Toppings Ely: Martin Brunt

We are delighted to welcome Sky News reporter, Martin Brunt, to Ely for his book,
No One Got Cracked Over the Head for No Reason: Dispatches from a Crime Reporter.

What is it about crime that we find so fascinating, even if at the same time the details are repugnant? Why exactly do we immerse ourselves in true crime podcasts and TV shows? Has this appetite for gore shifted over the years? And what role does the crime reporter play in all of this? In this compelling book, Martin Brunt draws on the most shocking and harrowing stories he's covered over the past thirty years to document the life of a crime reporter and assess the public obsession with crime that his reporting caters for. He also considers the wider relationship between the press and the police, the impact of social media and the question of why some crimes are ignored while others grip the nation. Featuring many undisclosed details on some of the biggest cases Brunt has covered, from the 'Diamond Wheezers' to Fred and Rose West, this blend of storytelling and analysis is not only a riveting overview of the nature of crime reporting but a reflection on the purpose of the profession in the first place.

Martin Brunt was chief reporter at the Sunday Mirror before moving to Sky in 1989. He has covered and led the headlines on a string of major crime stories since then. He has been widely acknowledged as having unparalleled sources, with one journalist observing that when he phoned Suffolk Police for a comment on a case, he was told: 'Call Martin Brunt. He knows everything before we do.'