Ian Ashbridge has selected 32 shocking, spine-chilling and unforgettable episodes from the criminal history of the city of Carlisle and the area surrounding it, dating from the medieval times to the twentieth century. Included are the barbaric execution of Andrew de Harcla in 1323, and the truth behind the Croglin vampire some 362 years later, the frenzied murder of Mary Brown in St Nicholas in 1826 and that of William Horsley in 1861, strangled by his possessive lady friend who also happened to be his mother-in-law. Other more familiar incidents are recalled - the Durranhill Murder of 1861, the shooting of PC Byrnes at Plumpton in 1885 - but most of the murders and misdeeds recorded here are less well known. All reflect the hardship and brutality of those distant times, when most forms of crime were dealt with ruthlessly. And yet sometimes there were merciful acquittals that reveal much about the attitudes of a remote age.

Ian's meticulously researched and fluently written book will be fascinating reading for anyone who is interested in the history of Carlisle and the dark side of life. He is a historian and novelist who has established himself as an authority on the criminal history of the area.