You couldn't make it up: incredible real-life criminal cases

A fascinating A-Z of murderous crimes which spans the globe and the centuries in uncovering the extremes of human criminality in all its strangeness.

This collection of unusual, if not sensational, murder cases recalls strange crimes of the past and offers insights into particularly macabre and shocking modern murders. Many of the cases also shed light on advances in crime detection, law enforcement and forensic science.

Cases include: Krystian Bala, the Polish writer who killed a rival, and then used the murder as the plot for a novel; Alexander Pichuskin, who was stopped one short of killing the 64 victims he needed to 'fill a chess board'; John Lee, 'the man they could not hang' who survived three attempts to execute him; and Adelaide Bartlett, who was accused of killing her husband with chloroform, but was acquitted because no one could work out how she had done it - and she wouldn't say.

The truth is always stranger than fiction

About the Author
Robin Odell was born in Hampshire in 1935. After training as a laboratory technician and developing an interest in forensic science, he turned to crime writing as a pastime. His first book, Jack the Ripper in Fact & Fiction, published in 1965, is still regarded as an important contribution to the subject. In a writing career spanning over forty years, he has written or co-written eighteen books in the fields of true crime, forensic investigation and criminal histoy. He won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1980 for The Murderers' Who's Who and again in 2007 for Ripperology. He also lectures extensively to clubs and societies on crime cases.


Book Information
ISBN 9781845297817
Author Robin Odell
Format Paperback
Page Count 496
Imprint Robinson Publishing
Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
Weight(grams) 340g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 130mm * 36mm