True crime is not a genre of nonfiction I often read. Still, I was spurred on impulse to request a review copy of Kevin Turton's Britain's Unsolved Murders from Pen & Sword, and I'm so glad I did!

This collection of 13 real murder mysteries is fascinating. All took place between 1857 and 1957, and Turton does an excellent job laying out the details of each crime along with the investigations into each that followed.

In some cases, the murderer seems obvious, escaping justice solely because there wasn't sufficient evidence to make a conviction in court. Others are more mysterious, with few solid leads and no clear suspect in the crime.

Whenever possible, the author lays out any motives or clues that were uncovered during the investigations, as well as people with reason or opportunity to have committed the deeds. He also dips into media coverage of each case and explains the methods of investigation that were available to police at the time, letting readers know the level of forensic science that could be brought to bear.

If a case came to trial, he'll provide a summary of the courtroom details and explain why the accused killers weren't convicted.

Turton, who has written other history and true crime books, has a good voice for the genre. His narratives are brief but packed with detail, and you'll come away from each chapter with a good sense of what happened. At the end of each chapter, he shares his theories as well, telling the reader who he thinks the killer was or admitting that he has no idea what happened.

It's a dark subject, but Britain's Unsolved Murders is a jolly fun read for anyone with an interest in mysteries. It's unlikely now any of these cases will ever be solved, but it's nice to give these unavenged victims some attention in lieu of justice.