Missing Presumed Murdered: The McKay Case and Other Convictions without a Corpse
By Dick Kirby
2/5
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About this ebook
A former Scotland Yard detective examines real cases of murder in which accused criminals were convicted without a body found.
Murders in any form, and the more gruesome the better, hold a morbid fascination to the British public but never more so than when the bodies of the victims are never found. Aside from the lack of closure for relatives and friends, this factor creates problems for police and prosecutors and has macabre appeal for the public.
Muriel McKay, wife of a senior News of the World Executive was kidnapped in 1969. Although her body, believed to have been fed to pigs, was never found, the perpetrators were convicted. The same fate was suffered by the business partner of a Polish farmer. James Camb murdered a glamorous actress feeding her to sharks but this did not stop women flocking to see him in court. John Haigh confessed to disposing of his nine victims in acid. Again, his trial was a sell-out.
Dick Kirby, former Scotland Yard detective turned best-selling crime writer has ‘unearthed’ a fascinating collection of disappearances such as the dismemberment of a gay man’s wife who had threatened to expose him in the 1950s. Later, when a woman’s head was discovered near his home, he confessed only to find that it dated from Roman times. These and numerous other cases make Missing, Presumed Murdered a riveting, if grisly, read.
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Reviews for Missing Presumed Murdered
2 ratings1 review
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Missing Presumed Murdered by Dick Kirby is a look at cases that were solved without the presence of the deceased's body. The cases are interesting but the authorial voice is what turned this into a slog for me, though clearly others like his style.On the positive side, each case is presented in detail so you can understand what (likely) happened as well as how the investigation went. Since all of the cases have the lack of a body as a common denominator they are all unusual and seem to include some of the oddest criminals and police.As for Kirby's writing, I have two issues. One is simply that it was a very dry delivery. Maybe a step above a standard police report but well below even the newest crime beat reporter. The other issue I have is with Kirby himself. I have to question anyone, especially a former member of law enforcement, who bemoans the idea that the police should be held to ethical standards when investigating. Makes me wonder just how many unethical things he did in his "illustrious" career. Granted, this is more about lack of confidence in the writer than about the writing itself, but since the writing did nothing to make me budge, I stand by it. That said, this is the rare snoozer from Pen & Sword who usually, even when I don't care for the author, publishes books that keep my interest whether I'm in agreement or not.Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.