The police believed Sutcliffe was operating only in the Greater Manchester Police, South Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police force areas, using his car. In fact, Sutcliffe was operating nationally and internationally, using his employer's lorry to commit attacks. Authors Chris Clark and Tim Hicks have meticulously researched Sutcliffe's crimes and reveal many of his previously unknown victims for the first time.
The police failed to deliver justice for the victims' families, and the media has failed to hold the police to account for this failure - both in the original investigation and in subsequent cold-case investigations.
The authors hope that by bringing more of the facts of the case into the public domain and by telling the victims' stories, they can help to bring closure for friends and relatives of victims of the Yorkshire Ripper.