Innocent Victims

'Innocent Victims' contains two chilling novellas about seemingly normal people driven to commit the most heinous crimes imaginable.

'Chickenfeed' is a crackling tale based on the true story of the ‘chicken farm murder’ in East Sussex in 1924. Although Norman Thorne never confessed to killing his girlfriend, he was tried and hanged for the crime. Walters's fictionalised account of their relationship is told from the points of view of Elsie and Norman, from their first meeting until the eve of Norman's trial for murder four years later. Burrowing deep into English legend, Walters creates a suspenseful tale of fiction based on fact, leaving it to the reader to decide whether Norman was guilty of the awful crime.

In 'T Tinder Box', Walters tells the story of Patrick O’Riordan, who has been arrested for the brutal murder of two women. As shock turns to fury, the village residents unite against the O’Riordan family while neighbour Siobhan Lavenham remains convinced that Patrick is innocent. Jeopardising her own position within the bigoted community, Siobhan stands firmly in defence of the O’Riordan name.