I’m currently reading about the Cretan myths of Minos, Ariadne, Theseus and the Minotaur. I’m finding it particularly fascinating as I visited the Palace of Knossos a few years ago.

This week's Friday murder is set in Grosmont, a village which didn't actually exist in 1841. Despite a church, a reasonable permanent population and an ironworks, Tunnel - the area around the tunnel on the Whitby and Pickering line - didn't get named properly until the 1850s. Nevertheless...

This morning I’ve been researching and writing about phrenology, under the watchful gaze of my own phrenological head, Niles.

Starting the day with coffee and crime in the courtyard.

My research topic du jour is death by antimony poisoning. As well as the Charles Bravo case, I’ve come across three other homicides involving the poison including one very famous poisoner and another case in which a senior police officer used the evidence – poisoned fish hooks – as souvenirs!

Today I’ve been uncovering the historical murder case behind the death mask of Robert Marley who killed a jeweller’s assistant in London in 1856. There is surprisingly little information available online and so I’ve delved deeper into the primary sources to discover the truth for a Substack post.

Transported for stealing boxes of matches. Shipped to the other side of the world, never to return. The history of penal transportation is dark, brutal and surprisingly well documented. Out now – essential reading for true crime fans and family historians drangelabuckley.substack.com/p/getting-th...

I love writing for my Substack and sharing my investigations into crime and detective policing in the past. I’m thrilled to have 1,000 fantastic subscribers and I really appreciate everyone’s support 🔗 drangelabuckley.substack.com

I was watching a crime drama last night when the detectives mentioned using forensic gait analysis. Victorian police detectives used to visit prisons to study the gait of known offenders and there were cases where they identified a suspect by the way in which they walked. Everything has a history!

Great to have a day away from my desk today.

I've been dabbling in some Italian ancestry and, thanks to online records and having learnt some Italian, I've found my 2 x great-grandmother Maria Figorilli's birth record. She was born in 1854 in Picinisco, Lazio. Her father was a farmer and she had 3 siblings. She migrated to Manchester in 1881.

I'm delighted to be judging the non-fiction book category in this year's Isle of Wight Book Awards. If you write non-fiction on or about the Island, the deadline for submission is 20 June 2026. More details here: www.iowbookawards.co.uk/about-how-to...

I collect detective memoirs and I found this one in a wonderful bookshop in Buxton. Although he was not officially a detective officer, William Chadwick was chief constable of Stalybridge Constabulary and he undertook investigative work. I’m currently reading about his sleuthing adventures.

The latest post on my Substack is the tragic case of infanticide in Manchester in 1893, which was investigated by Detective Jerome Caminada of the Manchester Police. It's a distressing story but important to remember this long-forgotten young victim 🔗 drangelabuckley.substack.com/p/the-blackl...

🏛️ It’s over forty years since I studied Latin at school and I’ve decided to take it up again. My books have arrived and I’m looking forward to relearning it so that I can translate memorial inscriptions and short classical texts.

This is my favourite of my Italian 2 x great grandfather’s postcard books, from Florence. Dating from 1900-1905, it’s similar to the one Lucy Honeychurch would have bought in A Room with A View. This one is in extraordinarily good condition and is not covered in blood!

After three weeks in Italy, I’m keen to get back to learning Italian. I brought back plenty of books to help improve my reading.

I’ve been looking through my 2 x great-grandfather’s Italian postcard books since I got back from Italy. And the Milan one from 1931 has a photo of The Last Supper with a note that says it seems ‘destined to vanish’. Almost a century later, it’s still there.

Today I've been reading about the sleuthing adventures of Edinburgh police detective, James McLevy. He joined the force in 1830 and served for almost 30 years, during which time he solved some 2,220 cases. He had extraordinary powers of observation and memory, and a close eye for detail.

I’ve had an amazing three weeks travelling around northern Italy: 5 regions, 16 places, 22 train journeys, and lots of churches, art galleries, archeological museums and aperol spritz in the sun.

When I’m out and about in another country, I like to look out for interesting signs. Here are a couple I spotted in Italy. The first was in Sirmione, Lake Garda and the second at the Museo Egizio in Turin.

Yet another intriguing crypt today. This time in the Basílica di San Zeno Maggiore in Verona. The remains of the fourth century North African-born bishop and patron saint of the city lie in the crypt. There are also photos of St Zeno’s skull and a model reconstruction of his face.

This week’s post in The Detective’s Notebook is a classic real-life historical murder case. When Lord William Russell was killed in his bed in Mayfair in 1840, it led to a fascinating investigation featuring some early CSI techniques 🔗 open.substack.com/pub/drangela...

I’ve arrived in Verona where I have another room with a view!

