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Beyond Belief: The Moors Murderers: The Story of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley
This is a look at Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, the Moors Murderers. The text covers the murders, their perpetrators and the detection that led to Brady and Hindley's arrest.
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First published January 1, 1967
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About the author
Emlyn Williams
116 books13 followersBorn George Emlyn Williams in Pen-y-Ffordd, Mostyn, Flintshire in northeast Wales on November 1905, he lived in a rural village in which Welsh was spoken until he was 12 years old, when his family moved to an English-speaking town, Connah's Quay. It changed the course of his life as it was there that the teacher Sarah Grace Cooke, recognizing his literary talent, encouraged him and helped him win a scholarship to Oxford, where he attended the college of Christ Church. She is immortalized in the character of Miss Moffat in his play, "The Corn is Green."
Williams' plays "Yesterday's Magic," "The Morning Star" and "Someone Waiting" were also performed on Broadway, and he had a success on the Great White Way as an actor himself in a solo performance as Charles Dickens, which he revived twice. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for 'A Boy Growing Up' (1958), an adaptation of a work by fellow Welshman 'Dylan Thomas'. The tribal Williams also nurtured the young Welshman Richard Burton, whom he directed in his first lead film role in 'The Last Days of Dolwyn' (1949). (Burton's professional stage debut had been in Williams' play "Druid's Rest," and Emyln Williams' son 'Brook Williams' became one of his life-long friends.) Williams was the godfather to his first daughter, 'Kate Burton', who is also an actress.
In addition to directing and acting in film, Emlyn Williams famously collaborated with the great director Alfred Hitchcock. Williams acted in and wrote additional dialog for both the original The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and Jamaica Inn (1939).
Emlyn Williams wrote two memoirs, "George, An Early Autobiography" (1961), and "'Emlyn: An Early Autography, 1927-1935" (1974), as well as a 1967 non-fiction account of the Moors Murders entitled "Beyond Belief." His 1980 novel "Headlong" was adapted by David S. Ward into the movie "King Ralph" (1991). He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1962.
When he died in 1987, Emlyn Williams had written or co-written 20 screenplays in addition to his 20 plays. As an actor, he had appeared in 41 films and teleplays, plus made numerous appearances on stage.
Williams' plays "Yesterday's Magic," "The Morning Star" and "Someone Waiting" were also performed on Broadway, and he had a success on the Great White Way as an actor himself in a solo performance as Charles Dickens, which he revived twice. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for 'A Boy Growing Up' (1958), an adaptation of a work by fellow Welshman 'Dylan Thomas'. The tribal Williams also nurtured the young Welshman Richard Burton, whom he directed in his first lead film role in 'The Last Days of Dolwyn' (1949). (Burton's professional stage debut had been in Williams' play "Druid's Rest," and Emyln Williams' son 'Brook Williams' became one of his life-long friends.) Williams was the godfather to his first daughter, 'Kate Burton', who is also an actress.
In addition to directing and acting in film, Emlyn Williams famously collaborated with the great director Alfred Hitchcock. Williams acted in and wrote additional dialog for both the original The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and Jamaica Inn (1939).
Emlyn Williams wrote two memoirs, "George, An Early Autobiography" (1961), and "'Emlyn: An Early Autography, 1927-1935" (1974), as well as a 1967 non-fiction account of the Moors Murders entitled "Beyond Belief." His 1980 novel "Headlong" was adapted by David S. Ward into the movie "King Ralph" (1991). He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1962.
