This biography is an account of the family life of the Thompsons. Tommy and Hilda Thompson married in 1951 and within three days of the honeymoon Tommy started beating Hilda sadistically. They had two children, June and Hilda, who Tommy sexually abused systematically from the age of ten. The abuse of wife and daughters continued for 30 years until Tommy was shot, first by June and then by Hilda. Murder in the Heart is an account of their lives, and Alexandra Artley draws some far-reaching conclusions about abuse, sadism and family life. This book won the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Non-Fiction.