Injured Parties (Solving the Murder of Dr Helen Davidson)

On November 9, 1966, popular physician Helen Davidson was battered to death in dense woodland while bird watching and walking her dog a few miles from her Buckinghamshire home. Her body was found the next day, her eyes having been pushed into her skull. The basic facts were published in the Times and the Bucks Free Press: "She had binoculars round her neck, spied illicit lovers, was spotted, and one or both of them killed her," surmised Detective Chief Inspector Jack "Razor" Williams of New Scotland Yard. He had received fifty police commendations in his career, yet not one for a murder case. Unsurprisingly, within weeks the police operation wound down, Williams retired, and another Cold Case hit the statistics. However, fifty years later amateur sleuth and author Monica Weller set about solving the murder – without the help of the prohibited files. As she sifted the fresh evidence, a number of suspects and sinister motives began to emerge. Not a random killing, then. She uncovered secret passions, deep jealousies, unusual relationships, and a victim with a dark past. Finally, her persistence and dedication were dramatically rewarded when she uncovered the identity of the murderer – revealed here for the first time.