Bowraville by Dan Box

$34.99 AUD

Category: Crime & Punishment | Reading Level: 2 Crime

A true crime story cannot often be believed, at least at the beginning. In Bowraville, all three of the victims were Aboriginal. All three were killed within five months, between 1990 and 1991. The same white man was linked to each, but nobody was convicted. More than two decades later, homicide detecti ve Gary Jubelin contacted Dan Box, asking him to pursue this serial killing. At that time, few others in the justice system seemed to know – or care – about the murders in Bowraville. Dan spoke to the families of the victims, Colleen Walker-Craig, Evelyn Greenup and Clinton Speedy-Duroux, as well as the lawyers, police officers and even the suspect involved in what had happened. His investigation, as well as the families’ own determined campaigning, forced the authorities to reconsider the killings. This account asks painful questions about what ‘justice’ means and how it is delivered, as well as describing Dan’s own shifting, uncomfortable realisation that he was a reporter who crossed the line. Praise for the Bowraville podcast- 'It is a gripping true crime tale and an essay on racism; a challenge to the lies Australia tells itself about its treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people told through the voices of three Aboriginal families who have been indisputably let down ... The podcast has galvanised the public in a way that two decades of print and television reporting on the Bowraville murders have not.' The Guardian 'A masterful example of crime reporting which forensically details the worst of human nature, inexplicably compounded by the gross negligence of the only people who could provide justice. It's stirred thousands, including the prime suspect, to re-engage with the case after trusting the journalist to take them to dark places.' Walkley judges' comments 'Outstanding.' Leigh Sales 'Moving, brilliant.' Annabel Crabb 'If you haven't listened to Bowraville by Dan Box, then you should.' David Campbell ...Show more

Fake: A Startling True Story of Love in a World of Liars, Cheats, Narcissists, Fantasists and Phonies by Stephanie Wood

$34.99 AUD

Category: Crime & Punishment

Women the world over are brought up to hope, even expect, to find the man of their dreams, marry and live happily ever after. When Stephanie Wood meets a sweet man who owns a farm and property, she embarks on an exhilarating romance with him. He seems compassionate, truthful and loving. He talks about t he future with her. She falls in love. She also becomes increasingly beset by anxiety at the lavish three-act plays he offers her in the form of excuses for frequent cancellations and no-shows. She begins to wonder, who is this man? When she ends the relationship Stephanie switches back on her journalistic nous and uncovers a story of mind-boggling duplicity and manipulation. She also finds she is not alone; that the world is full of smart, sassy women who have suffered at the hands of liars, cheats, narcissists, fantasists and phonies, men who are enormously skilled at deception. In this brilliantly acute and broad-ranging book, Wood, an award-winning writer and journalist, has written a riveting, important account of contemporary love, and the resilience of those who have witnessed its darkest sides. ...Show more

The Secret Barrister - Stories of the Law and How It's Broken by The Secret Barrister

$18.99 AUD

Category: Crime & Punishment

"I'm a barrister, a job which requires the skills of a social worker, relationship counsellor, arm-twister, hostage negotiator, named driver, bus fare-provider, accountant, suicide watchman, coffee-supplier, surrogate parent and, on one memorable occasion, whatever the official term is for someone taske d with breaking the news to a prisoner that his girlfriend has been diagnosed with gonorrhoea."Welcome to the world of the Secret Barrister. These are the stories of life inside the courtroom. They are sometimes funny, often moving and ultimately life-changing.How can you defend a child-abuser you suspect to be guilty? What do you say to someone sentenced to ten years who you believe to be innocent? What is the law and why do we need it? And why do they wear those stupid wigs?From the criminals to the lawyers, the victims, witnesses and officers of the law, here is the best and worst of humanity, all struggling within a broken system which would never be off the front pages if the public knew what it was really like. Both a searing first-hand account of the human cost of the criminal justice system, and a guide to how we got into this mess, The Secret Barrister wants to show you what it's really like and why it really matters. ...Show more

Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom ONeill; Dan Piepenbring

$35.00 AUD

Category: Crime & Punishment

A journalist's twenty-year obsession with the Manson murders leads to shocking new conspiracy theories about the FBI's involvement in this fascinating re-evaluation of one of the most infamous cases in American history. In 1999, when Tom O'Neill was assigned a magazine piece about the thirtieth annivers ary of the Manson murders, he worried there was nothing new to say. Weren't the facts indisputable? Charles Manson had ordered his teenage followers to commit seven brutal murders, and in his thrall, they'd gladly complied. But when O'Neill began reporting the story, he kept finding holes in the prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's narrative, long enshrined in the bestselling Helter Skelter. Before long, O'Neill had questions about everything from the motive to the manhunt. Though he'd never considered himself a conspiracy theorist, the Manson murders swallowed the next two decades of his career. He was obsessed. Searching but never speculative, CHAOS follows O'Neill's twenty-year effort to rebut the 'official' story behind Manson. Who were his real friends in Hollywood, and how far would they go to hide their ties? Why didn't law enforcement act on their many chances to stop him? And how did he turn a group of peaceful hippies into remorseless killers? O'Neill's hunt for answers leads him from reclusive celebrities to seasoned spies, from the Summer of Love to the shadowy sites of the CIA's mind-control experiments, on a trail rife with cover-ups and coincidences. Featuring hundreds of new interviews and dozens of never-before-seen documents from the LAPD, the FBI and the CIA, CHAOS mounts an argument that could be, according to Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Stephen Kay, strong enough to overturn the verdicts on the Manson murders. In those two dark nights in Los Angeles, O'Neill finds the story of California in the sixties- when charlatans mixed with prodigies, free love was as possible as brainwashing, and utopia-or dystopia-was just an acid trip away. ...Show more