When he died in 1987, Emlyn Williams had written or co-written 20 screenplays in addition to his 20 plays. As an actor, he had appeared in 41 films and teleplays, plus made numerous appearances on stage.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
March 12, 2024
The Moor Murders resonate to this day through England....the sexual assault and murder of five children by a young couple named Ian Brady and Myra Hindley who buried their victims on the moors. Although the subject is certainly horrifying, it is a story that should be told in a straightforward manner......what made this couple kill, what clues led the police to suspect them, etc. This is a book best handled by a true crime writer.........Emlyn Williams was a talented playwright, author, and actor but why he decided to write this book escapes me. His device of being the voice of Brady in the majority of the book began to irritate this reader very quickly......it is almost a stream of consciousness narrative that might have been more appropriate in a play and is based on supposition rather than fact. Frankly, I had a hard time getting through it and not because of the subject but because of the maddening style. This book just wasn't for me....maybe I have read too many Ann Rule true crime stories!!
It should also be noted, that the book is outdated (although that is not the fault of the author). When Brady and Hindley were sent to prison for life in 1965, there were only three known victims. The book was written in 1967. In 1985, Brady confessed to two more child murders. although one of the bodies has never been found.
It should also be noted, that the book is outdated (although that is not the fault of the author). When Brady and Hindley were sent to prison for life in 1965, there were only three known victims. The book was written in 1967. In 1985, Brady confessed to two more child murders. although one of the bodies has never been found.
June 23, 2021
I couldn't put this book down once I started reading it. It was not what I expected, in fact it was better.
Strangely, Ian Brady died in the facility he was locked up in the day after I read this book. It was weird hearing his name on the news and it made me think even more about what I had garnered from this book.
This is not written like a typical true crime book. What the author has done is quite clever, you read it as thought it's a story and you are in that story with the characters. You are behind the words of Myra and Ian and immersed in the era fully. It's very realistic. There is a LOT of Yorkshire slang and dialect with the dialogue in this book, it adds authenticity but some will struggle to grasp it. I personally liked it.
The author poses questions for us as he tells us about their lives from birth through to incarceration. The book reads almost like a novel in some ways which will appeal to some readers but not all.
After this book went to print, two further children were announced as being victims of the duo. Interestingly they are mentioned at the back of the book as unsolved disappearances at the time of print, later confessed to.
Some information in this book was found to be untrue in the latest book written about Ian Brady - the only book that Brady agreed to be interviewed for. Specifically they are the claims that he was cruel to animals (in fact he was a great animal lover) and the role of Myra in the sexual attack and killings is much more on par and equal to Brady.
Aside from that, there is so much detailed information in this book and it makes for both horrifying but fascinating reading. The dynamics of their relationship with each other and Myra's response after arrest I found very interesting. My heart just was so heavy thinking of what those poor children and teens went through after falling into the manipulative hands of these two.
I highly recommend this book if you are keen to learn more about The Moors Murderers. Be prepared to be fully immersed in their worlds, from childhood events all the way to their court case and beyond. The characters that surround this duo really come to life in the way it's written.
4 stars from me. A different telling of the chilling story that made these two so well known around the world. Recommended reading!
To follow my reviews, be alerted to great book events and book competitions I'd love to connect with you on social media!
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Strangely, Ian Brady died in the facility he was locked up in the day after I read this book. It was weird hearing his name on the news and it made me think even more about what I had garnered from this book.
This is not written like a typical true crime book. What the author has done is quite clever, you read it as thought it's a story and you are in that story with the characters. You are behind the words of Myra and Ian and immersed in the era fully. It's very realistic. There is a LOT of Yorkshire slang and dialect with the dialogue in this book, it adds authenticity but some will struggle to grasp it. I personally liked it.
The author poses questions for us as he tells us about their lives from birth through to incarceration. The book reads almost like a novel in some ways which will appeal to some readers but not all.
After this book went to print, two further children were announced as being victims of the duo. Interestingly they are mentioned at the back of the book as unsolved disappearances at the time of print, later confessed to.
Some information in this book was found to be untrue in the latest book written about Ian Brady - the only book that Brady agreed to be interviewed for. Specifically they are the claims that he was cruel to animals (in fact he was a great animal lover) and the role of Myra in the sexual attack and killings is much more on par and equal to Brady.
