Malaysian Murders and Mysteries are a compilation of 42 of the most notorious criminal cases of Malaysia.
It starts with the murder of JWW Birch on 2 Nov 1875. Each case is narrated in about 4 to 6 pages.
This is a fascinating book. It deserves a wide readership.
The chapter on the Batang Kali massacre by British troops makes the sad reading.
After the killings in cold blood, the village was razed. The orphaned children were left defenseless and given away for adoption. (Page 33 book).
The aftermath is even more shocking. It shows some politicians and the UK Supreme Court failed to do the right thing in the face of such a travesty of justice.
Murder on the Verandah is on the infamous Ethel Proudlock Murder trial of 1911.
This trial was the subject of the famous short story by Somerset Maugham called The Letter.
The murder trial also formed one part of the trilogy of true characters in the fictional 2023 novel The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng.