Story of a Murder

About this book

*The International Bestseller**Winner of the Clue Award - True Crime Book of the Year* This is the story of a murder, not a murderer . . . In this epic examination of one of the most infamous murders of the twentieth century, bestselling author of The Five, Hallie Rubenhold, gives voice to those who were never properly heard--the women. On February 1, 1910, the vivacious, diamond-adorned music hall performer Belle Elmore suddenly vanished from her home, causing alarm among her friends, the entertainers of the Music Hall Ladies' Guild. Their demands for an investigation would lead to the unearthing of a gruesome secret and trigger a fevered international manhunt for Belle's husband, medical fraudster Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen. Ethel Le Neve, Crippen's typist and lover, who fled with Crippen in disguise, has always hidden in the shadows of this tale--was she really just "an innocent young girl" in thrall to a powerful older man? And was there an equally sinister story behind the death of Crippen's first wife, Charlotte? Brimming with twists and featuring a carnival cast of eccentric entertainers, star lawyers, zealous detectives, medics and liars, Story of a Murder offers an electrifying snapshot of Britain and America at the dawn of the modern era.