Aside from that, there is so much detailed information in this book and it makes for both horrifying but fascinating reading. The dynamics of their relationship with each other and Myra's response after arrest I found very interesting. My heart just was so heavy thinking of what those poor children and teens went through after falling into the manipulative hands of these two.
I highly recommend this book if you are keen to learn more about The Moors Murderers. Be prepared to be fully immersed in their worlds, from childhood events all the way to their court case and beyond. The characters that surround this duo really come to life in the way it's written.
4 stars from me. A different telling of the chilling story that made these two so well known around the world. Recommended reading!
To follow my reviews, be alerted to great book events and book competitions I'd love to connect with you on social media!
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/BookloverCatlady
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/promotethatbook
April 3, 2019
It's not until the end of the book, when the details of what the pair actually did (the photographs, the burials, the abuse) is described in plain detail that the real power of the way William´s has chosen to tell their story hits home. The book is truly haunting. You have been in the room with Brady and Hindley, you have been there for a murder, there for an abduction, there in the office and out on the Moors at night. You have been there in Manchester.
Williams was a respected writer and poet and the book is not told in a 'normal' way. He writes in the voices of Brady and Hindley, and in local dialect, splicing the text with newspaper headlines, film-titles and the words and speech of the other people in the story.
As a balance against sensationalist true-crime writing (as well as newspaper stories, small screen and film depictions), this is wonderful, of course. Occasionally I wasn´t totally gripped but there was no doubting Williams' methodology has well-preserved the times and the people involved. Weirdly it's the little details which are so haunting now. The description of the black family moving in next door to the Hindley house (and how they, and everyone else, ignored the bangs and screams on one murder night because that´s just what people did on overspill estates), the regular brewing of pots of tea, the cherry-picked Marquis de Sade quotations, the descriptions of what was on the box that night, what they had to eat and what Gran shouted from the back bedroom.
How you explain Brady and Hindley? You can´t. They are indeed "Beyond Belief". But this chilling, honest, emotional book is a fine human response to the harm they brought upon innocent children, young people and their families and communities in Manchester in the early 1960s.
Having said all that, I´m glad I´m finished with it and will read something else tonight...
Williams was a respected writer and poet and the book is not told in a 'normal' way. He writes in the voices of Brady and Hindley, and in local dialect, splicing the text with newspaper headlines, film-titles and the words and speech of the other people in the story.
As a balance against sensationalist true-crime writing (as well as newspaper stories, small screen and film depictions), this is wonderful, of course. Occasionally I wasn´t totally gripped but there was no doubting Williams' methodology has well-preserved the times and the people involved. Weirdly it's the little details which are so haunting now. The description of the black family moving in next door to the Hindley house (and how they, and everyone else, ignored the bangs and screams on one murder night because that´s just what people did on overspill estates), the regular brewing of pots of tea, the cherry-picked Marquis de Sade quotations, the descriptions of what was on the box that night, what they had to eat and what Gran shouted from the back bedroom.
How you explain Brady and Hindley? You can´t. They are indeed "Beyond Belief". But this chilling, honest, emotional book is a fine human response to the harm they brought upon innocent children, young people and their families and communities in Manchester in the early 1960s.
Having said all that, I´m glad I´m finished with it and will read something else tonight...
April 18, 2012
I was probably too young to have read this book when I did (early teens), but then I don't think you could ever prepare yourself to read a book like this. I remember hearing about the case and when I saw the book I wanted to try and understand how someone, especially a woman, could get involved in such horrific crimes against children.
The four stars isn't because I 'enjoyed' the book, but because it's a well written, though horrifying, look at a topic that is so shocking you don't want to believe it. It makes you believe it though by dealing with events in a fairly factual manner and by bringing many views into the book eg interviews with the people involved and including some court transcripts verbatim. I'll NEVER forget reading the transcript of the Lesley Ann Downey tape that was played in court. I could barely read it for crying, and I think I'd still have that same reaction as an adult. At the time the book was written there was still hope that all the victims would be found. Alas that wasn't to be and Keith Bennett is still alone on Saddleworth Moor.
