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Myra Hindley: Inside the Mind of a Murderess
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Published February 11, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 6, 2024
Overall, this book was not hitting the mark.
The title of this is very misleading, there is no psychoanalysis or even opinions until the last sentence.
I feel like the murder part was brushed over to talk about her life in prison and wasn’t told very well. The prison parts were told better but it was more like a reading a story than about what she was actually thinking.
The title of this is very misleading, there is no psychoanalysis or even opinions until the last sentence.
I feel like the murder part was brushed over to talk about her life in prison and wasn’t told very well. The prison parts were told better but it was more like a reading a story than about what she was actually thinking.
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January 17, 2019I read this book (a copy of which I own) many years ago and have just reread it whilst waiting for my library requests to arrive. I, just as before, found it full of informative detail and although clearly it is very shocking in content, easy reading.
October 6, 2012
I was born years after these two monsters were imprisoned but my mum never shied away from letting me see news coverage about the Moors Murders as she thought it would teach me just how dangerous the world can be - not everyone's idea of good parenting perhaps but it worked and she always answered any questions I asked her.
She also told me how when she was a little girl (the same age as Keith Bennett), these two were at the height of their crime spree and my mum was very late home from school one evening which led to my grandparents being in fits of panic and roaming the streets desperately as they were convinced my mum had become another victim to the then unknown evil that was making innocent children disappear.
Add to this that my Nanna actually learnt to drive on the same street that Myra lived on as a little girl and would certainly have driven past Myra herself and that my brother, sister-in-law and my own two young nephews live just around the first corner from where Myra worked and met Ian Brady, it makes this book all the more chilling for me and hits home just how real this is!
When I read about John Wayne Gacy's experience with Jason Moss, I could add an element of detachment as I live nowhere near the areas mentioned and can't picture them, but this happened just a matter of miles from where I live and within a vicinity where some members of my family live so I know of the places mentioned, can see them in my mind's eye, can imagine how they looked back in the days when this happened and I've driven up Saddleworth Moors myself numerous times and know exactly what a bleak, desolate, cold, windy and unfriendly place they are! Especially during the darker hours.
As I started to read this book, it was after I'd watched the "Born To Kill" documentary about Myra Hindley which seemed to show her in a bizarrely positive light and I went into this and thought that perhaps she WAS brainwashed by Brady - and the first few chapters seem to corroborate this, especially when you learn how popular she was in prison with both staff and fellow prisoners and how she seemed to need love and used sex as an emotional aid constantly, but then as you read more, especially towards the end, you learn exactly what a cold, calculating, cruel, manipulative and hard woman she really was - especially when you read the things that she herself said to Lesley Ann Downey (very, very hard to read) and how she'd revelled in the murders and how after she'd stood and watched happily as Brady axed Edward Evans to death in their own front room, she'd held the bedroom door of her grandmother's room shut as Brady forced David Smith (Myra's young brother-in-law, who reported this evil, sick and twisted pair to police and saved countless other lives!) to hide Edward Evans' body and then after they'd cleaned up, she sat with her feet up, still wearing her blood-stained shoes and happily reminisced with Brady about all of the killings they'd committed and even recounted her favourites!
After reading this, I certainly no longer think that there was any chance this evil woman was brainwashed - I think she was just as evil as Brady and just as manipulative as that rotten old cretinous worm who still sits in prison is.
She also told me how when she was a little girl (the same age as Keith Bennett), these two were at the height of their crime spree and my mum was very late home from school one evening which led to my grandparents being in fits of panic and roaming the streets desperately as they were convinced my mum had become another victim to the then unknown evil that was making innocent children disappear.
Add to this that my Nanna actually learnt to drive on the same street that Myra lived on as a little girl and would certainly have driven past Myra herself and that my brother, sister-in-law and my own two young nephews live just around the first corner from where Myra worked and met Ian Brady, it makes this book all the more chilling for me and hits home just how real this is!
