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sinistralist's review
1.0
On the positive side this book is very readable, and as Howard Sounes was one of the first journalists to investigate this story we get to hear from people on the periphery of the case, such as Fred and Rose's siblings.
However, there is a LOT of victim blaming throughout the book. Suggesting that Lynda Gough, for example, may have died as a result of consensual activities would be hugely offensive even if we didn't have multiple testimonies from survivors stating that Fred and Rose weren't really into consensual sex.
The victim blaming extends to the families of the victims, asking why some were not reported missing immediately, and in the case of Juanita Mott, suggesting her known association with Cromwell Street could have prevented further murders. In cases like this where the victims were known to the West's, they specifically chose young women who's absence was unlikely to be reported to police, either because they had no family or were estranged from them. We also now know that relatives of multiple victims tried to report them missing but were fobbed off by police.
In amongst all the blame being handed out, the police are the only people Sounes considers blameless. Whilst I agree that it's worrying the family had so many encounters with organisations like Social Services and the NHS without anything being flagged, the West's also had many encounters with the police over the years. If we're going to say that institutions share blame for not uncovering these crimes much earlier, the police have got to be included, especially with their poor handling of Caroline Owens accusations in the early 70s.
Finally, you can really tell that this book was written by a tabloid journalist. Every woman's appearance is commented on, and there are a lot of needlessly sensational details. For example, it's enough to say that the victims were dismembered, we don't need to know the specifics of what was done to each person's body.
However, there is a LOT of victim blaming throughout the book. Suggesting that Lynda Gough, for example, may have died as a result of consensual activities would be hugely offensive even if we didn't have multiple testimonies from survivors stating that Fred and Rose weren't really into consensual sex.
The victim blaming extends to the families of the victims, asking why some were not reported missing immediately, and in the case of Juanita Mott, suggesting her known association with Cromwell Street could have prevented further murders. In cases like this where the victims were known to the West's, they specifically chose young women who's absence was unlikely to be reported to police, either because they had no family or were estranged from them. We also now know that relatives of multiple victims tried to report them missing but were fobbed off by police.
In amongst all the blame being handed out, the police are the only people Sounes considers blameless. Whilst I agree that it's worrying the family had so many encounters with organisations like Social Services and the NHS without anything being flagged, the West's also had many encounters with the police over the years. If we're going to say that institutions share blame for not uncovering these crimes much earlier, the police have got to be included, especially with their poor handling of Caroline Owens accusations in the early 70s.
Finally, you can really tell that this book was written by a tabloid journalist. Every woman's appearance is commented on, and there are a lot of needlessly sensational details. For example, it's enough to say that the victims were dismembered, we don't need to know the specifics of what was done to each person's body.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual violence, and Racism
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