Over the past few decades, there has been a remarkable rise in the number of people who speak publicly about their experience of crime. These personal accounts used to be confined to the police station and the courtroom, but today bookshops heave with autobiographies by prisoners, criminals, police and barristers while streaming platforms host hours of interviews with serial killers, death-row residents, vigilantes and gang members.

In this fascinating new book, criminologist Jennifer Fleetwood examines seven infamous crime stories to make sense of this modern confessional impulse, including Howard Markss outlandish autobiography Mr Nice, Shamima Begums controversial Times interview, Prince Andrews disastrous Newsnight appearance and Myra Hindleys unpublished prison letters.