Crime Through the Decades: Writer David Leslie opens his casebook for 32-page Sunday Post supplement

Crime Writer David Leslie (Chris Austin / DC Thomson)

SEASONED crime author David Leslie has seen it all.

From his humble beginnings working as a reporter in Newcastle, to his time on Fleet Street and working as Scottish crime expert, he’s chronicled every major crime north of the border in the latter part of the 20th Century.

His journey has provided rich material for a host of best selling crime books and he regularly appears on television to provide expert Scottish crime commentary.

Now David is exclusively revealing the highlights of his crime casebook to The Sunday Post.

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In it are some of the best known –and a few not-so-well-known – crimes to have taken place in Scotland between 1950 and 1999.

The crimes, criminals and exploits he has selected have fascinated, horrified and sometimes even tickled the public for decades.

But he doesn’t seek to glorify criminals for their actions – he knows only too well the anguish crime can cause, having been the victim of a knife attack himself.

The Glasgow-based writer said: “I’ve spent my life chronicling the actions of criminals and the constant chase by the police to protect the public.

“It’s an endless game of cat and mouse that results in fascinating human drama.

“At it’s most gruesome, crime rightly horrifies us, and can more clearly define what is good about our basic humanity.

“It’s a grim, fascinating area that I’ve been privileged to work in and chart.

“This comprehensive guide covers the big, well-known cases. No guide to Scottish crime would be complete without a focus on Peter Manuel and Arthur Thompson Senior.

“But what really absorbed me were the smaller, quirkier, unusual happenings that many people will have forgotten about.

“It’s been a labour of love, and one that I truly hope readers will find enthralling to digest.”