A Prescription for Murder : The Victorian Serial Killings of Dr. Thomas Neill Cream (The Chicago Series on Sexuality, History, and Society)

Rating:
Summary: I want my money back.
Review: I thought a relatively exciting and thought provoking subject for good reading would be the Jack the Ripper murders. How could one take such a fascinating subject and make it boring? Angus McLaren must really have tried to structure his sentences so there was no cohesive thought, no sense of continuity from one paragraph to the next. Although it does serve admirably well as a sedative. At one point, I had to go look at the copyright date to see if this was written in the 19th century colloquial.

Rating:
Summary: Bad Medicine
Review: Neill Cream, the doctor/serial killer was one of a number of Victorian medical murderers who flourished in 19th c. England. Feeding unwary prostitutues various poisons and then following their cases in the press, stirring up interest when the police failed to uncover the crimes, making near-confessions to other people are all now commonly recognized behavior patterns of sexual killers. Viewing this case in light of the recent science of criminal profiling, this book provides a most fascinating example of 20/20 hindsight. In late 19th c. England doctor-killers (among them Pritchard, Palmer etc), were seen as absolutely evil (especially after the unsolved Whitechapel horrors) and no attempt was made to understand the psychological quirks that led Cream et al. to the gallows (where he forever taunted crime buffs with with words "I am Jack..." as the trap fell). The study of killers such as Cream distanced by time and culture make them seem almost quaint, and certainly safe, compared with the grotesque sensationalism sexual predators attract today. With fewer graphic details, less scientifc jargon and the titalation of Victorian repression coloring the crimes, "Prescription for Murder" is an almost "cosy" true crime story. Admittedly, it is not over-burdened with an insistance on factual accuracy or with providing a throughtful historical framework, but it still a satisfying read for all true crime buffs. Especially those who like their thrills at a safe remove.

Rating:
Summary: Bad Medicine
Review: Neill Cream, the doctor/serial killer was one of a number of Victorian medical murderers who flourished in 19th c. England. Feeding unwary prostitutues various poisons and then following their cases in the press, stirring up interest when the police failed to uncover the crimes, making near-confessions to other people are all now commonly recognized behavior patterns of sexual killers. Viewing this case in light of the recent science of criminal profiling, this book provides a most fascinating example of 20/20 hindsight. In late 19th c. England doctor-killers (among them Pritchard, Palmer etc), were seen as absolutely evil (especially after the unsolved Whitechapel horrors) and no attempt was made to understand the psychological quirks that led Cream et al. to the gallows (where he forever taunted crime buffs with with words "I am Jack..." as the trap fell). The study of killers such as Cream distanced by time and culture make them seem almost quaint, and certainly safe, compared with the grotesque sensationalism sexual predators attract today. With fewer graphic details, less scientifc jargon and the titalation of Victorian repression coloring the crimes, "Prescription for Murder" is an almost "cosy" true crime story. Admittedly, it is not over-burdened with an insistance on factual accuracy or with providing a throughtful historical framework, but it still a satisfying read for all true crime buffs. Especially those who like their thrills at a safe remove.