Wicked Beyond Belief: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper

Written by Michael Bilton

Narrated by Marston York

Now a major TV series ‘A masterpiece that reads like a thriller’ Time Out

A gripping and probing account of the biggest criminal manhunt in British history.

It is over 40 years since Peter Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attacking 7 more. Still, he remains a killer of almost mythical proportions; his surviving victims, and their families, forever attached to his infamy.

Michael Bilton’s acclaimed account is a powerful indictment of the calamitous investigation that logged over 2 million man-hours of police work – the biggest criminal manhunt in British history. With exclusive access to the detectives involved, the pathologist’s archives and declassified documents, this account reads like the most gripping of thrillers.

Fully updated for this edition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Sep 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9780008492038

Michael Bilton

Michael Bilton is a former Sunday Times investigative journalist and an award-winning documentary film maker. He won an Emmy for his documentary on the My Lai massacre and his book, Four Hours in My Lai, was a bestseller that won plaudits all over the world.

Reviews for Wicked Beyond Belief

[marlene9nl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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

[planetmut · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A riveting account of the bungled police investigation into Peter Sutcliffe's murderous reign in the north of England from 1975-80.