Bloody Valentine: As seen on BBC TV 'A Killing in Tiger Bay'

by John L. Williams

Bloody Valentine is the story of the murder of a young woman called Lynette White in the Cardiff docklands (aka Tiger Bay) on Valentine's Day 1988.

It's also the story of the miscarriage of justice that came after, when three black men, 'the Cardiff Three', were wrongly convicted of her murder. It's a brutally frank tale of racism and police corruption, terrible misogynist violence and the grim realities of sex work. It's a book that got so close to the bone that the author was sued for libel by the police and received death threats from a variety of minor characters. It's an indelible portrait of life in the underbelly of Thatcher's Britain.

This new edition includes an introduction and afterword bringing the extraordinary, unhappy saga up to date.

Genres: Nonfiction

225 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 25, 2021

Reviews

[Lucy White · Rating 3 out of 5]

A heavy but important read.

[Brian Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book after listening to the excellent BBC Sounds podcast that covered the same case. This book was written just a couple of years after the murder of Lynette White and, although there is an update from 2020, the story here does not really cover the latterday efforts at exposing the poor working practices of the South Wales Police. For more information about that I recommend listening to the podcast.

What this book does well is it provides a context to the murder, it shows the development of Butetown and its working class roots. Giving flavour is where Williams excels, his writing is almost tongue in cheek but he usually always hits the mark.

Initially his writing smacked me as that of someone slumming it to gain credibility but no, he really dived into the lives of the people involved and affected by the murder and he sticks for the duration of the police enquiry, the trial, the exoneration and the long, drawn out shattered lives of those who were found guilty of the murder.

A simple quote that struck will perhaps give a good flavour of where Williams is coming from.

'Everyone's drinking Super Tennents in this overlit kitchen and the situation looks like it might be desperate if only anyone cared enough to make it so.'

His writing follows this style throughout and, for me at least, it suits the working class environment, the quiet desperation, the nursed grievances and the dramas of all involved.

Although this book is not a forensic dive into the miscarriage of justice (again, refer to the podcast for more information about this) it serves as an excellent snapshot of a unique place and time and gives us, at a thirty plus year remove from the events, an insight into the social situation and the psychogeography of the time.

This book was not what I was expecting, the quality of writing is way better than what is given to the bulk of true crime writing and Williams is a truly great writer who has a unique force to his voice.

[Martin Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m from near Cardiff, I was working in the city and knew it well when the events depicted happened. The story is familiar to me because of the relentless TV coverage at the time. What is not familiar is the stories of those implicated. No one really comes out of this story looking rosy, it’s a story of social decay, poverty, racism, prejudiced beliefs, institutional police racism and the struggle to survive in late 80s Thatcher’s Britain. It’s brilliantly written and a hugely important story that hopefully we will learn from but the emotion I am left with really is just plain sadness. Sadness for the wrongly accused, sadness that poverty grinds people down, sadness that at the time you simply could not trust the police but overall sadness that a young woman was brutally murdered doing something she felt she had to do because there were no other options open to her.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Light on detail of the investigation and rambling in nature. Seemingly lacking objectivity throughout. Disappointing read as this is an important story of a miscarriage of justice which this book severely does not do justice to.

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published in 1994, just a few short years after the murder of Lynette White, Bloody Valentine pulls together the available information and details of the various people involved throughout the case into a book that will leave you enraged and frustrated.

What I really appreciated about this book is something I think will be familiar to those who have watched the Paradise Lost trilogy (another miscarriage of justice, this time in West Memphis). The ‘real time’ element is very much present, and although Williams, similar to the documentary filmmakers, starts not knowing much about the murder and not entirely certain that the men arrested didn’t do it, throughout the book he lays out what he discovers alongside the evidence, including conversations with family members and trips around Butetown, allowing the reader to come to their own conclusions almost as he does.

Of course, reading the updated 2021 edition, we’re aware of the realities of the case and the wrongful convictions, even prompting a change to the book’s subtitle (from ‘A Killing in Cardiff’ to ‘The Story of Britain’s Worst Miscarriage of Justice’).

It’s important to note that although Williams is from Cardiff, he’s not from Butetown, but in his approach and manner, it’s clear he won over a few of the locals. He admits himself that he wasn’t as familiar with the area as perhaps he should have been when he initially started writing something following the murder, but thankfully a shift from novel to true crime ensured a comprehensive account of the events following Valentine’s Day, 1988, and the opportunity for Williams to become more familiar with the area.

I definitely think the book pairs well with Shreds, which came out in 2019 and offers more of a retrospective view. However, something that (I feel) often gets lost in these kinds of cases is the murder victim – both Shreds and Bloody Valentine offer detailed accounts of the Butetown men who were wrongfully arrested, but Bloody Valentine especially dives into Lynette White’s life and relationships, her upbringing and the work she was involved in during this time.

This is one of those true crime books that is able to stand out because of little more than circumstance, because Williams recognised something deeper happening in Butetown and was able to write about events as they were unfolding, as well as detailing the campaign to free the men involved. As noted above, the book will leave many readers frustrated and angry at the injustices experienced by many during this time, but it’s absolutely worth a read whether you’re familiar with the case or not.

[zoe Hitchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book that really made me think about the conduct of police forces in the past and also in the current climate , they stand for justice but at what cost and is it true justice?

I had heard little of the Lynette White murder , and the description of the aftermath and miscarriage of justice was written adeptly. The writing was easy to read and the case is told from a human perspective, which makes a refreshing change .

True crime books can often read more like a text book than communicating real life , but this is not one of them and it shows compassion and understanding both for the people involved and the area it affected.

A thoughtful, eye opening read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Oldcastle books for this arc copy