One
fateful August evening in 2002, the Well’s family entertain their old
friends, Robert and Trudie Wright, over barbecue in Soham, a small town
in middle England. Holly Wells’ friend Jessica Chapman is also in the
house having brought over a gift necklace she brought Holly from a
holiday she just returned from. All is well until around 8 when the
guests are leaving and it becomes apparent that the girls are not in the
house. After two weeks of frantic searching, the two little girls are
found dead in a ditch far from their home town. They have been
burnt. Throughout the entire nightmare, Holly’s dad – Kevin Wells – makes
notes of his observations, feeling, and the happenings around the
house; just anything to ensure that he does not overlook some details
that would be of help to the police. The notes would then become this
chilling account of a lost lost father who has just lost his 10 year old
daughter to the cruel hands of an evil pedophile. Goodbye Dearest Holly
tells a tale of how the families are often kept in the dark by the
police, the effect the media coverage has on the family and their
remaining 12 year old son, and how the community is united by the
tragedy.

Goodbye Dearest Holly is one book that was nothing I expected it to be.Ever since I read Vincent Bugliosi’s Helter Skelter Novel
about the Manson Family Murders, I’ve always loved real crime detective
works and investigative novel. Most of the books I’ve read have been
written by the prosecutor or outsiders, allowing them to be impartial
and detached when outlining the events that took place and the journey
towards the solving of the crime. This is the angle I am used to; the
angle I expected Goodbye Dearest Holly to take. The book surprised me by
taking a different perspective. I was able to see a side of the crimes
that I had never thought about before.  While I always enjoyed the thrill
of investigation and trying to picture who the perpetrator of the crime
could be, I never imagined the pain of the victims, the fears,
frustrations, and heartache experienced by the ones left behind. This
book is written by a hurting father, grieving for his dead
daughter.

Other Books on the Case

Goodbye, Dearest Holly: Ten Years On This Kindle edition is perfect if you’re yet to read the first book. It is way cheaper than the hardbook  Buy Now

 

Beyond Evil – Inside the Twisted Mind of Ian Huntley

By Nathan Yates

This
is another book on the murders by Nathan Yates. As a reporter
with the Daily Mirror at the time of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman’s
murders, Nathan yates covered horrific incident from the day the girls
disappeared.Nathan and his collegues detailed and indepth reporting of
all the events that took place would later earn them the Team Reporters
of the year Title at the British Press Awards in year 2003.He even
interviewed the murderers Huntley and his girlfriend Maxine in the very
house where the murders took place just days before the truth came
out.The book reveals some lies that Huntley later admitted to telling
under oath on the circumstances of one of the sickening murders.

Beyond Evil: Inside the Mind of Ian Huntley, the Wickedest Man on Earth