If you read this book you'll understand why my blood chills whenever I see that iconic photograph of Hindley.
The four stars isn't because I 'enjoyed' the book, but because it's a well written, though horrifying, look at a topic that is so shocking you don't want to believe it. It makes you believe it though by dealing with events in a fairly factual manner and by bringing many views into the book eg interviews with the people involved and including some court transcripts verbatim. I'll NEVER forget reading the transcript of the Lesley Ann Downey tape that was played in court. I could barely read it for crying, and I think I'd still have that same reaction as an adult. At the time the book was written there was still hope that all the victims would be found. Alas that wasn't to be and Keith Bennett is still alone on Saddleworth Moor.
If you read this book you'll understand why my blood chills whenever I see that iconic photograph of Hindley.
March 13, 2008
A brilliant "nonfiction novel" about the Moors Murders -- and in its own style, not Truman Capote's! Undercelebrated and fantastic.
April 6, 2010
The Moors Murders are the most brutal, senseless and cold blooded killings to have occurred in Great Britain in many years. Between November 1963 and October 1965, Ian Brady, clerk, and Myra Hindley, typist, killed at least three—and possibly as many as five—young people varying in age from ten to seventeen, for no apparent motive. On May 6, 1966 the two murderers were sentenced to life imprisonment (capital punishment has been abolished in England). Beyond Belief, an uncanny feat of re-creation of the minds, hearts, and motivations of the two killers, is the story of this case. In it Emlyn Williams has achieved superbly his objective: “The dual accuracy of history and of imaginative understanding.
The way this book was written was very annoying to me at first.
English is not my mothers’ tongue, well it is, she is English, :-) but I was raised speaking Dutch only)
here is an example (The author must have fabricated all the dialogues between Ian and Myra.)
Ian: and if were caught which will not happen, ye must imagine yerself in an airport wi’ your luggage searched, it’s full of contra band, well ye,re just to sayye dinna ken a thing aboot it. I’ll teach ye a code,what a superbb evenin.
And this go’s on continually.
Besides that I did find it interesting because I did not know anything about the Moors Murderers and the author does provide some interesting information.
8.5
read on March 25th 2007
The way this book was written was very annoying to me at first.
English is not my mothers’ tongue, well it is, she is English, :-) but I was raised speaking Dutch only)
here is an example (The author must have fabricated all the dialogues between Ian and Myra.)
Ian: and if were caught which will not happen, ye must imagine yerself in an airport wi’ your luggage searched, it’s full of contra band, well ye,re just to sayye dinna ken a thing aboot it. I’ll teach ye a code,what a superbb evenin.
And this go’s on continually.
Besides that I did find it interesting because I did not know anything about the Moors Murderers and the author does provide some interesting information.
8.5
read on March 25th 2007
November 23, 2017
From what I can remember, this book was pretty excellent, but it made me feel physically sick because of the recreations of the thoughts of Ian Brady, the murderer. It haunted me for months; I couldn't get these sick images out of my mind, I couldn't stomach the fact that someone existed who really thought and acted in such a horrible way, and enjoyed killing and had such disregard for his victims. The fact that he found a girlfriend to go along with his murder schemes was just as disgusting and unbelievable. This book made me realize I have to be careful about the type of books I read; I can read true crime, but only if it's presented in a certain way. If too many gruesome details from the killer's point of view are presented, I become too upset. So, good book, but too disturbing for me.
