Overview of the Case Books and Authors

[Erik Narramore]

A brief tournée of the case literature to date:

I don't believe a really excellent factual book has been written on the case.  Probably such a book could only be written by an obscure researcher who actually does the spadework to understand the case, and is disciplined enough to present the evidence neutrally from a 'reasonable doubt' position without bringing ego into it.

The necessary caveat is that Colin Caffell's book stands out a mile for its literary merit, humility and insight, and I can genuinely say that I will be re-reading his book again and again for years to come, but it is intended as personal/experiential rather than factual, so perhaps doesn't weigh in.

I think we have now had four major books:

Wilkes (1994) - solid book overall and strives to be neutral, but unsourced and some of his claims are open to question.  Strong on explaining forensic evidence. [They have re-published a paperback edition this year, but just to warn you all, I bought it for research and it looks like it's the exact same as the 1994 hardback.  The only bits added are in Wilkes' own Introduction].

Powell (1994) - underrated book, but unsourced and mostly a soap-operatic style overview for a mass market readership.  Strong on Sheila's background.  The first writer to interview Jeremy in custody, and in view of this, the book, while better than expected, is a disappointment overall in that it lacks the 'beef' you'd expect from somebody with the initiative to speak to him.  Affects to be impartial, but clearly adopts a pro-guilt position.

Lomax (2008) - good book, but very biased towards Jeremy.  Strong on certain details like the phone calls and telephone logs, but the position put across is somewhat outdated now.  Will Lomax update this book?

Carol Ann Lee (2015) - similar to Powell's book, a novelesque/soap-opera style book for the mass market, just longer.  Like Powell, affects to be impartial, but clearly leans towards guilt.