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Evil Beyond Belief

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Evil Beyond Belief

By: Wensley Clarkson
Narrated by: Karl Jenkinson
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About this listen

This is the shocking story of a doctor who was addicted to murder: a man who wickedly abused the trust of his patients with horrifying results.

He was a pillar of the community: attentive, kind, never too busy to chat. Yet behind this charming facade lay the world's most prolific serial killer, with at least 200 victims. Small, bespectacled Dr Shipman was making house calls - and then committing murder with bloodcurdling expertise and professionalism. He saw himself as playing God.

This sensational book looks behind the man and reveals how, throughout his 25-year campaign of evil, Shipman continued to be a doting husband and father, trusted and adored by the majority of his patients. Evil Beyond Belief looks at how he was able to get away with murder for so long and - most important of all - why he was driven by a twisted, insatiable lust for death. It also looks at the events leading up to Shipman's suicide and examines the effect that this dramatic event had on the families of his numerous victims.

©2019 Wensley Clarkson (P)2019 Bonnier Books Ltd Medical Murder Professionals & Academics Social Sciences True Crime Crime Thought-Provoking Mental Health

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All stars
Most relevant  
What a chilling story, well written and narrated in this instance. The truly horrific murders committed by Dr Shipman are shocking in the numbers, and the relative easy at which he was able to get away with them for so long. Living at the time Shipman practised in Todmorden, it sends a shiver down my spine to remember my dad saying what a good GP Shipman was. Fortunately, my father survive the encounter, many, many victims were not so lucky.

Chilling

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Well written and researched, and truly compelling. This true crime story flowed beautifullly. The author really draws you into the case. This is the 2nd time I have listened to the narrator. Karl jenkinson is flawless. This book was an INCLUDE item, which is awesome. But It also would have been worth paying for.

Very Thorough

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this was excellent to listen to particularly due to the narrator.

I'd highly recommend.

Excellent Listen.

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Very slow narration, I often listen to books at 1.2 or so. But found I had to crank this up to 2.0!

The story is ok and overall I think it brought to life what a monster Shipman was. I felt at times however it strayed into fiction with how shipman felt during the killings (which we’ll never know).

Had to listen at 2x speed

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Regretted starting this but as there appeared to be a lot of supposition about motives from a psychological perspective. The style of the book meant that it was unclear if these were based on evidence or just guesswork. However, felt I had to listen to the end out of respect for the victims. Very sobering and the coverage of the trial was new to me.

In two minds

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The last few chapters started to repeat almost verbatim information that had already been discussed in earlier chapters. There was a lot more speculation than I would have liked about the relationship he had with his mother (but I suppose it can't be helped with how little information Fred volunteered himself). Overall, an okay book.

...Meh? A decent but dry account of the case.

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Women are routinely described by their weight for no narrative purpose, elderly women are described as “spinsters”.

Oddly Americanised in some places with references to “soda” and “soccer”. Narrator sounds like he is recovering from a cold.

On a less nit picky note: the story is twice as long as it should have been. The first half is a chronological telling of the murders, we then relive all the murders again as they go through the court proceedings.

It gets three stars because I came away feeling more informed about the topic - but that’s it.

Looks like Shipman’s not the only one with issues about women

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Very thorough account of Shipman's life and the lead up to his murders with an engaging narrator. The only mild complaint I have is the frequent references to women's appearances, especially Primrose. I feel like most of the time it's not relevant to the story and is a bit jarring. Also use of words such as 'spinster' or refence to a victims son's "blonde wife". Unnecessary.

Interesting and detailed

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I am not ashamed to admit I downloaded this book to help me sleep as I loved the sound of the narrators voice.
I really didn’t intend to actively listen but just needed a background noise that was pleasant with a story that I didn’t think was good enough to actively listen to. However, I got so much extra time out of this book. I would set sleep timer for 60 minutes and could guarantee that I would be away to sleep after about 30 minutes. The next night I would go back 45 minutes to listen to the parts that I started to nod off to.

I obviously don’t condone what Dr S did, however he could have been stopped right at the start, he appears to have been let down by not getting the correct help before the murders started and then the whole thing was just a massive lack of communication between the relevant departments. I will stop there as I don’t want this review to be based on my opinion but on the merits of the book.

Not the easiest of bedtime listens, however if you struggle with insomnia and like a lilting voice give this a try, if you can’t sleep then at least your mind will have something decent to engage with……..although my dreams were quite disturbing for a while

Well researched and superbly read.

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Like everything else, if you like this kind of thing or not will drive whether you choose it. It's very much my kind of content and was brilliantly presented. I worried at the outset, when I saw the duration, that it may be too long. Actually it was fine. I have listened to others by this author and they were a little repetitive and bloated. This was explanatory, interesting, well constructed, not bloated, not too gruesome yet didn't shy away from the detail. I've listened to other books by this narrator and he was, as ever, spot on. A most enjoyable and entertaining listen.

Excellent listen.

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