August 16, 2009
True crime fans, you've never read one quite like this. Emlyn Williams' searing true-life account of the "Moors Murderers" Ian Brady and Myra Hindley exceeds "In Cold Blood" for excellence in this genre. Based on fact, this is a harrowing story composed using equal parts court records, interviews, and the author's speculation. It's blood-curdling down to the last page. Myra Hindley died in 2002; Brady lives on in prison. If you need more current details, HBO's fantastic production of "Longford" expounds on this case by recounting Hindley's relationship with naive, well-meaning Lord Longford, who tried to free her from prison. Ian Brady got wind of this and stopped it by admitting to additional murders committed by the pair, and showed where at least one body was buried. These include the cases author Williams guesses their involvement in, but were never proved in his lifetime. "Beyond Belief" is atmospheric as hell. Williams brings the mid-Sixties of Britain shockingly to life in a startling abundance of mundane, often poignant, daily details. He does take flights of pure imagination in what they actually said and who did what when. It's completely chilling, and completely credible. Not for the sensitive: these two abducted, tortured, and killed children. And tape-recorded it. And photographed it.
This one is liable to give you nightmares. Update: I finally saw the British film "See No Evil" about this case. It flat-out sucked. The more you know about this case, the worse the movie is. Avoid it. "Longford" was much better, even though they weren't the central focus.
This one is liable to give you nightmares. Update: I finally saw the British film "See No Evil" about this case. It flat-out sucked. The more you know about this case, the worse the movie is. Avoid it. "Longford" was much better, even though they weren't the central focus.
April 6, 2013
Classic true crime account of the Moors murders, a string of child murders in North England in the 1960s perpetrated by Ian Brady and his girlfriend Myra Hindley. I decided to read it after seeing it on David Peace's list of the ten best works of UK true crime. (Peace's Red Riding Quartet is hands down the best work of crime fiction I've ever read.) Listening to Throbbing Gristle's horrifying recording ("song" would be a stretch) Very Friendly further piqued my interest. Beyond Belief is bleak and unsettling, as you can imagine given its subject matter. It definitely falls in the nonfiction novel category, with plenty of speculative dialogue and next to no sourcing for the details of its account. This would be unacceptable to me in a work of history, but I can tolerate it in true crime. The book is incomplete - written a year or so after Brady and Hindley's convictions, it does not provide full accounts of two additional child murders to which Brady and Hindley confessed in the mid-1980s (though the disappearances of the children are noted in an appendix, insinuating their involvement). Well written, with extensive use of northern dialect, it captures the desolate geography and times (postwar Northern England) and manages to evoke two very disturbing personalities.
January 25, 2011
I first read this in 1985 - a gift from my stepfather who encouraged my interests, no matter how morbid. Sort of a 'nonfiction novel', Williams writes half in straight reportage, and half from the imagined point of view of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. There is a slight danger with this; it made the otherwise revolting crimes seem a little glamourized to fifteen-year-old me. The dashing young psychopath and his bleached bride. Re-reading it later I recognized the false sheen that adolescence puts on heinous deeds, and then realised that Brady and Hindley were not far from adolescence themselves - that psychopathy keeps one in that state permanently in a way, and Williams transmits this ingeniously.
October 2, 2012
This was the first book that I ever read on the infamous Moors Murderers and I must say that it has had me gripped and intrigued on the subject now since I first read it 26 years ago!
It was a good read and it fascinated me. However, it is not the best book that I have read on the subject, but it was my first and one of the few books on the subject available back then. Knowing now from what I have read and researched over the years, I now know that there are a lot of inaccuracies in the book, but it is still an amazing read into this subject. It is of course classed as a non fiction novel, hence my statement about the inaccuracies in the book and for that I still give this book a well deserved 4/5.
It was a good read and it fascinated me. However, it is not the best book that I have read on the subject, but it was my first and one of the few books on the subject available back then. Knowing now from what I have read and researched over the years, I now know that there are a lot of inaccuracies in the book, but it is still an amazing read into this subject. It is of course classed as a non fiction novel, hence my statement about the inaccuracies in the book and for that I still give this book a well deserved 4/5.
January 23, 2016
All superlatives. Manages to cover all the major interesting points without treating the killers like rock stars or the survivors like non-entities. I only wish we could have learned more about their victims, who after all are the important ones here. I have to say that after reading Ann West's FOR THE LOVE OF LESLEY, I saw this book with entirely new eyes. The author has a pretty lousy way of getting people to give him interviews.
