First line: The iron door of the Illinois State Penitentiary in Joliet groaned open and spat a haggard-looking man into the world he had left almost a decade earlier.

Summary: Dr. Thomas Neill Cream murdered at least ten people in the United States, Canada and Great Britain before he was caught in 1892. He used his position as a doctor to gain the trust of the people around him including the authorities. For nearly fifteen years, he quietly killed his victims and baffled the police because there was nothing connecting the man to his victims. The police of Victorian England did not want another Jack the Ripper fiasco but lack of communication, moral viewpoints and corruption let him continue to target women for months. Finally, in his 1892 trial, the unconventional use of science helped the prosecution get a conviction and finally stop one of the world’s first serial killers.

My Thoughts: I picked this up during vacation as I made a tour of Seattle’s bookstores. I have been interested in Victorian true crime books lately. When I saw this on display, I immediately picked it up as part of my book haul. Having finished Dead Romantics before the end of my trip this was the next one I grabbed for my trip home. I found it hard to put down.

While reading this, it astounded me how long Dr. Cream was able to harm and kill without detection. He slipped through the cracks and was let go by police merely based on his status. At the time I had to keep reminding myself that much of the techniques used today were unheard of by the Victorian police force. However, as science progressed and experts were called in to testify, it brought about his undoing. This case seems to be one that paved the way for the new forensic sciences but has largely been forgotten.

I plan to try other books by Dean Jobb after finishing this one. He did meticulous research into the topic, included images and expanded the scope of the case to the new techniques of the era. It was a fascinating story told in a way that it felt like fiction. If you are interested in historical crimes or enjoyed books such as The Devil in the White City or The Five, you should give this one a try.

Celebrating Derby — 150 Years: 1869-2019 is a wonderful book that lets you see what life was like in the early years of the town we call Derby, but was originally named El Paso.