Originally published by George C. Harrap & Co. in 1969.

On 19th January 1931 a telephone message was left for Mr William Wallace at the Liverpool Central Chess Club, of which he was a member. It involved an appointment with a possible business client for the insurance collector, and instructed him to call at 25 Menlove Gardens East at 7.30pm the following evening. On the 20th Wallace duly left his home in Anfield at around 6.45pm and took three trams to Allerton. After searching the Menlove area for some time and asking several people for directions, it appeared that there was a North, South and West, but no East. Wallace returned home to find his 69-year-old wife Julia brutally murdered in the front parlour of their home in Wolverton Street. Despite consistently denying any involvement, William Wallace was tried and convicted of his wife's murder, only for the verdict to be overturned by the Court of Criminal Appeal - the first time in British legal history that an appeal had been allowed after re-examination of evidence. The question therefore still remains: who killed Julia Wallace on that cold January night in 1931? Published to mark the 90th anniversary of the murder, Checkmate dispels several of the myths and inaccuracies that have surrounded the case for decades.

One of a number of real life cases from an era when juries listened with rapt attention to evidence of exact times, distances, estimates of speed and even in some cases whether a clock was fast or slow—from witnesses whose recollections might be first-rate, mildly inaccurate, mistaken or wholly unreliable. A reading of Old Bailey and other Assize court cases from the time suggests there may have been an entire industry centring on the creation of ambiguity, smokescreens and sometimes false alibis. Advocates demonstrated skill, ingenuity and persistence in constructing explanations, favourable or unfavourable, according to whether they acted for prosecution or defence. The Telephone Murder of 1931 in Liverpool, when William Wallace was acquitted on appeal of his wife’s murder, is a poignant reminder of those days. The story is further spiced because prosecuting counsel was a man fighting to restore his professional reputation. This second edition contains a new Preface as well as a number of textual explanations, enhancement and a fresh index. It complements the author’s series of books on famous cases. Describes how a man narrowly escaped the gallows in one of the UK’s most famous murder acquittals. Peppered with snapshots of the times. Analyses competing views on Wallace’s story. A key case in the annals of UK legal history. Review ‘Mr Bartle has done a careful job in examining the evidence with his evident criminal expertise. He takes apart a number of previous theories… an interesting introduction to the case for first time readers and some stimulating material which aficionados…may ponder’—Criminal Law & Justice Weekly

'It is a formidable, indeed a damning indictment and Wilkes presents the result of his detective work with journalistic panache' P. D. JAMES, Times Literary Supplement 'Roger Wilkes's seminal book lays out the facts . . . one of the great unsolved murders of the century' CRAIG TAYLOR, Guardian 'I call it the impossible murder because Wallace couldn't have done it. And neither could anyone else. The Wallace case is unbeatable, it will always be unbeatable' RAYMOND CHANDLER Who really killed Julia Wallace? The final verdict. Ever since that terrible night in January 1931, when the body of Julia Wallace was found in her Liverpool home, her head crushed by violent blows, the identity of her killer has remained a mystery. Her husband, William, was accused, tried, convicted and sentenced to hang for murder, but he was then acquitted in a sensational appeal court judgement. Yet the police refused to reopen their investigation. So who did kill Julia? When Roger Wilkes started researching a dramatised radio documentary for Liverpool's Radio City, he uncovered new evidence which suggested a disturbing story - a crucial witness ignored by the police, even a suggestion of a deliberate cover-up. Finally, he provides compelling evidence as to the identify of the real killer.

Written by an L. A. County homicide detective and former atheist, Cold-Case Christianity examines the claims of the New Testament using the skills and strategies of a hard-to-convince criminal investigator. Christianity could be defined as a “cold case”: it makes a claim about an event from the distant past for which there is little forensic evidence. In Cold-Case Christianity, J. Warner Wallace uses his nationally recognized skills as a homicide detective to look at the evidence and eyewitnesses behind Christian beliefs. Including gripping stories from his career and the visual techniques he developed in the courtroom, Wallace uses illustration to examine the powerful evidence that validates the claims of Christianity. A unique apologetic that speaks to readers’ intense interest in detective stories, Cold-Case Christianity inspires readers to have confidence in Christ as it prepares them to articulate the case for Christianity.

In 1916, Herman J. Rossi, one of Wallace, Idaho's leading citizens, shot and killed his young wife's lover, Clarence "Gabe" Dahlquist. A jury readily acquitted Rossi after a week-long trial. The unwritten law was widely credited with the jury's decision. This book explores both the details of Rossi's trial and the historical sociology of the unwritten law.

A telephone message is left at a chess club, instructing one of its members, insurance agent William Wallace, to meet a Mr. Qualtrough. But the address given by the mystery caller does not exist, so Wallace returns home--only to find his wife Julia has been bludgeoned to death. The case turns on the telephone call. Who made it? The police thought it was Wallace, creating an alibi that might have come straight from an Agatha Christie thriller. Others believe Wallace innocent but disagree on the identity of the murderer. This Cold Case Jury book recreates the unsolved crime in an evocative and compelling way, presents fresh evidence, exposes the strengths and weaknesses of past evidence, and then asks the reader to decide what happened in one of the most celebrated cold cases of all time.

Join a cold-case detective as he uncovers the truth about Jesus using the same approach he employs to solve real murder cases. Detective J. Warner Wallace was skeptical of the Bible's claims about Jesus. But he'd investigated several no-body homicide cases in which there was no crime scene, no physical evidence, and no victim's body. He wondered if the truth about the historical Jesus could be investigated in the same way. In Person of Interest, cold-case detective and bestselling author J. Warner Wallace describes his own personal investigative journey from atheism to Christianity as he carefully sifts through the evidence from history alone, without relying on the New Testament. In this book, you'll: Understand like never before how Jesus—the most significant person in history—changed the world and why he still matters today. Learn how to think like a cold-case detective by using an innovative and unique "fuse and fallout" investigative strategy, which you can also use to examine other claims of history. Explore and learn how to respond to common objections to Christianity. Creative, compelling, and fully illustrated, Person of Interest will strengthen the faith of believers while engaging those who are skeptical and distrusting of the New Testament gospel accounts.

The Read & Bloom line offers high interest, character driven stories for newly independent readers that feature full-color illustrations throughout and will transition kids from leveled readers to a lifetime of reading. In this charming series, perfect for newly independent readers, kids will be treated to simple whodunit mysteries as an utterly delightful owl duo put their heads together. In their first adventure, Wallace and Grace meet a rabbit who is sure he saw a ghost! But the clues lead them in a different direction. Something is spooking the garden . . . can Wallace and Grace solve this case?