May 29, 2012
This book is completely out of date.Both factually and with it's immensely patronising, insulting and confusing method of trying to recreate the Yorkshire accent and dialect. It was actually embarrassing to read and somehow reduced the horror of the account.
I wanted to find out about this case as it all happened around the time i was born. I don't feel any the wiser.
I wanted to find out about this case as it all happened around the time i was born. I don't feel any the wiser.
July 10, 2015
This was a hard book to read. The subject definitely was beyond belief. But the book was published in 1967, 18 years before Hindley and then Brady confessed to the Moors murders (even tho they had been in prison since 1966). So there was a lot of speculation (most of the book was speculation) about what actually happened, and I got the feeling that the author took Hindley's version as "truth" when in 1985 it was revealed that she was much more involved than she had let on. He was (is - he is still alive and still in prison) definitely a psychopath, but I am totally bamboozled as to why she would have gone along with him. She was obsessed with Brady, but how that translated into brutal torture, sexual assault and murder is beyond me.
May 28, 2014
Don't read this - hugely outdated as it was written before two of the murders were known about so it's not comprehensive.
Also pretends to be factual with a disclosure at the start but then adopts a really odd style, oftentimes emulating Brady's voice and pretending he thinks he's a king. Those sections make for very weird reading and are dreadful.
Redeemed slightly by the presentation of the case at the end. One Of Your Own by Carol Ann Lee is much more balanced and is written really well with up to date information.
Also pretends to be factual with a disclosure at the start but then adopts a really odd style, oftentimes emulating Brady's voice and pretending he thinks he's a king. Those sections make for very weird reading and are dreadful.
Redeemed slightly by the presentation of the case at the end. One Of Your Own by Carol Ann Lee is much more balanced and is written really well with up to date information.
December 1, 2012
This is probably one of the most accurate and thorough accounts of the Moors Murders ever, and also one of the best True Crime books ever written.
Even more haunting when you know the area. Williams really delved into the psyche, particularly of Hindley, the devout catholic who met a scottish clerk and gave up her soul willingly.
One of those books that chills you to the bone because it is all horribly true.
Even more haunting when you know the area. Williams really delved into the psyche, particularly of Hindley, the devout catholic who met a scottish clerk and gave up her soul willingly.
One of those books that chills you to the bone because it is all horribly true.
April 19, 2013
difficult to read in more ways than one. The style takes some getting used to but also the details of the murders is pretty hideous. As someone who did not grow up in the era of the murders but remembers the publicity when Pauline Reades body was finally found I didn't really know all of the facts except that two evil people, one of them a woman, had killed children for kicks. This made things clearer but documented things that I really found disturbing to read, but i'm glad I did.
January 31, 2011
The Moors Murders have a special place in the memories of those living in the shadow of the Pennines around Oldham and Ashton in the 60s. I have vivid memories of the bodies being brought down to the coroner's offices and the whole, grim story being slowly revealed. This excellent book tells that story and manages to capture the atmosphere of those times in a dramatic manner.
September 15, 2013
An interesting attempt to cover these notorious crimes, the author creates a part fictionalised account of the perpetrators motives and madness. It was written contemporaneously though so ignores the developments in the case in the eighties, thus undermining the timeline and plotting somewhat. It is very well written though, far superior to most true crime books.
June 12, 2014
People have criticised this book for the author's style of writing, but i find that exactly the opposite it true. I like Emlyn Williams' style as it is unique and i feel it gives the narrative a kind of driving urgency.
This book is a tour de force as a study of human evil. It is well researched and planned, and i recommend it unreservedly.
This book is a tour de force as a study of human evil. It is well researched and planned, and i recommend it unreservedly.
