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Harold Shipman
- The True Story of Britain's Most Notorious Serial Killer
- Narrated by: Ernie Sprance
- Length: 2 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, True Crime
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Summary
The man on the cover of this book looks like he could be anyone's grandfather. It's easy to imagine him doting on his little grandkids, reading them stories from his lap and letting them play with his big, bushy beard. If you were told he was a doctor, I bet you'd imagine he was a good, kind and gentle one, with an easy, affable manner and deep care for his patients.
Harold Frederick Shipman certainly projected all those qualities, but only so that he could hide the evil that lurked deep inside. Shipman abused his trust and used his position to kill - no less than 218 of his patients found their end at his hand, making him the United Kingdom's most prolific serial killer by a long shot.
This book tells Shipman's story, from his childhood under a domineering mother to his pathetic death in a prison cell. It will put you in the perspective of those who lived and worked in proximity to him, showing you the considerate but sometimes haughty doctor he presented himself as before taking you through the process of wrenching off that mask and uncovering the full extent of the evil festering within.
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What listeners say about Harold Shipman
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- PaulC6230
- 15-12-21
Great Introduction
This is a great introduction to Harold Shipman and his sickening crimes. The author has packed a fair bit into this short but detailed audiobook. The narration was spot on too
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- Jeannine
- 09-08-21
Excellent and frightening
This is an excellent book, full of information about this evil man. It is also quite scary in that it shows how easy it was for Shipman to carry on murdering. By using his position as a doctor, a person we would normally trust completely, he was able to gain the trust of his patients and therefore get close enough to kill them without them suspecting anything. However, some good came out of this evil, and practices were tightened up so that hopefully nothing like this can ever happen again.
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- deafmick
- 03-04-20
☺
As all way this audio book is 100% I hope there lot more to come
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- Pee Popper Diddy Pop
- 08-03-19
Dodgy Character
I pretty much already knew the story, but good to listen to an audiobook of it, I know somebody who actually had Shipman as her doctor, guess she had a lucky escape
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- L Phillips
- 08-06-18
Half sensible insight
Was Interesting but found the readers voice really bad, sounded like a computer was reading out the words, words were very blockie it, was, not, very, nice.
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- Emily
- 29-03-17
Who Was The Most Notorious Serial Killer in Britain?
I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
This was pretty good. Rather brief and much more biographical than I was expecting, but it seems rather well researched, especially small medical details, which many would have skimmed over or forgotten completely.
Harold Shipman, AKA the most notorious serial killer in British history, used his position as a doctor to kill his patients and rewrote some of their wills in order to take their money. A relatively ingenious idea for the time period, as rules regarding drugs were a lot more lax during his time as a doctor than they are now, even if Shipman bent the rules back then. Tending to focus on geriatric patients and advising loved ones to cremate their parents or partners, he could possibly have continued for years more, had he not made a mistake with one patient called Mrs Grundy.
It seems rather incredulous now, looking back in hindsight, that nobody noticed this happening, considering the number of people he killed in such a small GP area.
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- Simone
- 21-10-16
Dr. Death!
Any additional comments?
Green is a masterful writer in the true crime genre. Shipman was indeed one of the worst cases I've heard and Green does an excellent job of keeping the story riveting, concise and on track. Ernie Sprance does a lovely job, as always, of narrating this disturbing tale of a man who abused his power and preyed on the most vulnerable of his patients. Any listener who enjoys true crime will enjoy this book!
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.
1 person found this helpful
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- Jacki Challis
- 26-07-21
Not worth the time
The story moves along like a freight train on speed so the heart of the story is totally left out.
I wanted to hear about his murdered 200+ patients, their trust in him and how he was able to get away with it for so long. The book briefly touches on it but if you blink you’ll miss it. It’s all very clinical, no emotion.
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- pistolannie
- 24-02-20
Short book and straight to the point.
This book outlines how the serial killer killed and who his victims were. No filler! I love how the book was written. It is almost like a tribute to those who died at Harold Shipmans hands. Remember the victims. I would think his history has contributed to the controls and laws that are currently in place for accountability to patients and for drugs.
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- Neesie315
- 08-02-20
Doctor of Death
I had never heard of Harold Shipman until I was given the chance to listen to this audiobook by the author. Although short, this book gives a good overview of the case of a notorious serial killer who happened to be a physician. Harold Shipman killed many of his patients and it will probably never be known exactly how many he actually killed.
The author, Ryan Green, does a good job in telling this tale in a factual way. This is definitely not an indepth study of the story, but gives a true crime reader what they are looking for. The book gives you a creepy vibe about how a person can become a Doctor of Death, taking matters into their own hands.
The narrator, Ernie Sprance, does a good job with perfect pacing and enough emotion to keep the listener involved.
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- Karen Chace
- 27-10-19
OMG
loved this book scary to think that a doctor could do this for so long
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- JJLarson
- 06-08-19
Harold Shipman
I was given this free review copy audio-book by the author at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Overall this was a pretty interesting book. I haven't heard of Harold Shipman until now. What a vile human being. I can't believe he got away with all these killings for as long as he did! He used his position as a doctor and earned the trust and love of many patients and then ended up murdering them.
This book was very short and to the point, but definitely worth the read. Ernie Sprance was a good narrator.
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- Anna L Dedrick
- 13-08-18
Flat
Very dry, barely "scratch the surface" true crime description. Couldn't get into it at all.
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- Paul A. Luedecke
- 23-02-18
Disturbing
Any additional comments?
Harold Shipman did some vile things. It is not always easy to listen to but it is relatively short so at least the tension settles after a short time. Few things are more disturbing than the true stories. The narration is in more of a news story style, so hard to put a grade on it, but it is good.
"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."
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- Texas78132
- 01-05-17
I remember this
Any additional comments?
I remember this story when it was happening. Of course, back then everyone didn't have computers and the internet was almost a dream so information was very limited. This book provided all of the details and facts about the horror that was this man and what he did. It was interesting and got my full attention. This review copy audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost.
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- VinMo
- 17-04-17
Thoroughly researched concise retelling
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes - it's great for a car ride and keeps your interest from beginning to end because it's packed with one fact after another.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, it's a short book, so I found it to be an easy one-&-done listen.
Any additional comments?
I had never heard of Harold Shipman before, and I recommend it to anyone else with little to no background info on his cases. The only thing I missed in this book - besides preferring longer reads - is the lack of a detailed narrative, which I figured would be the case due to its duration.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.