David Wilson's Murder at Home - Review

MURDER AT HOME by David Wilson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Professor David Wilson explores murders in our safest of places – our homes.

There is no place like home: our sanctuaries, the scenes of family drama and tranquillity, host to social gatherings, witness to the entire span of our lives. But within the bricks and mortar that we transform into a home, there may be hidden darkness.

Statistically, you are more likely to be murdered in your home than in a public place. While we may be familiar with the dictum that you are more likely to be murdered by someone known to you (the data fluctuates year on year, with significant difference between genders), it is not only these ‘domestic’ situations which impact the location statistics – even stranger attacks and the relative anomalies of serial murder contribute to this sobering data. Criminologist David Wilson investigates how our safest space is actually where we are most in danger.

Fascinating, informative and as gripping as fiction, Wilson takes us on a tour through the home – from the public threshold of the front door step to the back garden, into the semi-privacy of our living rooms and bedrooms, and the shadowy recesses of our attics and cellars. Alongside the case studies and analysis of the crimes, there is also exploration into the general psychology of our perceptions of these rooms – their differing and sometimes conflicting levels of access and privacy – something to which everyone can relate. Wilson never fails to keep the narrative grounded in our everyday experience, juxtaposed as it may be with these horrific crimes.

Detailing a mix of infamous and lesser-known cases – amongst them the crimes of Ian Brady (and Myra Hindley), Mary Ann Cotton, Fred and Rose West, and Peter Tobin, and a review of the Clydach Murders – each chapter groups them by the location within the home where significant elements of the crimes took place. Where necessary, there are some graphic crime scene descriptions and insights into the murders as they were committed, though Wilson ensures the victims are front and centre of his analysis and treats them with respect. The subject of dark tourism is also touched upon: murderers fascinate us – perhaps certain types of murderers more so – their psychology and the circumstances surrounding their crimes never failing to mystify and intrigue, but it is always important, specifically when dealing with true crime, to remember that people have tragically lost their lives and the impact still felt by their loved ones to this day.

Spanning over a century and a half of murder, the narrative interrogates how time has impacted these spaces and individual rooms, as the result of changing social attitudes and even technology. In recent times, we have only to open our social media feeds to see inside people’s homes; yet, perhaps, never before has there been such a veneer over those private spaces. Sometimes, the more we can see, the less we are seeing. We truly never know what is happening behind closed doors.

A riveting and thought-provoking study of murder, ‘Murder at Home’ is a superb addition to Wilson’s already expansive library of criminological works.



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