Nicola Sly

A Ghostly Almanac of Devon & Cornwall is a month-by-month catalogue of reported spectral sightings and paranormal phenomena from around the South West of England. Contained within the pages of this book are strange tales of restless spirits appearing in streets, buildings and churchyards across the region, including a haunted German U-Boat wrecked off Padstow during the First World War; the 'Grey Lady' at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, so-named because of her grey nurse's uniform; the ghost of a Dartmoor Prison inmate seen herding sheep in the prison grounds and out on the moor itself; a shade with a penchant for horror films at Plymouth's Reel Cinema; and the infamous 'Hairy Hands of Dartmoor', which forces drivers off the road. Richly illustrated with 100 photographs and postcards, this chilling collection of stories will appeal to everyone with an interest in the West Country's haunted heritage, and is guaranteed to make your blood run cold.

Worcestershire Murders brings together numerous murderous tales, some which were little known outside the county, and others which made national headlines. Contained within the pages of this book are the stories behind some of the most heinous crimes ever committed in Worcestershire. They include the murders of the entire Gummery family at Berrow in 1780; Catherine Gulliver, killed by John Butler at Ombersley in 1864; and Maria Holmes, slain by her husband at Bromsgrove in 1872. Cases from the twentieth century include two unsolved murders - the body of an unidentified woman found in a tree in Hagley Wood in 1943, and the brutal killing of Florrie Porter at Lickey End in 1944. Nicola Sly's carefully researched and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Worcestershire's history.

Shropshire Murders brings together numerous murderous tales, some which were little known outside the county, and others which made national headlines. Contained within the pages of this book are the stories behind some of the most heinous crimes ever committed in Shropshire. They include the Revd Robert Foulkes, who killed his illegitimate child in 1678; the murder of Catherine Lewis by John Mapp at Longden in 1867; the horrific axe murders committed by John Doughty at Church Stretton in 1924; and the tragic death of Dennis O'Neill, who was beaten and starved by his foster parents in 1944. Nicola Sly's carefully researched and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Shropshire's history.

Wiltshire Murders brings together numerous murderous tales, some which were little known outside the county, and others which made national headlines. Contained within the pages of this book are the stories behind some of the most heinous crimes ever committed in Wiltshire. They include the murder of Eliza Jones, stabbed to death by her common-law husband in 1836; the shooting of a policeman in 1892; Mary Ann Nash, who disposed of her illegitimate son in 1907 by dropping him into a disused well; and Edward Richards, who died in Trowbridge during an attempted robbery in 1925. Nicola Sly's carefully researched, well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Wiltshire's history, and should give much food for thought.

Life in the historic county of Hampshire has not always been peaceful, for over the years it has experienced numerous murders, some of which are little known outside the county borders, others that have shocked the nation. These include the killing of 'Sweet Fanny Adams' in 1867; the horrific murder committed by the postmaster at Grayshott in 1901; the mysterious poisoning of Hubert Chevis in 1943; and the gun battle in the village of Kingsclere in 1944, which resulted in the deaths of three people. Nicola Sly's carefully researched, well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Hampshire's history, and should give much food for thought.

Life in the largely rural county of Dorset has not always been idyllic, for over the years it has experienced numerous murders, some of which are little known outside the county borders, others that have shocked the nation. These include arguments between lovers with fatal consequences, family murders, child murders and mortal altercations at Dorset's notorious Portland Prison. The entire country thrilled to the scandalous cases of Alma Rattenbury and Charlotte Bryant who, in the 1930s, found living with their husbands so difficult that both found a terminal solution to the problem. In 1856, Elizabeth Browne rid herself of a husband and, in doing so, became the inspiration for Thomas Hardy's 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles'. The mystery of the Coverdale Kennels at Tarrant Keynston, where not one, but two kennel managers died in suspicious circumstances, remains unsolved to this day. And it was in Bournemouth that Neville Heath committed the second of his two murders, which led to his arrest and eventual execution in 1946. Illustrated with fifty intriguing illustrations, Dorset Murders will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of county's history.

Contained within the pages of Bristol Murders are the stories behind some of the most heinous crimes ever committed in Bristol. They include the murder and suicide of a brother and sister in 1842; the tragic death of 10-year-old Mabel Price in 1897; the killing of Ada James in a fit of jealous rage by her fiancee, Ted Palmer in 1913; and the suspicious death of sexual deviant Cecil Cornock, which led to his wife Ann being charged with his murder and sebsequent acquital in 1946. Nicola Sly's carefully researched, well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Bristol's history, and should give much food for thought.

Somerset Murders brings together numerous murderous tales that shocked not only the county but also made headlines throughout the country. They include the cases of Elizabeth and Betty Branch, a mother and daughter who beat a young servant girl to death in Hemington in 1740; 13-year-old Betty Trump, whose throat was cut while walking home at Buckland St Mary in 1823; factory worker Joan Turner, battered to death in Chard in 1829; George Watkins, killed in a bare knuckle fight outside the Running Horse pub in Yeovil in 1843; Constance Kent, who confessed in 1865 to killing her half-brother at Rode in 1860, nearly five years earlier; and elderly landlay, Mrs Emily Bowers, strangled in her bed in Middlezoy in 1947. Nicola Sly and John van der Kiste, co-authors of Cornish Murders in this series, have an encyclopedic knowledge of their subject. Their carefully researched, well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Somerset's history.

Cornish Murders brings together numerous murderous tales that shocked not only the county but also made national news. They include the cases of Charlotte Dymond, whose throat was cut on Bodmin Moor in 1844, and Emily Tredrea, strangled at St Erth in 1909, both by their jilted suitors; Mary Ann Dunhill, murdered in a Bude hotel in 1931; shopkeeper Albert Bateman, battered to death on his premises in Falmouth on Christmas Eve 1942; Charlie and Elizabeth Giffard, savagely beaten and thrown over the cliffs near St Austell by their son in 1952; and William Rowe, brutally killed at his farm near Constantine for the sum of £4 in 1963.