Kate Summerscale's latest work, The Peepshow, investigates the ten-year murder spree of John Christie, revealing eight sets of female remains found in his home at 10, Rillington Place. The book also highlights societal perceptions of the victims and the repercussions that followed Christie's capture, particularly a miscarriage of justice involving Timothy Evans. This situation sparked significant discourse about the death penalty. The narrative intertwines the perspectives of two crime writers who traversed this grim historical landscape during their pursuits of the case.
John Christie, who murdered women and hid them behind the walls of his house at 10, Rillington Place in Notting Hill in the 1940s and 50s.
The Peepshow views the case through the eyes of two crime writers who became obsessed with it at the time.
Summerscale's book explores how the eventual revelation of Christie's culpability led to calls to end the death penalty.
It's good that the Crime Writers Association has a prize for true crime stories because it was considered a disreputable genre, but it has rich stuff about the psychology of violence, social history, and the workings of the justice system.
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