"A fascinating, compelling and disturbing read. It's easy to forget that I'm the Yorkshire Ripper is fact not fiction, with its plot twists, red herrings, missed clues and cliffhangers. "
Many people have an obsession with true crime books and TV shows and it's easy to see why - a natural curiosity about human nature and what could prompt someone to commit heinous crimes, especially murder. I'm the Yorkshire Ripper explores the mindset of Peter Sutcliffe who died in 2020. He murdered 13 women and attempted to murder seven others (maybe more). As with all crime books, this one is filled with plot twists, red herrings, missed clues and cliffhangers, and it's easy to forget that this is fact not fiction and that these are real events, real places and real people. Using Sutcliffe's own words and the words of people around him (including family, friends and police), along with indepth background material, this is an exploration of his life and the murders he committed. For me, one of the most disturbing aspects of the book is how Sutcliffe had no emotional concept of his victims' tragic deaths at his own hands. Fortunately, this book gives his victims a 'voice' (along wth photographs) to ensure they won't be forgotten. A fascinating, compelling read.
It's me, love ... I'm The Yorkshire Ripper. When Peter Sutcliffe spoke those words to his wife Sonia following his arrest in 1981, it marked the end of a killing spree which had terrorised northern England for five years. The nation had been appalled yet gripped by the Ripper and was now fascinated by the man behind the headlines. But despite millions of words being written about the case since his arrest 40 years ago, the full Peter Sutcliffe story has never been told - until now. Based on a vast quantity of raw material collected from Sutcliffe himself over a period of 16 years, 'I'm the Yorkshire Ripper' is the compelling account of the most terrifying series of murders in British history - much of it in the killer's own words.
The book covers all aspects of his life in intimate detail never publicly revealed before including:
His relationship with his neglectful, violent father and his loving, devoted mother
The night when he first met his future wife Sonia
The defining moment in his life in Bingley cemetery when, while working as a grave digger, he claimed to have first heard the voices which would later tell him to kill
The incredible moment when, while on a shopping trip, he walked past a woman who had survived one of his attacks
His arrest, trial and detention and his time in Broadmoor, including how he once tried to escape with the help of one of the Kray twins
His reaction to the theories of why he became a serial killer - and his own theory
Robin Perrie joined The Sun as a reporter in 1995 and covered countless stories about Sutcliffe, interviewing his family, victims’ relatives, survivors and others close to him which led to him securing direct access to Sutcliffe via Alfie James.
Alfie James has always had a passion for true crime and wrote to a number of high-profile offenders to understand the motives behind their actions. Peter Sutcliffe was the one who responded most readily and after communicating by letter and then weekly phone calls he came to trust Alfie enough to place him on the list of people authorised to visit him at Broadmoor and then Frankland prison. Sutcliffe confided his innermost thoughts on every aspect of his life to Alfie who diligently retained all of this material.
