Dark Valleys

'Dark Valleys' collects together more than a century of murders that took place in and around the valleys of South Wales. These horrific crimes shocked not only Wales, but also made national headlines. Although treated with compassion and sensitivity by the Welsh author and crime historian Gary M. Dobbs, these true stories are often gruesome and harrowing, with no details spared in chronicling what were truly terrible events. The reasons behind such violent crime are explored, and we see the changing attitudes of society to crimes fuelled by alcohol, poverty, passion or, increasingly so in modern times, drug abuse.

The book also highlights the changing procedures of both the police and the courts in dealing with such crimes. It contains stories of hardship and incredible poverty, and of ordinary lives suddenly transformed by brutal and sickening violence. Many of the killings contained within these pages remain unsolved, such as the 1862 Tyntyla Farm Murder and the 1993 execution style killings of Megan and Harry Tooze. The latter case remains one of South Wales' most infamous unsolved murders. Along the the way we look at the case of Rhoda Willis, the first woman to be hanged at Cardiff Prison, and many, many more gruesome but fascinating cases.

In all cases the author has painstakingly collected together every available piece of evidence to provide as clear a picture as possible. Gary Dobbs' carefully researched, well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the darker side of history.

About the Author

Welsh author Gary Dobbs is best known as a fiction writer. Using the pen name Jack Martin, he is responsible for a string of best-selling westerns as well as the popular crime series, Granny Smith. The latter was published under his own name. Dark Valleys is his second major non-fiction work following the successful Cardiff and the Valleys in the Great War, which was also published by Pen & Sword. Hours of research were involved in compiling the stories presented within these pages, and alongside the harrowing tales of often-brutal violence, the author feels there is a very human story that reflects the respective times and societies that spawned these terrible events.