I honestly can’t recall when I first came to hear about this historical true crime which seemed to have all the elements of a fiction, far removed from the more mundane murders where the motive, opportunity and means soon become relatively clear, but it was many years ago. I hadn’t however read any books on the matter although there have been more than a few written and was keen to learn more.
Antony M Brown has devised an interesting concept with the publishers Mirror Books
Cold Case Jury is a unique collection of true crime mysteries. Each one tells the story of an unsolved, historic murder in an evocative and compelling way. It tells the story dramatically, like a historical novel, exposes the strengths and weaknesses of past theories and allows the readers to make their judgement on what most likely happened. Although each book is perfectly self-contained, the author providing his view at the end, readers are able to deliver their verdicts on this website, making these the first truly interactive crime tales. Beautifully presented with uniquely illustrated covers, they also contain historic documents, map and images – some unpublished before. For lovers of puzzles, mysteries and crime stories, this new collection of Cold Case Jury books will not only bring a murder story to life – it will make you part of it
And this is one of the mysteries and I for one couldn’t resist the opportunity to sit on the jury from the comfort of my own house although I have to confess voting for my chosen suspect did feel more than a little odd to say the least! I’m not sure whether choosing a murderer albeit one that is dead should be on a par with voting for your favourite contestant on a reality show.
For those who haven’t come across this true crime the facts that have puzzled many over the years are as follows:
On 20 January 1931 Mrs Julia Wallace was found murdered inside her home in Liverpool, she’d been bludgeoned to death.
Her husband William had found her body on his return from a fruitless client meeting as his job as an Insurance Agent for the Prudential Insurance, as he’d been unable to open the day at the first try his neighbours who he’d asked if they knew why were soon to the scene.
The real mystery seemed to be who was the Mr Qualtrough who’d left a message at the chess club he’d attended the evening before. This was the man William Wallace had set out to meet, but not only did Mr Qualtrough appear not to exist, nor did the address 25 Menlove Gardens East. This fact was unknown to William Wallace and everyone he asked for assistance directed him to similar addresses located in one area of Liverpool.
The unsolvable part of the mystery is if the crime was committed by the most obvious suspect, the husband, then who made the phone call to the chess club and left the message for William Wallace? And how could he kill her when he was tramping the streets looking for Mr Qualtrough? If someone had lured him away then what was there motive?
The author lays out the facts, those discovered by the police at the time, the contemporary records of the trial of William Wallace and the unusual decision to free him on appeal due to lack of evidence. He also includes information that has come to light after the death of some of the key players. This is all set out well, and at the end we are given various suspects and how likely our author believes them to be viable, he also lays his own hat down with his preferred scenario.
This was a book that I would classify as more factual ‘true crime’ which was enjoyable for the lack of drama and sensationalism alone. This was the third in this series of books which are also featured on the Cold Case Jury website.
I’d like to say a big thank you to Mirror Books who allowed me to read an copy of Move to Murder which was published on 1 November 2018.
First Published UK: 1 November 2018
Publisher: Mirror Books
No of Pages: 247
Genre: Non Fiction – True Crime
Amazon UK
Amazon US
This sounds really interesting, Cleo. And It’s not a crime I know much about right now. I’m glad you found it engaging .What really interests me is the larger true crime collection. Some true crime stories are more interesting and puzzling than anything an author could create, aren’t they?
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The True Crime as a genre is something I’ve been slowly researching – there are some murders, like this one that have captured the imagination because it is so puzzling. Then of course the way the author presents the crime adds a whole different feel to the books – this one with a website holding some of the evidence and the place to vote on the most likely perpetrator was something quite unique.
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Oooh, compelling! I don’t really read true crime but this one does sound good!
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Thank you Laila!
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I’ve always been intrigued by this case – Wallace would have passed my house en route to meet with ‘Qualtrough’. I really enjoyed this book too.
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Oh that’s fascinating and I’m not surprised you’ve been intrigued by the case – I thought the concept was really good with the link to the website.
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I love books like this, the historical aspect especially. I may have to check it out!
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Thanks so much for visiting and I hope you enjoy this one if you do seek it out.
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I love true crime. Haven’t heard of this one. Thanks for sharing it.
sherry @ fundinmental
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I like the fact that you can review some of the evidence on the website as you read the book especially as I was reading as an eBook
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You have piqued my curiosity! Thanks for sharing.
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Sounds fascinating – I’ve just ordered the paperback.
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Oh that’s excellent news, I do hope you enjoy it Colin.
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True Crime always fascinates ,e. I enjoy reading about it and also the shows and docudramas.
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This should work well for you then 🙂
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I’ve come across this case before in some other book but can’t for the life of me remember where at the moment – it is an intriguing puzzle though I think whatever I read was suggesting strongly that the husband did it. Ha – yes, the idea of voting for a murderer does seem a little odd! Mind you, at this point in time I’d rather stand for election as a murder suspect than as a politician…
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Love that final comment definitely less damaging to your reputation 😏
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Hmmm a very interesting concept indeed, and smart of the publisher to think of this. LIke you, I feel a bit strange ‘voting’ like on a reality show, these are literally life and death situations so it feels a bit cold to be treating it like a game.
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Yes, it was saved from total lack of taste by the fact that the crime was in the 30s so everyone is already dead!
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I’ve been rediscovering my love of true crime lately – I remember devouring books about murder in my late teens, and now I’m constantly binge-listening to podcasts. I’m slowly starting to accumulate a true crime TBR to get back to reading it, and I might add this one to the list. What a chilling case! Thank you!
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Thanks for visiting Sheree – I’m so glad you found something of interest here.
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