September 12, 2010
A harrowing account of the brutal Moors Murders in the 1960s. Great for all those true crime fans. Williams entertains with a fast pace, but is sensitive to the victims and seems to search for explanations about how Myra Hindley and Ian Brady could become so violent and sink to such degradation.
March 17, 2013
I vividly remember the events of those years. Emlyn Williams enters the world of Brady and Hindley and cinematically recreates the horror, suspense and grief. Not an easy book to read, even forty-six years after its publication. Still worthwhile.
March 20, 2009
Well written, but extremely disturbing. I will definitely never forget this book, it haunts my mind.
April 23, 2011
This book is about Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, the Moor's murderers.
The book covers the murders, their perpetrators and the detection that led to Brady and Hindley's arrest. Harrowing read.
The book covers the murders, their perpetrators and the detection that led to Brady and Hindley's arrest. Harrowing read.
Read
October 12, 2012Bit disappointed in this. Too many phonetic accents. Great last section though.
March 15, 2013
great read very haunting. very sad.
December 8, 2023
Pure evil... but a very level balanced book.
March 6, 2017
Read this as a teenager. Excellent account of the infamous Moors murderers.
March 3, 2016
One of the most disturbing books I have ever read, a fantastically written book the best I have read of the moors murderers and I have read almost all published
August 6, 2025
'Beyond Belief' is probably the most famous of all the books written about the 'Moors Murders' case. The reason may be that the author was the well-known actor and playwright Emlyn Williams. To be honest, I'm not too sure how to rate this one. In terms of its writing, I'd have to say four, but rating it as an actual book about the case, I'd have to say three.
Published in 1967, Williams decided not to do a straight 're-telling' of the crimes, which was done by plenty of others, but to give it the 'In Cold Blood' treatment. Written as a novel, he uses accents: Glaswegian for Brady and Mancunian for Hindley. This might prove difficult for some readers to understand, but it caused no problems for me. The only real problem is that so much more has come to light now, and a lot of Williams' theories have proven incorrect, which is not his fault, I know.
The first few chapters detail the disappearances of two children in Manchester, followed by a teenager who went into town in 1965, never to return home. Williams did a marvellous job with this, and one reading can't help but feel caught up in the children's families' anguish and trauma during the search for their loved one. Like the rest of the book, Williams manages to put his readers 'right there' in the action, and the constant pop culture references of contemporary music and films, headlines, etc, only add to making one feel now that they have been transported back to the 1960s. It's all very atmospheric, and as a film buff, I kept a list of the obscure titles mentioned.
When dealing with the childhoods of the murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, Williams also did well, although I feel that one of the chapters about Brady could have been condensed into one. Williams did his research for every aspect of this book very well indeed, speaking to those who knew the killers at various stages and also conducting interviews with, among many others, David Smith and his wife, Maureen, who was Hindley's sister. He managed to obtain Hindley's diary, written before she met Brady, and saw the pornographic photos they took of each other.
Now, it is only in the chapters covering Brady and Hindley's alliance and crimes that 'Beyond Belief' doesn't hold up as well. I must stress that not once does Williams mislead the reader. He made it clear at the start that he'd had to 'summarise' things to fill in pieces of information that were not known, but I found some of the conversations he invented between the killers naïve at best, and embarrassing at worst. He reconstructs them when they were picking up victims and taking them to the moors, explaining how Hindley was feeling at the time. It's his portrayal of Hindley as just a follower of Brady being in total command that I find the most distracting. She hated the book as she felt Williams portrayed her as ''a hard cow,'' which I think was entirely on the mark. Of course, hindsight is wonderful, and had Williams known what we all know now, he could have really created something on par with the celebrated 'In Cold Blood.'
The book then picks up again when it progresses to the murder of the last victim, and it was chilling to read. I, for one, wouldn't have liked to have been in the shoes of David Smith, who witnessed the murder, but instead of being hailed as the man who turned the killers in, many local people believed he was as guilty as they.
