This unusual history combines the events surrounding the deadly London Fog of December 1952 with the grisly murders committed by John “Reg” Christie at 10 Rillington Place. The fog—during which Londoners couldn’t breathe or see to walk or drive through the city—set the stage for numerous crimes, but Christie’s were the most shocking. Dawson’s book provides a snapshot of postwar England, with its population looking toward the future even as they still struggled to recover from war seven years on. Fuel shortages meant average Londoners burned a smoky dust-filled coal that exacerbated “smog”—a newly coined word connoting a combination of smoke and fog—but kept them warm at an affordable price. Dawson’s fastidious research and her compassion makes the reader *almost* feel sorry for the government as it grapples with an environmental perfect storm that may have resulted in early deaths for 12,000 people. An insightful read for those interesting in this period of British history.