MY BOOKS
True Crime, historical fiction, wartime history, and supernatural stories inspired by real event's.
A Llanrwst Christmas
Not Worth Dying For
Christmas Day, 1937.
A brutal murder. A woman condemned to hang. A truth buried beneath fear, prejudice, and silence.
When William is discovered dying from a horrific knife wound in a condemned house in Llanrwst, North Wales, suspicion immediately falls on Caroline, the woman who loved him despite his violence, drinking, and cruelty.
Poor, illiterate, and unable to defend herself within a legal system already determined to judge her, Caroline is arrested and thrust into a harrowing murder trial that will leave her fighting for her life.
But did she really commit the crime?
Through painstaking research at the National Archives at Kew, Margaret Moxom uncovers forgotten witness statements, police records, trial transcripts, and shocking inconsistencies that raise disturbing questions about the investigation and the verdict that followed.
As secrets unravel and loyalties are tested, the case becomes far more complex than anyone first believed.
Based on a true story, A Llanrwst Christmas: Not Worth Dying For is a compelling and emotionally charged journey into one of Wales’ most controversial murder cases, exploring injustice, survival, prejudice, and the devastating consequences of getting the truth wrong.
The Day the Sun Disappeared
27 November 1944
A powerful historical novel inspired by the devastating RAF Fauld explosion of 1944, the largest explosion in Britain not caused by enemy warfare.
On 27 November 1944, peaceful farming villages on the border of Staffordshire and Derbyshire were torn apart when thousands of tons of explosives, secretly stored by the RAF in disused alabaster mines beneath the countryside, detonated with catastrophic force.
The explosion sent a mushroom cloud high into the sky, swallowing farmland, homes, trees, and livestock, while the blast was recorded on a seismograph as far away as Geneva.
Drawing on true reports, survivor testimonies, and historical research, Margaret Moxom brings to life the courage, fear, and heartbreak experienced by the local communities, rescue teams, and families whose lives were changed forever.
Hidden for decades under the Official Secrets Act, this is the story of a disaster that should never be forgotten.
The Rough Close Murder
A chilling blend of true crime and paranormal suspense inspired by a real murder that shocked Stoke-on-Trent in 1886.
When William Daniel is shot dead by his brother John after a bitter family quarrel, the tragedy leaves behind more than grief and violence, it leaves something darker behind within the old farmhouse walls.
More than a century later, a young family moves into the same house, unaware of the horrifying history buried within it. At first, the strange happenings seem harmless, furniture moving, unexplained sounds, ghostly music in the night. But after a terrifying electrical accident, Dave begins to change.
His personality darkens.
His temper grows violent.
He begins speaking in an old Potteries dialect.
And eventually, he no longer recognises his own wife.
As the haunting intensifies, Sue uncovers the horrifying truth behind the house and turns to real-life psychic medium Julie Angel for help. What follows is a gripping and deeply unsettling battle between the living and the dead, culminating in a traumatic exorcism based on real paranormal practices.
Drawing on archived newspaper reports, historical records, and true local history, The Rough Close Murder masterfully combines psychological terror, supernatural horror, and historical crime into an unforgettable story of possession, fear, and the darkness that can linger long after death.
This is a dramatic, thrilling true story, taken from my own family records of two separate families, the Munfords and the Gunns, leaving England, in the mid 19th century, to escape persecution for their religious beliefs, and to make the perilous journey to Utah, America.
They travel by ship, a life-threatening journey at the time, taking six weeks. Ann Munford meets Charles Dickens on the 'Amazon'.
Then, mostly walking the 1,300 miles beside their ox-drawn wagons, which carry the few belongings they were able to bring.
They continue across the searing hot plains, perilously hauling the wagons over the mountains, to get to Salt Lake City. Many die along the way of starvation, dehydration and disease.
In Parowan, Utah, the two families meet up. Ann Munford marries George Gunn, only to have to set out immediately to clear land and build settlements, that is until the Black Hawk Wars starts.
Review: "What a nightmare. I had to keep reminding myself to breathe. Going to make a cup of tea to get over the trauma.
The description is brilliant. I felt I was right there with them.
Danni
Larry Fisher, Private Eye
Ostend, Belgium. 1991.
