53. The Peepshow: The Murders at Rillington Place. Kate Summerscale. 2024/2025. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [true crime, adult nonfiction, 4 stars]
First sentence: In the evening of Tuesday 24 March 1953, Harry Procter, the star crime reporter of the Sunday Pictorial, drove over to a Victorian terrace in Notting Hill in which the bodies of three young women had been discovered.
Premise/plot: Kate Summerscale's newest nonfiction book--true crime focused, of course--is about the killings at Rillington Place. It is a story that unfolds through the perspective of several interested in the case--namely Harry Procter and Fryn Tennyson. Procter is a crime reporter who GETS very involved in his stories. Fryn Tennyson Jesse is a [female] crime writer. This isn't a book solely focused on the criminal case alone. It is a story about HOW that story is conveyed to the public. It is a story that focuses on true crime reporting itself. It is about the pros and cons, the possibilities for sensationalism, the possible ethical violations of this type of reporting. It is also about the crimes--the many, many crimes. But it is also about the public's interest in true crime and how crime can be 'entertainment' for the masses. The book does focus more on these crime reporters THAN on the police investigation or the legal aspects of the case.
My thoughts: Kate Summerscale's books are almost always dark, dark, super dark. Her books often have horrifying details of crime that aren't for the casual reader. For those, however, who do have an interest in true crime, her books are always worth reading. I read this one in two days. It was a compelling read for sure.
© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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