Scottish Murders

Martin Baggoley has a Masters degree in Criminology and is the author of a number of true-crime titles, including Derbyshire Murders and Murder & Crime: Lake District. He lives in Ramsbottom, Lancashire.

This chilling collection of murderous tales brings together a diverse range of cases spanning three centuries and all of which were committed in Scotland. Featuring 52 cases that shocked the country, the early chapters describe crimes which occurred against the turbulent political backdrop of the 18th century, including the infamous lynching of Captain John Porteous in Edinburgh in 1736 and the assassination of Colin Roy Campbell of Glenure in the spring of 1752. Also included is the case of an Edinburgh baby farmer hanged in 1889; the brutal murder of a wealthy spinster in Glasgow in 1908; the shooting of a Detective Inspector during a failed attempt to rescue a convict from a prison van in Glasgow in 1921; and the summary execution of a German POW at the hands of his fellow Nazi prisoners in Comrie, Perthshire in 1944. This well-illustrated and enthralling book will appeal to everyone interested in true crime and the shadier side of Scotland's past.