Londoners were used to unhealthy air, but the smog that descended on December 5th, 1952, was different; mass transit ground to a halt, criminals roamed the streets, and in less than a week, 12,000 people died. That same month, London also lived in fear of serial killer John Reginald Christie, who murdered at least six women (while his neighbor was wrongly blamed for one of the crimes and sent to the gallows). In a captivating, interwoven narrative that incorporates extensive interviews, Kate Winkler Dawson evokes this time of terror and surveys its lasting impact on modern Britain.