The fascination for crime and vice, whether it is fictional or purports to be the truth, continues apace in art, film, television and literature. Libraries and bookshops alike nearly always have displays of crime fiction and “True Crime”, and television schedulers would be lost without their “detective thrillers”, “crime thrillers” and “blood spattered clues”. Why should this be so, when those who are the victims of crime, be it violent or not, would wish heartily not to have had such an encounter? If we are to believe Freud's view that the human mind is a seething cauldron of conflict and that this can affect the relationship of the individual to society at large, there may be a genuine interest on the part of the non‐criminal in the psychological, economic and social causes of crime. However, a casual scanning of the daily newspapers would suggest rather more salacious reasons for this ongoing curiosity.
Fergus Linnane was a journalist for many years, working for the Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, the Sun and the European. He has previously published three books including London's Underworld (2002), so can claim to know his subject well. The intention of this book is to be “informative, amusing and browsable”. It includes not only information on convicted criminals, but also has entries for famous, or infamous, magistrates and judges, such as Lord Chief Justice Rayner Goddard, described by Linnane as “reactionary” and as treating psychiatrists “with contempt”. Some of Linnane's writing is careless and can give the wrong impression, such as the entry for Lord Kagan that states “Businessman friend of Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson who was jailed for financial dishonesty”. No other history books tell us that Wilson ended up in prison! There are also many entries that defy logic as to their ability to be located should the relevant information be needed by the enquirer. Whilst entries such as Kray Brothers or Eastcastle Street Raid are straightforward, it is difficult to understand how the information contained under Numbers of Prostitutes could be accessed. The author could also have benefited from a higher standard of editing. While it is useful to have cross‐references printed in capital letters, these are frequently incorrectly indexed, such that Mohamed Fayed is listed under Neil Hamilton's entry, but the referred entry appears under Fayed, Mohamed. A bibliography of nearly 250 items completes the book.
The Encyclopedia of London Crime & Vice may assist readers of historical fiction who need background information to references they fail to comprehend, whether it is in Dickens or Jeffrey Archer. However, it is far from comprehensive and is more likely to disappoint than inform.
