One of the problems with this series is that either the entries are overlong, or too short. The Neville Heath entry, for example, starts out well, but then gets into a discussion of insanity rules that's abstruse even for this lawyer, who studied the M'Naghten Rule in law school. ( )

I actually own the Penguin reprint of this book; a pity in a way they went to this trouble, since this volume is one of the weaker entries in the series. Even though some of the crimes are interesting -- in particular, the insane mass murderer Thomas Neill Cream -- the writing can be turgid, over-long, and over-analytical. The Rattenbury/Stoner murder trial is more tragic than anything else, which may have been the point, but it doesn't hold the reader's attention. Not, as I say, one of the better ones in the series. ( )

The trials of Thomas Neill Cream, Neville Heath, John Watson Laurie, Dr George Lamson, and Rabbenbury and Stoner are recounted.