The case of Mary Bell shocked the nation in 1968. In the city of Newcastle, an eleven year-old girl was responsible for the death of two young boys who were not much more than toddlers. The method of death was strangulation (squeezing of the neck) and both tragic incidents took place on derelict land where massive slum housing clearances were under way. The girl responsible for the murders was Mary Flora Bell - a darkly angelic looking child who never seemed to show any sign of emotion. Th...

In August, 2023, Lucy Letby was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order, the most severe sentence possible under English law. Only three other female criminals had ever received a whole life order - Myra Hindley, Rose West, and Joanna Dennehy. How did a smiling, happy young nurse from Hereford end up with Dennehy, Hindley, and Rose West in a little exclusive club of evil? Lucy Letby - The Complete Story provides a comprehensive overview of this awful case - including extensi...

Dreams With A Message by Deborah Katherine Smith__________________________________

Secret City: Poems by Katherine Smith explores belonging and power through the eyes of children and adults, whether the relationships in question are to a family, to a religion, to a region or to a country. The imagery of the natural world weaves in and out of the dreams of a young Jewish girl brought to live with a Christian family in Oak Ridge, Tennessee during World War II. A woman with a childhood of being bullied moves north only to find herself an authority figure, teaching students ...

The book is based on nearly a decade (2011–2020) of sustained ethnographic research within and across households in Harpurhey, North Manchester, England. Harpurhey is a suburban area in Manchester, located just three and a half miles northeast of the city centre. This book interrogates the everyday lives of people in Harpurhey ethnographically, placing their lives and agency at the centre of analysis. It explores the everyday lives of people who live with poverty and are rely upon state we...

Secret City: Poems by Katherine Smith explores belonging and power through the eyes of children and adults, whether the relationships in question are to a family, to a religion, to a region or to a country. The imagery of the natural world weaves in and out of the dreams of a young Jewish girl brought to live with a Christian family in Oak Ridge, Tennessee during World War II. A woman with a childhood of being bullied moves north only to find herself an authority figure, teaching students ...

In April 2016, the unassuming town of Spalding in Lincolnshire earned an unwelcome place in true crime history when it turned out to be the home of Britain's youngest ever double killers. The victims were a forty-nine year-old mother named Elizabeth Edwards and her thirteen year-old daughter Katie. They were stabbed in the throat and then suffocated with pillows as they lay in their beds at night. These awful murders were unspeakably brutal and harrowing.The mastermind of the murde...

In the summer of 2024, following a high profile trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, a man named Gavin Plumb was convicted and sentenced to fifteen years in prison for his obsessive online messaging in private chat groups of a harrowing plan he had formulated to abduct the famous television presenter Holly Willoughby. Who exactly was Gavin Plumb and how realistic was his abduction plan? Was he a potential killer and genuine threat or merely a sad bedroom fantasist who had become lost down the ...

When Tia Sharp went missing and Stuart Hazell was interviewed by ITV, many viewers were absolutely convinced that Hazell was responsible for Tia's disappearance. The television interview only confirmed the deep suspicions and grave doubts many already had about this ramshackle man they'd seen fleetingly on the nightly news. As far as the police could deduce, Hazell was almost certainly the last person to speak to Tia before she disappeared. It appeared, even at the time, that he was quite ...

The disappearance of nine year-old Shannon Matthews in 2008 was genuinely one of the strangest crime cases in recent memory. Missing child cases like this are awfully grim because they rarely have a happy ending.The police, media, and everyone who was anxiously looking on and following this case all The disappearance of nine year-old Shannon Matthews in 2008 was genuinely one of the strangest crime cases in recent memory. Missing child cases like this are awfully grim because they ...

Vor Hearthsraven spent the winter in her mountain hermitage, pondering her past and future. She emerges with the spring, prepared to seize her present. She will return to her home country of Weldom, to reunite with Giri Holstor and investigate the path to becoming a Weldom Wizard, but she's not sure yet if either wizardom or Giri are what's best for her. Before she can decide, Vor finds herself in the midst of rising civil unrest. The growing scarcity of mage-stone has allowed the birth of...

Measuring research impact and engagement is a much debated topic in the UK and internationally. This book is the first to provide a critical review of the research impact agenda, situating it within international efforts to improve research utilisation. Using empirical data, it discusses research impact tools and processes for key groups such as academics, research funders, ‘knowledge brokers’ and research users, and considers the challenges and consequences of incentivising and rewarding ...