Whitaker Wright was a Victorian conman who made and lost a fortune by selling stock in companies that ultimately failed to deliver. This account of his exploits reveals the heights of his successes, with excesses including an underwater smoking room and a steam yacht where he entertained aristocrats, and his dramatic downfalls. Having fled from America to England, and then back again, he was finally convicted of financial fraud and committed suicide in the dock.

The well connected and urbane Patrice des Moutis began putting his talent for mathematics to his advantage in the late 1950s, exploiting the French state-run Tiercé betting system so effectively that the rules were repeatedly changed to thwart him. This biography of the gambler reveals how dangerous underworld connections and allegations of illegal bookmaking and race fixing were increasingly catching up with him at the time of his apparent suicide in 1975.

One of Sheffield’s most infamous sons, Charlie Peace responded to the steel mill accident that crippled him and the loss of a father that impoverished the family by turning to crime – and proving himself a genius at burglary, murder and disguise. Ben Johnson narrates Peace’s career of crime, from petty theft to murder and, eventually, to Armley Gaol and the hangman’s rope.

DCS Herbert Hannam was one of the most compelling characters in Scotland Yard and the CID during the post-war period; in this biography of Hannam, Wade describes some of the sensational crimes he investigated in the mid 1950s and the unsolved murder of Emily Pye.

In 1887, Elizabeth Berry, a young widow employed as a nurse at the Oldham workhouse, became notorious throughout the country, having murdered her own daughter; and there were suspicions surrounding another death – that of Elizabeth’s mother. Here, the celebrated crime author Bernard Taylor investigates the disturbing life of Elizabeth Berry and concludes that, although she was indicted for a single murder, she was in fact a cold-blooded serial killer.

The Victorian sleuth 'Paddington' Pollaky was a contradiction: a man of mystery who craved the limelight; a meddling busybody whose heart was in the right place. This first-ever biography investigates his involvement in the American Civil War, his campaign against sex trafficking and his dogged search for abducted children. It examines his methods – including placing cryptic messages in The Times – and considers whether he was the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot.

The Highlands in the years immediately following Culloden were an explosive mixture of clan rivalry and Jacobite-Hanoverian enmity. Nevertheless, the murder in 1752 of Colin Campbell and subsequent hanging of James Stewart became a cause celebre, primarily because the wrong man had gone to the gallows. Using contemporary letters and witness statements, this book re-examines the facts and invites readers to draw their own conclusions about a 255 year-old murder mystery.

In 1856 Dr William Palmer was convicted of poisoning his best friend with strychnine and was suspected of committing at least a dozen other murders. One of the last people to be publicly hanged in Britain, he was described by Charles Dickens as ‘the greatest villain who ever stood trial at the Old Bailey’. But in this fresh examination of the evidence, journalist Stephen Bates considers Palmer’s motivation and asks whether he really was a prolific and ruthless serial killer.

As a prison governor and later an academic criminologist, David Wilson has interviewed many killers. Recalling these often tense encounters, he explores the psychopathology of these men, some anonymized, others, including Dennis Nilsen, notorious.

As a prison governor and later an academic criminologist, David Wilson has interviewed many killers. Recalling these often tense encounters, he explores the psychopathology of these men, some anonymized, others, including Dennis Nilsen, notorious.