Linda Stratmann Libri

Set against the backdrop of a sensational 1849 murder case, this narrative delves into the chilling crime committed by Frederick and Maria Manning, who brutally killed a friend for financial gain. Their dramatic escape and subsequent capture captivated the nation, leading to their infamous public execution, which influenced views on capital punishment. Intriguingly, both claimed the other was solely responsible, leaving a lingering question of innocence. This thorough investigation seeks to unravel the truth behind their conflicting assertions.

When a customer of William Doughty's chemist shop dies of strychnine poisoning after drinking medicine he dispensed, William is blamed, and the family faces ruin. There will be more deaths, and a secret in her own family will be revealed before the killer is unmasked, and Frances will find that her life has changed forever.

LONDON 1881: Panic reigns in Bayswater as a ruthless murderer prowls the foggy streets of the nation's capital. Myth and reality collide in another thrilling mystery that will stretch Frances' powers of deduction - and her courage - to the limit.

Frances Doughty is a young sleuth on her first professional case, trying to discover who distributed dangerously feminist pamphlets to the girls of the Bayswater Academy for the Education of Young Ladies.

The county of Essex has rolling arable farmland, Epping Forest, sleepy villages, busy market towns and secluded backwaters - a wide variety of settings for murder. This selection of crimes uncovers not only famous cases, but also previously unpublished dramatic and tragic tales. The accounts included here come from a time when murder was a capital offence, carrying the ultimate penalty for the perpetrator, and when the difference between a verdict of innocence or guilt rested on a single piece of evidence, or the skill of the barrister in defence. Linda Stratmann has used original trial transcripts, material from local and national archives, contemporary accounts and the memoirs of pathologists, police and those in the legal profession in the course of her extensive research into crimes that have shocked the county. The killings explored date from as far back as the eighteenth century when the smuggler 'Colchester Jack' shot a confederate in the stomach in a row over stolen goods. They also include the case of a nineteenth-century female poisoner from Clavering and the brutal murder of a taxi driver in 1943 by two US servicemen at Birch. Supported by contemporary illustrations, "Essex Murders" reveals that behind the county's peaceful facade lies a murky criminal heritage.

Examining the stories behind some of the most notorious murders in Kent’s history, Linda Stratmann re-examines some of the historic crimes that shocked not only the county but Britain as a whole. Among the gruesome cases featured here are the doctor who was poisoned with morphine in Faversham; the couple who were brutally battered to death in their beds in Chislehurst; and the strange death of a young German man whose body was discovered with one hand missing on Ramsgate beach. All manner of murder and mystery are included here, making Kent Murders a must-read for true crime enthusiasts everywhere.

Linda Stratmann's carefully researched and enthralling text includes much previously unpublished information and will appeal to everyone interested in the shady side of Middlesex's history.

The sudden death of overweight 49-year-old Thomas Whibley sparks off an acrimonious furore in Bayswater, and sparks fly between rival diet doctors, vegetarians and the extremist Pure Food Society.

In this, her third case, Frances Doughty must rely on her wit, courage and determination - as well as some loyal friends - to solve the case.

LONDON, 1881: When a body is found in the Paddington canal basin, a woman with a hearing impairment claims that the remains are those of her missing husband, who disappeared three years ago. Unable to prove her case, she appeals to Frances Doughty, the lady detective, to investigate.