Inside 25 Cromwell St

Product Information

Surprisingly short on content, the book is a quick read; there is so much more that can be told about the characters of the deranged pair and life growing up in the West household. The style of the book is written in a rather childish way, but when the book was written Stephen and Mae would of been grown up. Without wanting to appear overly sceptical, one can’t help but feel that the two editors (no doubt fellow reporters for said newspaper) are more concerned with milking the story for all its worth than the actual rehabilitative welfare of Stephen and Mae. It is told verbatim from interviews with Stephen and Mae West, children of the serial killer parents.

But the kids were expected to pull their own weight around the farm at Much Marcle in Herefordshire where they lived. Because the book is largely interviews from the perspective of Mae and Stephen West, it gives a fascinating insight into life with Fred and Rose West. 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.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. A story from the two middle children of Fred and Rosemary West, the couple arrested for a series of murders including that of their eldest daughter. I can't even begin to imagine what life was like for Stephen and Mae but glad to read they are starting to rebuild their lives and I hope the victims families are too!

Heathers story i found particularly upsetting- she tried 2 get away but so young +such bad luck having evil as parents. No one else is going to be able to tell this story, as the authors grew up with Fred and Rose and witnessed many strange things.

Super interesting to read about something that happened so close to home and strange to recognise a pot of the places written about. However the end result, no matter what the real motivation behind the publication of the book was, is the publication of a truly unique insight into exactly what it was like behind the walls of 25 Cromwell Street.

Stephen and Mae West take on a big challenge, writing about their family life from when they were small, all the way through to the trials of both Fred and Rosemary. Mae is very loyal to her mum but admits her childhood was unusual , very strict and she had to put up with her fathers talk of sex. The psychotic episodes that often gripped Fred and Rose West were not just symptomatic of their own dysfunctional childhoods (Fred was a paedophile who got his own sister pregnant and Rose was sleeping with her father from her teens upwards) but symptomatic of their own broken minds. 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. Although the children were unaware of the murders going on, life at 25 Cromwell Street was certainly not wholesome or typical in any way.You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. 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. The book in principally divided into three definite sections, which (quite purposefully) reflect the three most important phases of Stephen and Mae’s lives. However, it was Fred West’s obsession with sex that would be the real catalyst for the hell that was forming within the walls of 25 Cromwell St.

I hope to introduce new features during 2022 and join the Bookstagram community on Instagram properly, so come and follow me there too! However it wasn’t until West met with a young fifteen-year-old girl named Rose Letts that he finally settled down with someone he would say he truly loved. It's hard to look at this objectively, because quite early on, Stephen in particular constantly repeats how much he still loves his mother, and Mae says how her father was 'just weird' and couldn't help behaving the way he did.

There is an endless variety of true crime books that tell us the tales of serial killers; their backgrounds, the murders, the victims, the hunt, the capture,the trials and prosecution - or the getaway if such is the case. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. Moving into 25 Cromwell Street, West continued with a behaviour of petty theft on an almost daily basis. 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.