When I read about John Wayne Gacy's experience with Jason Moss, I could add an element of detachment as I live nowhere near the areas mentioned and can't picture them, but this happened just a matter of miles from where I live and within a vicinity where some members of my family live so I know of the places mentioned, can see them in my mind's eye, can imagine how they looked back in the days when this happened and I've driven up Saddleworth Moors myself numerous times and know exactly what a bleak, desolate, cold, windy and unfriendly place they are! Especially during the darker hours.
As I started to read this book, it was after I'd watched the "Born To Kill" documentary about Myra Hindley which seemed to show her in a bizarrely positive light and I went into this and thought that perhaps she WAS brainwashed by Brady - and the first few chapters seem to corroborate this, especially when you learn how popular she was in prison with both staff and fellow prisoners and how she seemed to need love and used sex as an emotional aid constantly, but then as you read more, especially towards the end, you learn exactly what a cold, calculating, cruel, manipulative and hard woman she really was - especially when you read the things that she herself said to Lesley Ann Downey (very, very hard to read) and how she'd revelled in the murders and how after she'd stood and watched happily as Brady axed Edward Evans to death in their own front room, she'd held the bedroom door of her grandmother's room shut as Brady forced David Smith (Myra's young brother-in-law, who reported this evil, sick and twisted pair to police and saved countless other lives!) to hide Edward Evans' body and then after they'd cleaned up, she sat with her feet up, still wearing her blood-stained shoes and happily reminisced with Brady about all of the killings they'd committed and even recounted her favourites!
After reading this, I certainly no longer think that there was any chance this evil woman was brainwashed - I think she was just as evil as Brady and just as manipulative as that rotten old cretinous worm who still sits in prison is.
November 10, 2022
The author remains quite impartial throughout the book without casting her own judgement (although falls into this trap during the last chapter).
October 16, 2019
Interesting insight into this particularly rancid woman. Published 1988 so stops abruptly from today's vantage point.
March 5, 2017
Well written and brief a must for True Crime fans. Its an old book so bits that you would expect are not in it
October 22, 2025
Myra Hindley did not like this book, published in 1988 and billed as 'The first fully investigative biography of the Moors Murderess.' In a private letter, she described it as 'diabolical' and spoke of her intention to the sue the author. The reason? Well, as her prison therapist of the 1990s, Joe Chapman later discovered and wrote, "Jean Ritchie's account had been nearer to the truth than any of her predecessors."
Ritchie, a 'Sun' journalist, knows how to write in an engaging way, and she always does her research thoroughly. I believe that this was her first book, and although much more has come to light in the 'Moors' case in the years since its publication, it is still well worth a read today.
From Hindley's childhood onwards, the reader is given a detailed look into every aspect of this notorious woman's life. The victims' families are glossed over a little bit quickly during the chapters about the murders, but it is clear that Ritchie has sympathy for them. I felt that the police investigation and trial, especially, were written about very engagingly.
There were a few things in the book that seemed a little odd to me. Such was the case when Ritchie writes of Hindley's partner in crime Ian Brady, "He must have had the odd fumbling attempts at intercourse with willing partners in dark alleyways,'' before concluding that he'd probably never had a lover besides Hindley. While I agree with the latter, I did wonder where the former came from. Also, regarding Hindley's 1987 confession to a police officer about her crimes, "The documents in Peter Topping's possession are undoubtedly the truth." Undoubtedly? Jean Ritchie wasn't there when the couple were out killing, so can she be so certain of that?
It has to be said that this is still the most in-depth book regarding Hindley's imprisonment. The author's experience of working in the tabloid industry probably explains why she devotes so much detail to Hindley's prison lesbianism. Personally, I could have done without the 'juicy' details of that, but there are quite a few. The book was later serialised in 'The Sun,' and I think Ritchie was likely writing it with this audience in mind. I'd have liked a greater focus on the people who were trying to free Hindley from jail. That said, many of the other previously unknown details about her prison life were fascinating to read, and there is an excellent chapter detailing the impact that Hindley's crimes had on her own family.
Well-written and well-researched, 'Inside the Mind of a Murderess,' despite its flaws, is a worthy addition to the large 'Moors Murders' bookshelf. Ultimately, it provided great insight into Myra Hindley's character. Jean Ritchie managed to capture the manipulative nature of the woman very well, much to Hindley's dismay. Carol Ann Lee's book, 'One of Your Own,' written some years after Hindley's death is now the definitive work on the case, but this serves as a good companion to it.