Private investigator Larry Fisher has seen enough of life to recognise when something doesn’t feel right.
When a young woman named Danni is found dead, the authorities quickly dismiss it as suicide.
But Larry refuses to believe the truth is that simple.
Haunted by doubts and driven by instinct, he begins his own investigation, one that leads him far beyond the streets of Ostend and deep into secrets buried since the Second World War.
As hidden connections begin to surface, Larry finds himself caught in a dangerous race against time where the past refuses to stay forgotten.
Atmospheric, suspenseful, and filled with intrigue, Danni combines mystery, history, and detective fiction in a gripping story of deception, unanswered questions, and the shadows left behind by war.
Although inspired by real historical events, this is a work of fiction, with characters and storylines created entirely from imagination.
The Barlaston Murderer
Leslie Green
A haunting and deeply unsettling true crime story inspired by one of Staffordshire’s most controversial murder cases.
On 16 July 1952, Mary Maud Wiltshaw, wife of the director of the famous pottery firm Wiltshaw & Robinson, was brutally murdered in her home, ‘Estoril’, on Station Road, Barlaston.
Within months, former chauffeur Leslie Green was convicted and sentenced to hang.
But even as the noose was placed around his neck, Green insisted he was innocent.
Why would a guilty man voluntarily walk into a police station?
Why were there gaps in his memory?
And who was the mysterious figure connected to a supposed deathbed confession many years later?
Driven by these disturbing questions, Margaret Moxom reopens the case through detailed historical research, court records, newspaper archives, and police evidence, uncovering the uncertainty, contradictions, and unanswered mysteries surrounding the investigation.
Blending factual history with a powerful psychological interpretation of Leslie Green’s troubled mind, this gripping account explores trauma, memory loss, guilt, manipulation, and the terrifying possibility that the wrong man may have gone to the gallows.
Following on from Footsteps in the Past, John’s Story begins in the peaceful market town of Hanley before unfolding against the dramatic backdrop of the 1842 Pottery Riots in Burslem.
Through love, hardship, ambition, and loss, John’s deeply human journey traces the transformation of the Potteries during one of the most turbulent periods in Staffordshire’s history.
As the once-rural towns become rapidly industrialised, thousands flood in from the countryside seeking work in the mines and potteries, forever changing the landscape and lives of those who lived there.
Amid the smoke, poverty, and unrest, John experiences both joy and heartbreak. His story is interwoven with vivid glimpses of everyday Victorian life, from travelling circuses and bustling horse races to the grim realities of starvation, dangerous working conditions, and the looming terror of the workhouse.
As wages are repeatedly cut by wealthy pottery and mine owners, including the notorious Job Meigh, tensions rise across the six towns. With unemployment spreading and families struggling to survive, the Chartist movement begins to inspire workers to fight back for fair pay, dignity, and the right to vote.
Set during the devastating Cholera epidemic, whose impact echoes modern-day pandemics, the novel captures the fear, uncertainty, and resilience of ordinary people living through extraordinary times.
Drawing heavily on factual history, archival research, and real historical figures, Margaret Moxom brings nineteenth-century Staffordshire vividly back to life.
Through John’s passion for architecture and the changing face of the Potteries, readers are immersed in the atmosphere, struggles, and spirit of an era that shaped the region forever.
Kerry
Set in Ostend, Belgium, in 1991, Kerry is a deeply unsettling and emotionally charged story inspired by true events and a real woman Margaret Moxom once knew personally.
What begins as an ordinary life slowly unravels into tragedy, mystery, and unanswered questions. Margaret herself witnessed the woman’s final days in hospital, an experience that left a lasting impression and became the inspiration behind this haunting novel.
Certain facts within the story are real. Insulin had genuinely gone missing from both the woman’s workplace and her home, and her beloved dog had also been put down under disturbing circumstances. Yet despite investigations, many questions remained unanswered.
Not having been directly involved in the official inquiry, Margaret chose to explore the emotional and psychological possibilities through fiction, creating a gripping and atmospheric story shaped by imagination, uncertainty, and human vulnerability.
Blending realism with suspense, Kerry examines trust, fear, illness, isolation, and the hidden truths that can exist beneath seemingly ordinary lives.
The result is a compelling fictional narrative rooted in genuine events that still leave echoes of mystery decades later.
