This light-hearted yet well-researched exploration of punishments given to criminals in Shrewsbury over the centuries features tales of criminals and their misdeeds from the Romans to the last execution to take place in Shrewsbury in 1960. The informative account also explains how different devices, such as the stocks, pillory, ducking stool, brank, guillotine and whipping post were used. Stories of Shrewsbury’s criminals such as Thomas Hughes who was whipped for stealing a turkey, Squire Smallman who was hanged in 1829 and Josiah Mister who was executed for attacking the wrong man, are bound to captivate anyone interested in Shrewsbury’s more shadowy history.