The definitive book on the case which led to a posthumous pardon. A classic within the True Crime genre. The notorious Cameo Cinema murder case of 1949 is one of Britain’s legal cause célèbres. But for over half a century the convictions of two young men, George Kelly and Charles Connolly, went unchallenged, until — following publication of The Cameo Conspiracy — both were exonerated by the Court of Appeal in 2003. This made it the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British legal history. In this powerful, meticulously-researched account the author painstakingly exposes the evil police conspiracy which sent Kelly to the gallows and Connolly to ten years’ imprisonment. He recounts how the men were framed by corrupt investigators and condemned by an amoral legal establishment, making it a terrible indictment of human wickedness by those supposed to uphold the law. This revised third edition of the definitive book on the case not only reveals a diabolical miscarriage of justice but comprehensively describes the arrests, trials and execution as well as Kelly’s successful posthumous appeal. It also authentically chronicles 1940s Liverpool, its pubs, post-war rationing, shebeens, black market and the colourful and seedy characters of the city’s underworld. Reviews “Skelly is a very good writer”—Norman Mailer “He writes from the heart with his life’s blood”—John Schlesinger “The best book I have ever read”—Former Police Sergeant, Chris Kelly “One man’s relentless hunt for the truth”—Liverpool Echo “A truly brilliant book … memorable and thought-provoking”—John Howley “An impeccable account of the infamous Cameo case”—Professor E Rex Makin As featured in the BBC TV’s Murder, Mystery and My Family.

The definitive book on the case Updated, freshly edited, typeset and with new images Fully indexed for the first time The true story of Liverpool's Cameo Cinema murders vividly demonstrates the need to guard against police corruption and legal manipulation. George Kelly was hanged in 1950 for shooting dead two men early in 1949: the manager of the Cameo Cinema, Wavertree and his assistant. Undeniably from the wrong side of the tracks and involved in petty crimes of the post-Second World War era, Kelly and his coaccused Charles Connolly (who went to prison for ten years) found themselves expertly 'fitted-up' as riff-raff in a Kafkaesque nightmare. This is the definitive book on the Cameo case - a superbly worked account of an astonishing miscarriage of justice. It is also a snapshot of social history, of a time when fabrication of evidence and denial of the right to a fair trial could be a means of ensuring 'good riddance to bad rubbish'. Nothing can put right a wrongful execution although in 2003 - following publication of the original version of this book - Kelly and Connolly were posthumously cleared by the Court of Appeal. The judgement condemned the 'unsafe convictions' and the 'unfair trial' as a tragic breakdown in the administration of justice, which was to be deeply regretted. This new edition tells the whole story from investigation, trial, sentence and execution to posthumous pardon. Reviews 'George Skelly writes from the heart' John Schlesinger 'One man's hunt for the truth' Liverpool Echo 'Skelly is a good writer' Norman Mailer 'A truly brilliant book' John Howley Author George Skelly is also the author of the forthcoming Waterside Press publication Murderers or Martyrs, about an equally disturbing case and in which he argues that the Cameo case was no isolated instance police corruption and legal manipulation.

A spell-binding account of an appalling miscarriage of justice. Charged with the "Cranborne Road murder" of Wavertree widow Alice Rimmer, two Manchester youths were hastily condemned by a Liverpool jury on the police-orchestrated lies of a criminal and two malleable young prostitutes. George Skelly's detailed account of the warped trial, predictable appeal result courtesy of 'hanging judge' Lord Goddard and the whitewash secret inquiry will enrage all who believe in justice. And if the men's prison letters (including from the condemned cells) sometimes make you laugh, they will make you weep far longer. Following his masterful expose of injustice in the Cameo Cinema murder case in 1950s Liverpool described in his book The Cameo Conspiracy, George Skelly now reveals a second police conspiracy-two years later in the same city involving the same senior detective-which this time led to the execution of two young men. In 2011, faced with countless proven contradictions and errors plus substantial previously undisclosed evidence, the Criminal Cases Review Commission unbelievably side-stepped the opportunity to refer this gross injustice to the Court of Appeal. So until justice is finally done, Teddy Devlin and Alfie Burns still lie together beneath the staff car park at Walton Prison, their only trace a tiny plaque numbered 55. 'A very powerful case of a miscarriage of justice': Former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith PC QC As featured in the Liverpool Echo. Author George Skelly is also the author of The Cameo Conspiracy (3rd edition Waterside Press, 2011) about an equally disturbing case where an innocent man was hanged in a famous miscarriage of justice.

A quiet English village is plagued by a fiendish serial killer in Queen of Mystery Agatha Christie’s classic thriller, Murder is Easy. Luke Fitzwilliam does not believe Miss Pinkerton’s wild allegation that a multiple murderer is at work in the quiet English village of Wychwood and that her local doctor is next in line. But within hours, Miss Pinkerton has been killed in a hit-and-run car accident. Mere coincidence? Luke is inclined to think so—until he reads in the Times of the unexpected demise of Wychwood’s Dr. Humbleby.…

Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol investigates a shocking murder—before he becomes the next victim—in this playful mystery in a new series from a New York Times bestselling author. Scrooge considers himself a rational man with a keen sense of deductive reasoning developed from years of business dealings. But that changes one night when he’s visited by the ghost of his former boss and friend, Fezziwig, who mysteriously warns him that three more will die, and ultimately Ebenezer himself—if he doesn’t get to the bottom of a vast conspiracy. When he wakes the next day, Scrooge discovers that not only is Fezziwig dead, but he’s under arrest as all evidence points toward himself: Scrooge’s calling card was found in the cold, dead hand of Fezziwig’s body, and someone scribbled “HUMBUG” in blood on the floor nearby. Now, Scrooge must race against the pocket watch to clear his name, protect his interests, and find out who killed his last true friend—before the “Humbug Killer” strikes again. Joining Scrooge in his adventures is a spunky sidekick named Adelaide, who matches his wits at every turn, plus the Artful Dodger, Fagin, Belle, Pickwick, and even Charles Dickens himself as a reporter dealing in the lurid details of London’s alleyway crimes. Full of action and wry humor, The Humbug Murders is a fun take on a classic character—Scrooge as you’ve never seen him before.

Alma is a private detective in a near-future England, a country desperately trying to tempt people away from the delights of Shine, the immersive successor to the internet. But most people are happy to spend their lives plugged in, and the country is decaying. Alma's partner is ill, and has to be treated without fail every 4 hours, a task that only Alma can do. If she misses the 5 minute window her lover will die. She is one of the few not to access the Shine. So when Alma is called to an automated car factory to be shown an impossible death and finds herself caught up in a political coup, she knows that getting too deep may leave her unable to get home. What follows is a fast-paced Hitchcockian thriller as Alma evades arrest, digs into the conspiracy, and tries to work out how on earth a dead body appeared in the boot of a freshly-made car in a fully-automated factory.