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The Riddle of Birdhurst Rise: The Croydon Poisoning Mystery
Reexamines the unsolved poisonings of three members of a single family in Croydon during the twenties
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
304 pages, Paperback
First published July 17, 1975
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 7, 2013
This must rank as one of the most distasteful books I've ever read. When I reached the part where the author confronted the person he "knew" had committed the crimes, I felt queasy, particularly since he was so swift to assume that her hostile response to his unexpected appearance on her doorstep indicated her capacity for murder. The closing afterword, written by this woman's daughter, struck me as incredibly poignant. I remain completely unconvinced by the theories of the author and the lead investigator on the case. Riddle unsolved.
May 27, 2017
This is just my cup of tea! Well written and well researched but still room for your own theories!
April 6, 2015
Hmmmm, I found this interesting to read but not really very good, if that makes sense. A big chunk of the first part of the book is taken up with recounting (in pretty dry, unexciting detail) the inquests.
I suspect because this is quite dry, the author tries to inject some life into things by adding a bit too much in the way of conjecture, which I didn't like. Either you're writing history, in which case you go with facts, or you're writing historical fiction and then you don't dress it up as history.
From the book it seems likely that Grace Duff had some involvement in the ill fate of her relatives but I base that on the fact that the principal police involved in the case seemed to think so. The fact that the author confronted her is just plain odd.
It was, however, very interesting to see how the social mores of the time undoubtedly adversely affected the outcome of the inquests. It seems that there was a lot that people preferred to gloss over or leave unsaid and in light of what appears to be a lot of missing information I have no doubt that the courts reached the correct conclusion at the time.
An interesting read, especially for anyone with a connection to Croydon.
I suspect because this is quite dry, the author tries to inject some life into things by adding a bit too much in the way of conjecture, which I didn't like. Either you're writing history, in which case you go with facts, or you're writing historical fiction and then you don't dress it up as history.
From the book it seems likely that Grace Duff had some involvement in the ill fate of her relatives but I base that on the fact that the principal police involved in the case seemed to think so. The fact that the author confronted her is just plain odd.
It was, however, very interesting to see how the social mores of the time undoubtedly adversely affected the outcome of the inquests. It seems that there was a lot that people preferred to gloss over or leave unsaid and in light of what appears to be a lot of missing information I have no doubt that the courts reached the correct conclusion at the time.
An interesting read, especially for anyone with a connection to Croydon.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 9, 2008
Fascinating true crime!
March 3, 2017
A very interesting investigative true live story, the intrigue of deception, vision and murder
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews