Crippen

By John Boyne

Review

A 2025 Top Rated Read

London 1910. Music hall singer Cora Crippen's dismembered body is discovered buried beneath the cellar floor of the home she shared with her husband, Dr Hawley Crippen. The marriage was an unhappy one with Cora physically and emotionally abusive to her spouse. Seemingly a broken man, Hawley Crippen seeks comfort with mistress Ethel Le Neve. As Scotland Yard begin an investigation into Cora's gruesome murder, Hawley and Ethel vanish. The police believe Hawley guilty of the heinous crime but can they catch him before he escapes the net? 

I love John Boyne's writing and how he combines historical fact with fiction to give a new perspective on events. His characters are memorable and his storytelling unparalleled. Gently paced, this novel is an incredible read. Real people from the notorious case of Dr Crippen are skilfully and vividly brought to life. It's a thoroughly immersive and absorbing read. I highly recommend it.

★★★★★

Paperback: 512 pages

Publisher: Black Swan

Publication Year: 2004
Author: John Boyne

Genre: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

Synopsis

July 1910: The grisly remains of Cora Crippen, music hall singer and wife of Dr Hawley Crippen, are discovered in the cellar of 39 Hilldrop Crescent, Camden. But the Doctor and his mistress, Ethel Le Neve, have vanished, much to the frustration of Scotland Yard and the outrage of a horrified London.

Across the Channel in Antwerp, the SS Montrose sets sail on its two week voyage to Canada. Amongst its passengers are the overbearing Antonia Drake and her daughter Victoria, who is hell-bent on romance, the enigmatic Mathieu Zela and the modest Martha Hayes. Also on board are the unassuming Mr John Robinson and his seventeen-year-old son Edmund. But all is not as it seems...