imagine how terrified women in northern England must have been during this period.
January 25, 2020
A very detailed read. I liked this book as the author gives you some background to the rippers victims,so they aren't just a name.
April 3, 2025
Very interesting book about a very disturbed individual.
June 22, 2025
Oof, what a slog, drag, mess. I guess I got spoiled with the last True Crime book I read (Murderland by Caroline Fraser), which was suspenseful and compelling where this one was boring and dense. Guess I'll just watch the series.
December 28, 2023
This book left a bad taste in my mouth. I’m not sure what I expected, to be honest, going into it. It’s a very long book – my copy came to around 670 pages and, to be honest, felt like a slog for much of reading it. If you’re looking for an incredibly in-depth look at the series of murders committed by Peter Sutcliffe, then this could work for you. There is so much detail in this book and the depth of his research really shows.
However, his level of detail is also the books biggest flaw. I don’t think anyone really needed as much detail of the murders as this book gives. I think one of my biggest issues was the lack of dignity this book afforded the victims, especially those engaged in sex work. For example, did we need to know what underwear the victims were wearing when they died? There was a generally dismissive attitude towards women throughout the book. There were points where I felt like the author focused more on discussing some of the victim’s physical beauty than on what they were like as people, as if that mattered more. And his attitude towards sex workers in this book stank, to be quite honest. Sometimes he veers dangerously close to implying they deserved what happened to them, and Generally, he does seem to want to categorise the victims into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ in a way I found distasteful.
Generally, a big issue for me was that the author just didn’t seem to want to admit that the police did a bad job. Even this attitude, though, veers all over the place; sometimes he admits they did, other times it feels like he wanted to blame other people for their failures. This was my other main issue with this book. The structure, for me, was very rambling. It jumped all over the timeline of events in a way I found hectic and confusing and didn’t always feel coherent. The additional chapters at the end, written after its original publication, were rambling and added little to the book as a whole.
In fact, the only consistent thing through this book that I liked was how much he clearly loathed Peter Sutcliffe, as he should, and his commitment to addressing the myth of Peter Sutcliffe’s claims of a mission from God. For me, though, this book just…wasn’t that great. The detail is good but his attitude is all over the place, I found the structure hard to follow sometimes, and it just felt like a slog.
b>Content Notes:
Warnings: .
However, his level of detail is also the books biggest flaw. I don’t think anyone really needed as much detail of the murders as this book gives. I think one of my biggest issues was the lack of dignity this book afforded the victims, especially those engaged in sex work. For example, did we need to know what underwear the victims were wearing when they died? There was a generally dismissive attitude towards women throughout the book. There were points where I felt like the author focused more on discussing some of the victim’s physical beauty than on what they were like as people, as if that mattered more. And his attitude towards sex workers in this book stank, to be quite honest. Sometimes he veers dangerously close to implying they deserved what happened to them, and Generally, he does seem to want to categorise the victims into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ in a way I found distasteful.
Generally, a big issue for me was that the author just didn’t seem to want to admit that the police did a bad job. Even this attitude, though, veers all over the place; sometimes he admits they did, other times it feels like he wanted to blame other people for their failures. This was my other main issue with this book. The structure, for me, was very rambling. It jumped all over the timeline of events in a way I found hectic and confusing and didn’t always feel coherent. The additional chapters at the end, written after its original publication, were rambling and added little to the book as a whole.
In fact, the only consistent thing through this book that I liked was how much he clearly loathed Peter Sutcliffe, as he should, and his commitment to addressing the myth of Peter Sutcliffe’s claims of a mission from God. For me, though, this book just…wasn’t that great. The detail is good but his attitude is all over the place, I found the structure hard to follow sometimes, and it just felt like a slog.
b>Content Notes:
Warnings: .
July 28, 2012
Like a lot of teenagers I too was fascinated by the mystery surrounding the most famous serial killers. What made them do all those terrible things, murder, rape, abductions..how did they manage to get away with it for so long..etc etc.
Then i came upon this book and picked it up because a) i wasn't very familiar with the case and b) because it had pictures. The first few pages seemed kinda clinical - what with the quintessential British police detective and the grainy mornings of Northern Yorkshire. But soon the book took off and when i finally finished it i felt exhausted, ashamed for my earlier fixation, heartbroken for the tragedies, fuming for the messed up bureaucracy and humbled by the dedication and hard work of all the men and women involved with the case.
