Brian Masters

Captivated by the hit ITV true crime drama DES? Uncover the truth behind the trial of Rosemary West, another of Britain's most infamous serial killers.'Anyone reading this brilliant book will wonder whether justice was really done.' Evening StandardIn 1994, Frederick West was arrested and accused of murdering twelve young women. But it was the trial of his wife, Rosemary West, that became Britain's serial-killer trial of the century...Detained for the murder of the twelve women found at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester, Frederick West hung himself on New Year's Day 1995. The case had enraged the nation, and the subsequent trial of Rosemary for the same crimes caused a media sensation.How are ordinary human beings driven to become serial killers? How did this psychopath ensnare so many women? And how much was Rosemary truly involved?Brian Masters attended the Rosemary West trial on a daily basis. In "She Must Have Known" he produces a penetrating study of the sexual obsession that led to a series of horrifying and measured killings, ultimately leaving the reader to make up their own mind on the guilt of Rosemary West._______________________'By far the most interesting book on the subject... profound and illuminating.' Sunday Telegraph'Another serious, compelling account of a serial killer.' The Sunday Times'A classic of criminological literature.' SpectatorWhat readers are saying:***** 'Brave and compelling and beautifully written. And it will certainly make you pause to think.'***** 'I am grateful for the existence of writers like Brian Masters . . . This is an excellent book.'***** 'Gives you the opportunity to consider the evidence against Rose West as a juror would rather than as a tabloid reader.'

WINNER OF THE GOLD DAGGER AWARD FOR CRIME NON-FICTIONThe definitive, Sunday Times bestselling true story of serial-killer Dennis Nilsen and the murders he committed, written with Nilsen's full cooperation.‘A seminal look into the criminal mind’ Daily Mail‘An important book which screams to be read’ New StatesmanBefore his arrest in 1983, Dennis Nilsen admitted to killing at least 15 people. This ground-breaking criminal study of his killings was written with Nilsen's full cooperation, resulting in a fascinating - and horrifying - portrait of the man who worshipped death. In February 1983, residents of Muswell Hill had been plagued by blocked drains. When a plumber was called to investigate, he discovered a large blockage of biological material. To his horror, it appeared to be formed of human flesh and bones. The next day, local resident Dennis Nilsen was arrested. 'Are we talking about one body or two?' a detective asked. 'Fifteen or sixteen, since 1978,’ Nilsen replied. ‘I'll tell you everything.' Within days he had confessed to fifteen gruesome murders over a period of four years. His victims, mostly young gay men at a time when society cared little for them, had been overlooked. Killing for Company is a unique study of a murderer's mind, essential reading for true crime aficionados.Praise for Killing for Company: 'You really have to read this extraordinary book to get a full flavour of the weirdness of Nilsen and his crimes' SUNDAY TIMES'Probably the best thing of its kind since In Cold Blood . . . a classic study in criminal mentality' YORKSHIRE POST 'Without any doubt one of the most remarkable, complete and most humanely informative accounts of a murderer's mind ever achieved’ NEW SOCIETY 'The book is a perceptive and at times coldly brutal assessment of Nilsen's psychology' MIRROR 'A comprehensive and compelling account' FINANCIAL TIMES ‘One of the most remarkable and accurate accounts ever written of the singular relationship between a mass murderer and a society . . . a bloody masterpiece.' BERYL BAINBRIDGE, author of The Dressmaker

________________________________________AN UNSPEAKABLE CRIME When he was arrested in July 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer had a severed head in the refrigerator, two more in the freezer, two skulls and a skeleton in a filing cabinet.A DEPRIVED ACTBut if anything could be more disturbing than the brute horror of this scene, it was the evidence that Dahmer had been using these human remains not only for sexual gratification, but as part of a dark ritual of his own devising -- to furnish a shrine to himself.A KILLER, BEYOND OUR UNDERSTANDING________________________________________The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer offers a chilling insight into the mind of a serial killer and reveals the horrors within. Perfect for fans of Making a Murderer, Mindhunter and The Ted Bundy Tapes, this is a gripping and gruesome read that delves into the mind of a murder and what possesses someone to kill. __________By the author of Killing for Company, which was adapted into the hit ITV true crime drama DES, starring David Tennant. __________PRAISE FOR THE SHRINE OF JEFFREY DAHMER:'Irresistible. . . . It's subject is terrible and repellent. But the study itself is enlightening' Independent 'Unputdownable' Patricia Highsmith 'The persuasive account of a young man spiraling into unspeakable insanity . . . fascinating' Daily Telegraph

Born of a preoccupation with saints and sinners, The Evil That Men Do is Brian Masters' investigation into the nature of good and evil, and the different ways in which they can be manifested. It examines the fundamental questions of why we are as we are: why we are good, why we care for one another, why we can be altruistic and kind as well as selfish and cruel.According to science, we are prisoners of our genetic inheritance. Are our impulses therefore to some extent inescapable, compelling us to behave in a certain manner, irrespective of the guidelines imposed by instinct or civilization? Or can we determine our individual patterns of behaviour? Do we really have a choice?Using a diverse multitude of examples, from St. Francis of Assisi, Audrey Hepburn, Bruce Chatwin and Bob Geldof to the Marquis de Sade, Adolf Hitler and Peter Sutcliffe, from the Spanish Inquisition to Nazi Germany to the Vietnam War, Brian Masters examines this age-old yet intensely contemporary subject. At a time when civilization seems on the verge of meltdown, he has produced an incisive, thoughtful and provocative meditation on a fundamental human question.

The origins of the non-royal dukes in the British peerage divide nicely into Tudor looters, Royal bastards, opportunist generals, territorial, metropolitan or Scottish magnates.