Hallie Rubenhold’s The Story of a Murder takes the infamous 1910 case of Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen and turns it on its head, moving the focus away from the sensationalized criminal to the women whose lives were irreversibly altered. From the outset, Rubenhold’s meticulous research and forensic precision immerse readers in a vivid, almost cinematic retelling, but one grounded firmly in reality. Her narrative brings into focus Crippen’s first wife, Charlotte Bell, his second wife, Cora Crippen—better known by her stage name Belle Elmore—and his mistress, Ethel Le Neve, all of whom are given rich, fully realized lives that extend far beyond the lurid headlines.

Rubenhold’s writing is unflinching yet careful, capturing the absurdity of Crippen’s behaviour without letting him dominate the story. She sheds light on his dubious career in alternative medicine, portraying a man whose professional ambitions were as questionable as his moral compass. Meanwhile, the book evokes both sympathy and frustration for Ethel Le Neve: she is simultaneously naive and ambivalent, a figure whose complicity and vulnerability provoke complex emotions from the reader.

Perhaps most striking is Rubenhold’s compassionate rendering of Cora. While her public persona as Belle Elmore is explored, the book goes much deeper, revealing the physical and psychological trauma inflicted by Crippen. Rubenhold treats Cora not as a mere victim or spectacle but as a fully human woman whose suffering demands recognition. The juxtaposition of the women’s richly detailed lives against Crippen’s grotesque absurdity creates a tension that is as engrossing as it is unsettling.

The Story of a Murder is forensic history at its finest: immersive, precise, and humane. It balances horror and humanity, shock and insight, confirming Rubenhold’s continued mastery of crime history that prioritizes the lives touched by crime over the sensationalism of the perpetrator.