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Emlyn Williams
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Beyond Belief: The Moors Murderers: The Story of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley Paperback – 5 Jun. 1992

by Emlyn Williams (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 196 ratings
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Emlyn Williams' classic account of the notorious Moors Murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, who between 1962 and 1965 abducted, brutally abused and murdered five children - Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans - and buried them in shallow graves on Saddleworth Moor, in Lancashire.
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  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Pan Books
  4. Publication date
    5 Jun. 1992
  5. Dimensions
    11.1 x 1.9 x 17.8 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    0330020889
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0330020886
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pan Books; New Ed edition (5 Jun. 1992)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0330020889
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0330020886
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 11.1 x 1.9 x 17.8 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 196 ratings

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Emlyn Williams

Emlyn Williams

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
196 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the story chilling, disturbing, and interesting. Opinions are mixed on the writing style, with some finding it well-written and clever, while others say the print is too small and the accents make it difficult to read at times.

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Chilling storyWriting style
3 customers mention ‘Chilling story’3 positive0 negative

Readers find the story disturbing and interesting. They also say the book is very chilling and written in a lyrical style.

"...4 stars from me. A different telling of the chilling story that made these two so well known around the world. Recommended reading!" Read more

"Very well written book of the Moors murders, very chilling and written in a lyrical style" Read more

"Disturbing but interesting." Read more

8 customers mention ‘Writing style’5 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style of the book. Some mention it's well-written and lyrical, while others say the print is too small and the accents are difficult to follow.

"...What the author has done is quite clever, you read it as thought it's a story and you are in that story with the characters...." Read more

"I didn't like the way this was written, written with the northern accent which made it difficult to read at times, also written a lot in Myras head,..." Read more

"Bought in good condition. Not what I would call a good condition but readable and worth the read." Read more

"Very well written book of the Moors murders, very chilling and written in a lyrical style" Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

Beverley Buttery
5.0 out of 5 stars good boojk
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 August 2024
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good book
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Lynn Clarke
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read Book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 July 2024
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This is a must read book, it's a true Factual account of the Moors Murders. I honestly believe that everybody should read this book at least once in their lifetime
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Booklover Catlady
4.0 out of 5 stars A very different telling, almost like a novel. A recommended book for anyone eager to know more!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 September 2017
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Firstly - the condition of this book was appalling, listed as in very good condition yet was yellowed pages, torn front cover, damaged spine. If anything this was "acceptable". I get so angry when books second hand are listed like so...I requested a refund, now, let me tell you about the book itself...

I couldn't put this book down once I started reading it. It was not what I expected, in fact it was better.

Strangely, Ian Brady died in the facility he was locked up in the day after I read this book. It was weird hearing his name on the news and it made me think even more about what I had garnered from this book.

This is not written like a typical true crime book. What the author has done is quite clever, you read it as thought it's a story and you are in that story with the characters. You are behind the words of Myra and Ian and immersed in the era fully. It's very realistic. There is a LOT of Yorkshire slang and dialect with the dialogue in this book, it adds authenticity but some will struggle to grasp it. I personally liked it.

The author poses questions for us as he tells us about their lives from birth through to incarceration. The book reads almost like a novel in some ways which will appeal to some readers but not all.

After this book went to print, two further children were announced as being victims of the duo. Interestingly they are mentioned at the back of the book as unsolved disappearances at the time of print, later confessed to.

Some information in this book was found to be untrue in the latest book written about Ian Brady - the only book that Brady agreed to be interviewed for. Specifically they are the claims that he was cruel to animals (in fact he was a great animal lover) and the role of Myra in the sexual attack and killings is much more on par and equal to Brady.

Aside from that, there is so much detailed information in this book and it makes for both horrifying but fascinating reading. The dynamics of their relationship with each other and Myra's response after arrest I found very interesting. My heart just was so heavy thinking of what those poor children and teens went through after falling into the manipulative hands of these two.

I highly recommend this book if you are keen to learn more about The Moors Murderers. Be prepared to be fully immersed in their worlds, from childhood events all the way to their court case and beyond. The characters that surround this duo really come to life in the way it's written.

4 stars from me. A different telling of the chilling story that made these two so well known around the world. Recommended reading!
3 people found this helpful
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MrsM.White
5.0 out of 5 stars Quick delivery
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 February 2024
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I had this book years ago,lent it to someone,& they never returned it,so am well pleased that I could get anotha copy. It is hardback to, which is excellent.Am reading it already. Super quick delivery as well.
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Mrs. Margaret Little
5.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete historically but as descriptive writing, a masterpiece!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 December 2012
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My own childhood was spent in several small Cheshire towns all close to Hyde and I remember, so well, how the people there spoke and behaved. I remember how we kids played in the streets, or in the woods or down by the river, or out on our bikes from morning till night without parents giving it a thought. I remember the streets of terraced houses, every one of them containing (as Emlyn Williams's bewildered policeman commented, when summoned so urgently to number 16, Wardle Brook Avenue) "a budgie and a Grannie". I remember the bread deliveries in the mornings, the everlasting soft rain, the factory smoke, the children in pixie hoods, how people reacted and how everybody spoke.
Writing immediately after the Moors trial and before so many further facts became known Emlyn Williams, in 1967, got all this nevertheless so exactly right; he was not a great playwright for nothing. If I read his book I am back in that place, at that time. What a pity, really, that such terrible events had to happen around the Hyde district before such a book came to be written but in spite of that, and whatever its factual omissions or inaccuracies, I still think it is a masterpiece.
21 people found this helpful
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WJ
3.0 out of 5 stars have read better on the case...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 May 2013
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I didn't like the way this was written, written with the northern accent which made it difficult to read at times, also written a lot in Myras head, in her thoughts at the time which seemed sympathetic, i would prefer to just read facts, that seems like opinion to me... But not all bad, worth a read if your really interested in reading about this fram all angles, but i have read better on it.
3 people found this helpful
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kate.
2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 March 2018
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Bought in good condition. Not what I would call a good condition but readable and worth the read.
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Mrs. L. Davidson
5.0 out of 5 stars True Story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 November 2023
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If you want to know the true story, then read this book. Good price to read and know the horrifying truth.
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Top reviews from other countries

Eric Loyola
5.0 out of 5 stars What you see is what you get
Reviewed in the United States on 13 September 2024
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The book received with its dust jacket was exactly as depicted in the photo(s).
No complaints. The kind of seller I want to which I want to give my business.
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Alex
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Reading
Reviewed in the United States on 3 January 2011
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While I am not finished reading this book, what I have read so far has been written in great style. The facts are interesting and well placed. After I finish this book, I will forward to a friend of mine who is English and now lives in Arizona. He grew up in Manchester was well aware of the Moors Murders and is interested in reading more on this. I believe since the author of this book is written by an English reporter, that many of the words used will have more meaning to one who has grown up with it than an outsider such as myself. All in all, extremely impressed.
3 people found this helpful
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TV Producer (UK)
4.0 out of 5 stars The original seminal work on the Moors Murders
Reviewed in the United States on 4 March 2024
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Although marked by turns of phrase and stylistic tics which hark back to an earlier era, this book was written in the immediate aftermath of Hindley and Brady's trial, helping to ensure this case would never be forgotten, and contains valuable research with eyewitnesses that can now never be equalled, and provides genuine psychological insight.
One person found this helpful
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Mary Gina Machado
2.0 out of 5 stars I don’t like when a writer starts using accents in books
Reviewed in Canada on 28 April 2018
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The way this book was written, with the accents made it seem trivial even though it is a horrific crime drama. I don’t like when a writer starts using accents in books. It just doesn’t do a story justice. This book belittled the crime. Just tell the story.
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Jennifer Lucas
5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling
Reviewed in the United States on 11 May 2010
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Beyond Belief is not the average true-crime account. Author Williams draws us into the mad world of Brady & Hindley as an objective observer, including details of daily life, like German wine, and a fascination with audio tape, that become part of the chilling overall story. A must-have.
3 people found this helpful
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