The Acid Bath Murders

336 pp. A smokescreen of cunning, deceit and trickery was veiled over the disappearance of six upstanding law abiding citizens of London between the years 1944 and 1949. It was nearly a fine set of perfect murders. And certainly the killer was convinced that he had got clean away. Only by a stroke of good fortune was Scotland Yard called in, and even then detectives faced a monumental web of intrigue that has been called unique in criminal history. This is the remarkable, true story of John George Haigh, confidence man, fraudster, charmer, dreamer and multiple killer. It is told in graphic, sometimes frightening, detail by a journalist who has plumbed the depths of the archives and talked to many people who lived through the chilling saga; including the Sussex detective who did more than anyone to track the man down. Here Haigh's incredible methods are laid bare. Ho he deceived trusting relatives into believing that their loved ones were safe. And, finally, how the police painstakingly cut through the maze of deception to bring a monster to justice.