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Title: Disappointing
Review: I have read a number of books about British executioners includingDiary of a Hangmanby John Ellis, andThe Hangman's Tale: Memoirs of a Public Executionerby Syd Dernley, and I have to say that this book by Mr Fielding was not nearly as interesting as those two. The actual biographical information about the three Pierrepoints, Henry, Thomas and Albert is rather sketchy and most of the book consists of page after page of brief accounts of murders and then a paragrpaho or so detailing the execution of the perpetrators. A few of the murders are interesting accounts of famous cases, but the bulk are sordid and mundane and the accounts of the executions, for the most part, seem to differ only in the weight of the victim and the length of the drop. It is a pity that the author didn't focus on a smaller number of cases and provide a bit more interesting detail for each. As it was, the book quite quickly became repetitious and tedious. I finished it, but I doubt I will read it again.
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