yes, but 30 yrs on. events wont be fresh in there minds.
True. But we’re not talking about random witness sightings here, we’re talking about people who were very close to the victim - I’d argue the passing of time makes it easier for such people to talk more openly, particularly now that certain well meaning but overbearing individuals are no longer alive.
The reality is that within AS’s book we find irregularities, and also areas which imo should’ve been probed deeper. AS for instance devotes only a couple of paragraphs to the pub and the behaviour of its then acting landlord (“a curious development which was never satisfactorily explained”, that “left an uneasy feeling”, he writes in chapter 11, before quickly moving on). You don’t need to have read DV’s book to think that in a case with hardly any leads this surely should’ve warranted further investigation.
As @Klclevi alluded to the other day, AS’s hands were probably tied to an extent so perhaps we can excuse a lack of investigative zeal on his part. Still, DV’s book comes in handy as it fills this gap - again, perhaps his conclusion is incorrect, but the evidence he unearthed is incredibly useful.