The story of John Reginald Halliday Christie and his horrible crimes has been so often rehearsed – in books, essays, documentaries, a feature film, a TV drama – that one wonders what there can possibly be left to tell. We may persuade ourselves of the need for enlightenment, an explanation of why Christie murdered at least seven women, including his wife, but deep down we know that none will be forthcoming. There is no surprising insight to glean from “the mind of a killer”, because we are ever obliged to stare into a black hole, a vanishing point, a dead end.
That Kate Summerscale has chosen to revisit the case is intriguing. I assumed at first there was fresh material to be unpacked, and Summerscale, whose prize-winning The Suspicions of Mr Whicher (2008) spearheaded the revival of interest in true crime, has a creditable record in making old stories new. As it turns out, The Peepshow marks its difference only in the author’s angle of approach. It is an inquiry not so much into the Christie case as the reporting of it by three separate individuals. This provides an oblique commentary on our appetite for domestic horror and a glimpse into the British public’s mindset during the 1940s and 50s. Neither is very edifying.