I enjoyed the chapters regarding the police investigation, and as always, the readers feel like they are watching on. The evidence that the officers found unravels before us, and made me thankful that I was not one of those involved. At the end, everything is wrapped up in the appendix. Well, I say almost, the trial is briefly outlined, but there are references to two other children. They were still missing at the time, and it was only two decades later that it was known for sure that Pauline Reade and Keith Bennett had also fallen foul of Brady and Hindley.
I would never have underestimated Emlyn Williams' knowledge of this case, and, not counting the aforementioned poorer chapters, he wrote a very good book that still has the power to chill and unsettle. 'Beyond Belief' is certainly not 'dry,' and was still in print and being sold in new book stores until at least 2004 (that's when I read it first, and not just the once.) There is much to recommend here, but it should be read alongside a more factual treatment to give the reader a more accurate picture.
Published in 1967, Williams decided not to do a straight 're-telling' of the crimes, which was done by plenty of others, but to give it the 'In Cold Blood' treatment. Written as a novel, he uses accents: Glaswegian for Brady and Mancunian for Hindley. This might prove difficult for some readers to understand, but it caused no problems for me. The only real problem is that so much more has come to light now, and a lot of Williams' theories have proven incorrect, which is not his fault, I know.
The first few chapters detail the disappearances of two children in Manchester, followed by a teenager who went into town in 1965, never to return home. Williams did a marvellous job with this, and one reading can't help but feel caught up in the children's families' anguish and trauma during the search for their loved one. Like the rest of the book, Williams manages to put his readers 'right there' in the action, and the constant pop culture references of contemporary music and films, headlines, etc, only add to making one feel now that they have been transported back to the 1960s. It's all very atmospheric, and as a film buff, I kept a list of the obscure titles mentioned.
When dealing with the childhoods of the murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, Williams also did well, although I feel that one of the chapters about Brady could have been condensed into one. Williams did his research for every aspect of this book very well indeed, speaking to those who knew the killers at various stages and also conducting interviews with, among many others, David Smith and his wife, Maureen, who was Hindley's sister. He managed to obtain Hindley's diary, written before she met Brady, and saw the pornographic photos they took of each other.
Now, it is only in the chapters covering Brady and Hindley's alliance and crimes that 'Beyond Belief' doesn't hold up as well. I must stress that not once does Williams mislead the reader. He made it clear at the start that he'd had to 'summarise' things to fill in pieces of information that were not known, but I found some of the conversations he invented between the killers naïve at best, and embarrassing at worst. He reconstructs them when they were picking up victims and taking them to the moors, explaining how Hindley was feeling at the time. It's his portrayal of Hindley as just a follower of Brady being in total command that I find the most distracting. She hated the book as she felt Williams portrayed her as ''a hard cow,'' which I think was entirely on the mark. Of course, hindsight is wonderful, and had Williams known what we all know now, he could have really created something on par with the celebrated 'In Cold Blood.'
The book then picks up again when it progresses to the murder of the last victim, and it was chilling to read. I, for one, wouldn't have liked to have been in the shoes of David Smith, who witnessed the murder, but instead of being hailed as the man who turned the killers in, many local people believed he was as guilty as they.
I enjoyed the chapters regarding the police investigation, and as always, the readers feel like they are watching on. The evidence that the officers found unravels before us, and made me thankful that I was not one of those involved. At the end, everything is wrapped up in the appendix. Well, I say almost, the trial is briefly outlined, but there are references to two other children. They were still missing at the time, and it was only two decades later that it was known for sure that Pauline Reade and Keith Bennett had also fallen foul of Brady and Hindley.
I would never have underestimated Emlyn Williams' knowledge of this case, and, not counting the aforementioned poorer chapters, he wrote a very good book that still has the power to chill and unsettle. 'Beyond Belief' is certainly not 'dry,' and was still in print and being sold in new book stores until at least 2004 (that's when I read it first, and not just the once.) There is much to recommend here, but it should be read alongside a more factual treatment to give the reader a more accurate picture.
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