Ritchie, a 'Sun' journalist, knows how to write in an engaging way, and she always does her research thoroughly. I believe that this was her first book, and although much more has come to light in the 'Moors' case in the years since its publication, it is still well worth a read today.
From Hindley's childhood onwards, the reader is given a detailed look into every aspect of this notorious woman's life. The victims' families are glossed over a little bit quickly during the chapters about the murders, but it is clear that Ritchie has sympathy for them. I felt that the police investigation and trial, especially, were written about very engagingly.
There were a few things in the book that seemed a little odd to me. Such was the case when Ritchie writes of Hindley's partner in crime Ian Brady, "He must have had the odd fumbling attempts at intercourse with willing partners in dark alleyways,'' before concluding that he'd probably never had a lover besides Hindley. While I agree with the latter, I did wonder where the former came from. Also, regarding Hindley's 1987 confession to a police officer about her crimes, "The documents in Peter Topping's possession are undoubtedly the truth." Undoubtedly? Jean Ritchie wasn't there when the couple were out killing, so can she be so certain of that?
It has to be said that this is still the most in-depth book regarding Hindley's imprisonment. The author's experience of working in the tabloid industry probably explains why she devotes so much detail to Hindley's prison lesbianism. Personally, I could have done without the 'juicy' details of that, but there are quite a few. The book was later serialised in 'The Sun,' and I think Ritchie was likely writing it with this audience in mind. I'd have liked a greater focus on the people who were trying to free Hindley from jail. That said, many of the other previously unknown details about her prison life were fascinating to read, and there is an excellent chapter detailing the impact that Hindley's crimes had on her own family.
Well-written and well-researched, 'Inside the Mind of a Murderess,' despite its flaws, is a worthy addition to the large 'Moors Murders' bookshelf. Ultimately, it provided great insight into Myra Hindley's character. Jean Ritchie managed to capture the manipulative nature of the woman very well, much to Hindley's dismay. Carol Ann Lee's book, 'One of Your Own,' written some years after Hindley's death is now the definitive work on the case, but this serves as a good companion to it.
January 10, 2009
Warning: months later, I found that the horrendous words from the transcript of the audio tape would go through my head over and over, especially when I was stressed. People with kids may want to pass on this one.
This was okay in that it picked up where the speculative (but far, far superior) "Beyond Belief" left off. More photos and more details. Includes a partial transcript of the infamous audio tape. Yikes. And a few more disturbing facts about the Lesley Anne Downey murder, like Brady, Hindley, and the victim were all naked at the same time. This was a ten-year-old child, remember. The mind can hardly get around it.
This was okay in that it picked up where the speculative (but far, far superior) "Beyond Belief" left off. More photos and more details. Includes a partial transcript of the infamous audio tape. Yikes. And a few more disturbing facts about the Lesley Anne Downey murder, like Brady, Hindley, and the victim were all naked at the same time. This was a ten-year-old child, remember. The mind can hardly get around it.
March 26, 2014
Though a foreigner to Britain, I had heard of the Moor Murderers, but only vaguely.
I found this paperback by chance, while travelling by train (from London to Scotland) and I really liked it. Jean Ritchie is certainly a good journalist and you remain thrilled from the beginning to the end.
I recommend this to any fan of true crime !
Norbert
PS: Now, the edition I got is from 1991; I heard the woman Myra Hindley has died in between. But it doesn't change anything about the quality of the book.
I found this paperback by chance, while travelling by train (from London to Scotland) and I really liked it. Jean Ritchie is certainly a good journalist and you remain thrilled from the beginning to the end.
I recommend this to any fan of true crime !
Norbert
PS: Now, the edition I got is from 1991; I heard the woman Myra Hindley has died in between. But it doesn't change anything about the quality of the book.
October 2, 2012
I read this book when it first came out years ago and enjoyed the more personal insight into Myra Hindley as opposed to a story about the Moors Murders. It's not as good however as the new Carol Ann Lee book on the subject.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews