Villains' paradise - Donald Thomas

With the war over, the forties, fifties and sixties have the aura of a golden age. But nostalgia is deceptive. From teenage Teddy Boy razor gangs and casual stabbings at dance halls to the psychopathic Krays, Mad Frankie Fraser and Ronnie Biggs, Villain's Paradise reveals the chilling true story of the crimes of post-war Britain. With the narrative pace of the best detective fiction, Donald Thomas explores the most compelling cases of the era from the 2.5 million Great Train Robbery of 1963 to the Brighton police corruption scandal. The villains include gangland boss Jack Spot, Acid Bath Murderer Haigh (who liked to drink his victims' blood), sexual predator Neville Heath and the Messina brothers, who controlled international prostitution in London.