It was interesting to see a statue of Girolamo Savonarola in Ferrara, a Dominican friar from the city who preached Christian renewal and denounced clerical corruption. After disobeying Pope Alexander VI, he was excommunicated and hanged for heresy in Florence in 1498.

At the Castello Estense in Ferrara today I went into the prison where Alfonso I incarcerated his brothers for plotting against him. Ferrante was imprisoned there for 43 years before being pardoned. And Giulio was released after 53 years at the age of 81. It was pretty grim.

I had fun today exploring the Castello Estense, home to the Dukes of Ferrara and where Lucrezia Borgia and Lucrezia de’ Medici both lived with their respective husbands, Alonso I and II. I tried to visit their tombs at the monastery but it was closed (I did ask in my best Italian but to no avail!)

I love coming across an unexpected crypt in a church and I was delighted to find one today in La Cattedrale Metropolitana Di San Pietro in Bologna. In the crypt were the remains of two of the city’s martyrs, Saints Vitale and Agricola who were martyred in c. 304 CE.

Visiting Dante’s memorial at the Basilica di Santa Croce was a fitting end to my stay in Florence, especially as I’ve been reading La Divina Commedia (in English!). Bologna next…

My attention was also captured by this painting of Portia, wife of Marcus Brutus by Fra Bartolomeo c. 1495 in the Uffizi Gallery. It is believed that she killed herself by swallowing hot coals (which you can see on the floor) after her husband’s suicide.

Sometimes it’s the less well known paintings that capture your eye in a big gallery. I spotted this beautiful image of Leda and the Swan today at the Uffizi, by Andrea del Sarto c. 1520.

A secret chamber is always intriguing, and this morning I visited ‘La Stanza Segreta’ beneath the Medici Chapels in Florence. It’s believed that Michelangelo spent three months in hiding in the tiny room, which has some astonishing drawings on the walls.

Now in Florence, and I have ‘A Room with a View’!

‘His quest had ended - here where the leaning Tower was silhouetted against the sky and the first spring flowers were showing pale and creamy with their promise of life and joy to come.’ - Hercule Poirot, The Arcadian Deer. Following in the footsteps of the great detective today 🔎

I love this simple, multilingual play on words, spotted on a bar in the labyrinthine streets of Corniglia, Cinque Terre.

A Room with a View is one of my favourite films and I’ve just finished rewatching it ready for my visit to Florence later this week.

Today I’ve been touring the villages of Cinque Terre, and I came across the fabulous Oratory of the Brotherhood Mortis et Orationis in Monterosso, which is decorated with skeletons. It was founded in the 17th century for the burial of the less fortunate, including orphans and shipwreck victims.

Today I discovered that ‘ostriche’, which I saw on an Italian menu, is not ‘ostriches’. I also managed to negotiate with a train manager and several passengers (in Italian and French) after the seat reservations went awry (there was a missing carriage). All sorted and seated in the end! #languages

Today’s quirky object from my travels in Italy is this merman in the Castello d’Albertis in Genoa. There was no info or label but he looks like a merman to me.

This is my favourite Italian advert so far - I’ve successfully ordered quite a few!

Another day, another crypt in Milan. This time it was in the Basílica di Sant’Ambrogio, which houses the remains of St Ambrose, the city’s patron saint. He’s the one in the golden robes.

In Milan Cathedral there’s a rather beautiful but gruesome statue of Saint Bartholomew wearing his flayed skin over his shoulders.

I do like an ossuary and today I visited the bone chapel of San Bernardino delle Ossa in Milan, which is tucked away in the back streets of the city. There was even a special place for the skulls of individuals who had met violent deaths and perpetrators of crime.

Immersing myself in Italian language and culture 😊

I’m off on a rail trip around northern Italy, visiting nine cities and towns. I’ll be following in the footsteps of my 3 x great grandfather, Michele Coppola, who bought these souvenir books a century ago while travelling back in his home country.

I find the history of forensic science fascinating but it's difficult to track key events. So, I've started compiling a timeline of the momentous developments, which I've shared in The Detective's Notebook, including toxicology, fingerprinting and CSI 🔗 drangelabuckley.substack.com/p/ten-key-mo...

I’m really excited to be launching a brand new non-fiction series with each book focusing on a different historical murder. Here are the covers for the first two…

I’ve been looking back at my photos from Semana Santa in Seville last year - it was an amazing experience and I had such a fantastic time.

My latest Agatha Christie purchase.

On my coffee break from writing about real-life historical murder, I have just reread one of my favourite Agatha Christie short stories, The Tuesday Night Club. I love the underestimation of Miss Marple, the quirky details of the case and the innovative murder weapon.