No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, no underlining or highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins. It is heartbreaking as you read the book not only the abuse that Stephen, mae and the other children went through but also the battle Stephen and mae have to go through balancing their loyalty to their parents and what was being said in the media and the trial.

Moving into 25 Cromwell Street, West continued with a behaviour of petty theft on an almost daily basis. The book also includes eight pages of full colour photographs showing the West family at various times during their lives as well as snippets from inside 25 Cromwell St. The book is written in Stephen and Mae West’s own words which were taken from detailed interviews with the News Of The World newspaper.Their sister, Heather, was 16 when her parents murdered her after she tried to escape – then buried her in the garden. This book is and excellent read, written in the words of Stephen and Mae West, looking back at their family life then, up to the trial of their parents. The authors describe in harrowing detail how Fred and Rose lured young women to their home, subjected them to unimaginable torture and abuse, and then killed them.

It was interesting to go back and see how that differed from these early days when everything was just coming to light and the shock of coming to terms with their new notoriety as the children of Britain’s worst killer couple. I don’t think this was ever meant to be a work of literary genius, but merely a life lived in the home of some of Britain’s worst serial killers.I come to the conclusion that they were brainwashed into standing by them, because what else could the reason be? It is shocking and at times upsetting but probably the saddest thing of all is in reading how the two West children appear to be trying to make sense of the nonsensical and inexplicable. Written by their children, who were no doubt in the house during some of their more hideous crimes, adds a personal touch which adds more depth to the book and makes a more engaging read. However having read books which were obviously published after I had some knowledge of the goings on already, what was nice to hear was Stephens view point in his own words. Nevertheless, this is a superb chance to try to understand the torture and torment that the West's victims suffered.

I understand that the love of your parents stays with you forever, but I cannot agree with the steadfast way Stephen and Mae stand by their mother and father regardless of what they have done. Yes, it is very graphic, but to hold back on that information would be to ignore what drove the two parents to kill again and again. I read mainly Mysteries and Thrillers, with over half of my reads being Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) directly from the publisher/author. Again, there’s much confusion and anger at what is happening, their joint struggle at accepting what is being said in court causing a vast amount of pain for Stephen and Mae. Most purchases from business sellers are protected by the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 which give you the right to cancel the purchase within 14 days after the day you receive the item.Fred had told Mae that it was his father who had taught him that it was a father’s duty to ‘break in’ his daughters. Tbh what I can't understand is HOW Mae still visits Rose and how mae +stephen have written this story sympathising with Rose +fred also. Inside 25 Cromwell Street reads initially as excerpts from interviews of two of Fred and Rose West's children, later shifting into what seems to be journal entries during the trial of Rose West, followed by a comprehensive timeline of events and examples of letters written to the authors from their parents in jail. By the time the reader has gone through these painful memories of escalating torment, it’s around the halfway mark of the book, and from the bitterness of the latter chapters in the first section, the second section of the book commences; detailing the time after discovering Heather’s body, during Fred West’s arrest and his subsequent suicide. They are both vile excuses for human beings, and anyone trying to justify what they did will not get a lot of sympathy in my book.

With details of the ordeal the two of them went through throughout and after the time living with their parents, it can be rather harrowing in places. But the kids were expected to pull their own weight around the farm at Much Marcle in Herefordshire where they lived. As a reader, you get a sense of how manipulative and deceptive he was and how he managed to hide his monstrous actions from those around him. feel sorry 4 the children and also the poor victims and families+ who knows how many futher victims are buried- SHOCKING!Although the children were unaware of the murders going on, life at 25 Cromwell Street was certainly not wholesome or typical in any way. Perhaps I’m being overly cynical here, but it’s an easy assumption to make, and possibly holds a certain amount of truth to it. Providing the reader with such a first-person-insight into what life was like within the West’s family home, with chapter after chapter detailing what happened to the children, delivered in such an emotionally impactful manner; the book is not only unique in what it offers but much more of a tough read for it. Indeed, reading about how Fred and Rose’s behaviour gradually worsened, all from the perspective of two of the children who were in their direct line of fire of their horrifying sexual games, is one of the hardest and most terrifying aspects of the book. Change country: -Select- Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Azerbaijan Republic Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Islands Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Cook Islands Costa Rica Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Republic Gambia Georgia Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Republic of Croatia Republic of the Congo Reunion Romania Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts-Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Suriname Swaziland Sweden Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City State Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands (U.