David Wilson's A Plot to Kill - Review

A Plot to Kill by David Wilson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


An engrossing study of a murder in a small English town.

October 2015. Peter Farquhar - writer, lecturer and former teacher - is murdered by his abusive partner and former student, Benjamin Field.

Farquhar's death would initially be ruled non-suspicious, allowing Field to continue his schemes and crimes, including an alleged attempted further murder, before he was apprehended and subsequently convicted of Peter's murder in August 2019.

Criminologist David Wilson undertakes an analysis of the crime and the relationship between the victim and his murderer. With emphasis on psychology, sociology and literature, Wilson examines the circumstances surrounding the murder and how Field was able to abuse and ultimately kill in plain sight and avoid apprehension for so long.

The book details investigations into many aspects of the case - including the domestic violence and abuser's modus operandi of gaslighting and manipulation, in the context of Field's probable psychopathy. Also explored are the attitudes and prejudices of wider society towards homosexual relationships and those perceived as elderly, as well as the beliefs of the Church with regard to homosexuality, contributing to a culture in which abuse and murder are able to be perpetrated and remain undetected.

For legal reasons, Wilson is unable to explore certain peripheral elements of the case in great detail, which may leave some unanswered questions. Of course, that is often the nature of reality, without the neatness of fiction. This, too, is an ongoing theme of Wilson's analysis - the murder having appeared like a plot from 'Midsomer Murders' or a traditional English mystery, complete with poisonings and malice aforethought. In the same way that fiction can be a reflection or imitation of reality, so too can reality reflect or imitate fiction.

At its core, the book explores the question as to our duty, as a society, to protect the most vulnerable; and, within our organisations and institutions, our obligation to safeguard and protect others from harm. While the primary responsibility for someone's murder absolutely belongs with their murderer, we must continue to confront the often uncomfortable reality that they may be enabled and that they will, until society accepts certain responsibilities, be able to continue causing harm.

Insightful and fascinating, 'A Plot to Kill' is another brilliant book from David Wilson, examining a true crime plot as absorbing as a mystery novel.



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