Devon murders

Since the brutal slaying of the Rev. John Hay, vicar of South Brent, dragged from his church and slaughtered in 1436, Devon has had its fair share of 'murder most foul'.

This book recounts several notable cases, from the killing of Sarah and Edward Glass at Wadland Down in 1827, and the poisonings of Samuel Wescombe in Exeter in 1829 and William Ashford at Honiton Clyst in 1866, both by wives whose affections had gone elsewhere; to the horrific murder of Emma Doidge and her boyfriend William Rowe by the former's jilted suitor at Peter Tavey in 1892, the strangling of schoolgirl Alice Gregory in 1916, and the triple murder of Emily Maye and her daughters at West Charleton, Kingsbridge, in 1936, which remains unsolved to this day.

Above all, there is an account of Devon's most famous case, the murder of Emma Keyse at Babbacombe and the convicted servant John Lee - the man they couldn't hang.

John Van der Kiste's carefully researched, well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Devon's history.