Scotland Yard's First Cases

Dickens said that Scotland Yard detectives gave the impression of 'strong mental excitement'. Readers of this book will understand why. It records how, when the forces detective branch was set up in 1842, the favoured murder weapon was the cut-throat razor, fingerprinting was 50 years away and the only way to contact a colleague was by post. Including such classic cases as the Custom House Fraud and the Battersea Murder, it provides valuable insight into Victorian police procedure.