This was an extraordinary mass murder case - a killer on the loose, in a relatively small place, with numerous made-to-order profile sketches - a killer questioned no less than 9 times, a married man with an unsuspecting wife. A killer with all the luck in the world and a police force with none. Michael Bilton's book is in-deapth study of the hunted as well as the hunters after him. The book doesn't look away from the actual crimes either (these by far the most disturbing feature of the story).
Wicked Beyond Belief is not an easy read but for what its worth is one of the best books i've ever read and i can't say nothing but recommend it.
Then i came upon this book and picked it up because a) i wasn't very familiar with the case and b) because it had pictures. The first few pages seemed kinda clinical - what with the quintessential British police detective and the grainy mornings of Northern Yorkshire. But soon the book took off and when i finally finished it i felt exhausted, ashamed for my earlier fixation, heartbroken for the tragedies, fuming for the messed up bureaucracy and humbled by the dedication and hard work of all the men and women involved with the case.
This was an extraordinary mass murder case - a killer on the loose, in a relatively small place, with numerous made-to-order profile sketches - a killer questioned no less than 9 times, a married man with an unsuspecting wife. A killer with all the luck in the world and a police force with none. Michael Bilton's book is in-deapth study of the hunted as well as the hunters after him. The book doesn't look away from the actual crimes either (these by far the most disturbing feature of the story).
Wicked Beyond Belief is not an easy read but for what its worth is one of the best books i've ever read and i can't say nothing but recommend it.
April 11, 2019
I'm a sucker for true crime books and this is one of the best I've read. At around 800 pages, it's a comprehensive guide to the whole Yorkshire Ripper investigation. It is astonishing the mistakes the Ripper Squad made and the sheer incompetence of the more senior investigators who refused to listen more junior officers. So many 'if onlys'. If only they hadn't placed so much emphasis on the hoax tape and letters. If only the tyre tracking enquiry had been allowed to continue. If only they'd have put all the photo fits together on one wall. If only they'd have cross-referenced the triple sightings, the five pound note enquiry and the tyre track enquiry. If only these arrogant Yorkshire detectives had listened properly to those women who survived and who had heard the Ripper's voice and seen his face. If only Peter Sutcliffe had been interviewed at a police station by more senior detectives instead of in his home or workplace by more junior officers. He was interviewed a total of nine times before he was arrested. I went to university in Leeds in 1981, the same year the Ripper was caught and recognised the very spot where Jacqueline Hill was murdered. I used to shop in the Safeway round the corner. Chilling.
November 2, 2017
Forensically detailed and exhaustive study into the reasons why the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper went so spectacularly wrong, with first-hand accounts from many who were involved in the search, and a compassionate stance towards the victims of his crime. Bilton chooses not to focus on the Ripper himself, in an effort not to afford Sutcliffe any more notoriety than he already has. Instead, he shows us the other side of the mirror-- something closer to the truth of life during that period, without the dark glamour that tends to accumulate around the cult of serial killers.
If there is a flaw with the book, it is that her is, perhaps, too lenient on the senior officers who mangled the case so badly, and gives too great an allowance to the pressure and scrutiny they were under as reasons for their errors. But the sheer weight of research and verisimilitude that comes from the page gives the reader the opportunity to believe that this allowance is genuine: it all feels incredibly real, and makes for compulsive reading.
If there is a flaw with the book, it is that her is, perhaps, too lenient on the senior officers who mangled the case so badly, and gives too great an allowance to the pressure and scrutiny they were under as reasons for their errors. But the sheer weight of research and verisimilitude that comes from the page gives the reader the opportunity to believe that this allowance is genuine: it all feels incredibly real, and makes for compulsive reading.
February 16, 2020
Mammoth of a read! The book is about 700 pages long and goes into the lives of every single victim of Peter Sutcliffe. As it's so long I did find myself becoming frustrated with the criminal process and wanted the police to catch him much earlier on in the book but hey, it didn't go like that in reality there were so many missed opportunities and wild goose chase as it happens there was an inquiry into the failings of the police to catch the Yorkshire Ripper. The book takes you on a suspenseful terrifying journey. I'm giving this 4 stars as the ending where he eventually was apprehended could've been more dramatic as I felt it was rushed. I recommend this to anyone who loves true crime and those who are going to be having alot of spare time on their hands and it will truly keep you occupied.
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