Stay Sexy and Don't Get Murdered by KILGARIFF, KAREN

$29.99 AUD

Category: Crime & Punishment

Angel of Death : Dulcie Markham, Femme Fatale of the Australian Underworld by Leigh Straw; Leigh Straw

$32.99 AUD

Category: Crime & Punishment

This is the story of 'Pretty' Dulcie Markham, a key figure of the underworld of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, who, according to one crime reporter, 'saw more violence and death than any other woman in Australia's history'. Nicknamed the 'Black Widow' and 'Angel of Death' by the crooks, reporters and p olice who knew her best, Dulcie's lovers were stabbed and gunned down in the most violent years of Australian crime, the 1920s to the 1950s. Not always by her ...Show more

The Pretty Girl Killer by Andrew Byrne

$34.99 AUD

Category: Crime & Punishment

This is the story of Christopher Wilder- the surf-loving son of a decorated naval war hero born in the suburbs of Sydney, who became the most wanted man in America - a psychopathic serial killer who slaughtered more than sixteen young women in the USA and is the prime suspect in the infamous Australian Wanda Beach murders. Wilder was handsome and charming, and time and time again he managed to convince beautiful young women that he was a fashion photographer looking to help them start a career in modelling. What followed were some of the most brutal, sadistic crimes the world has ever seen - as well as a years-long police operation, dogged by missed opportunities and bad decisions, to track the killer down. Featuring new evidence unearthed from case files and interviews with FBI agents, witnesses and survivors, some of whom have spoken for the first time since the horrendous crimes were committed, The Pretty Girl Killer takes us right into the mind and moment of one of Australia's most heinous exports. ...Show more

Mandatory Murder by Steven Schubert

$32.99 AUD

Category: Crime & Punishment

A compelling true story of homicide and injustice in an outback town At first it looked like a swag, said the grader driver who found the body just off the road outside the outback town of Katherine. Police identify the dead man as Ray Nicefero, who'd recently appeared in court for aggravated assault a nd breaching a domestic violence order. Three days later, the constabulary rounds up three young local suspects: Christopher Malyschko, 24, Darren 'Spider' Halfpenny, 22, and 19-year-old Zak Grieve, who happens to be Indigenous. A month later, Bronwyn Buttery, Ray's former partner and Christopher's mother, is arrested. Eventually Darren Halfpenny agrees to testify against his co-accused. But when the accused face court in the rough justice system of the Northern Territory, it soon becomes apparent there are few certain, provable facts to be had. Depending on who's talking, a loving friend can become an abusive monster, a battered wife a conniving temptress. And a joke between mates about the best way to dispose of a body becomes a conspiracy to murder. The outcome of the case is no less murky, thanks to the NT's mandatory sentencing laws, which, the judge says himself, 'brings about injustice'. What is indisputable is that the only man that the judge believed to have not been at the scene of the crime receives the longest sentence. Mandatory Murder is the compelling true story of a murder in an outback town in 21st century Australia and the extraordinary aftermath. Author Steven Schubert was living in Katherine when the murder took place, and his account is rich with the kind of detail only an eye-witness can provide. The book raises important questions, including how a man who didn't attend a murder can go to jail for 20 years. ...Show more

Dopeworld - Undercover in the Secret War on Drugs by Niko Vorobyov

$32.99 AUD

Category: Crime & Punishment

Welcome to Dopeworld. Ecstasy in London, crack in Los Angeles, LSD in Tokyo, heroin in Sofia, cocaine in Medellin, bounty hunting in Manilla, opium in Tehran. Get ready for your next fix. __________ Dopeworld is a bold and intoxicating journey into the world of drugs. From the cocaine farms in South Ame rica to the streets of Manila, we trace the emergence of psychoactive substances and our intimate relationship with them. With unparalleled access to drug lords, cartel leaders, street dealers and government officials, Niko Vorobyov attempts to shine a light on the dark underbelly drug world. At once a bold piece of reportage and a hugely entertaining and perverse travelogue, Dopeworld reveals how drug use is at the heart of our history, our lives, and our world. __________ With echoes of Gomorrah and Fear and Loathing in Last Vegas, Dopeworld is a brilliant and enlightening journey across the world, examining every angle of the drug war. ...Show more

Devil's Grip by Neal Drinnan

$32.99 AUD

Category: Crime & Punishment

'An unforgettable, courageous and deeply tragic local story which manages to become a universal tale. No mean feat.' Gregory Day Seven shots ring out in the silence of Victoria's rolling Barrabool Hills. As the final recoil echoes through the paddocks, a revered sheep-breeding dynasty comes to a bloody and inglorious end.   No one could have anticipated the orgy of violence that wiped out three generations of the Wettenhall family, much less the lurid scandals about Darcy Wettenhall, the man behind the world famous Stanbury sheep stud, that would emerge from the aftermath.   Almost three decades later, the web of secrets and lies that led to this bizarre and seemingly motiveless murder spree are unravelled with the help of Bob Perry, Darcy Wettenhall's secret lover for a decade prior to his murder.   From the bucolic majesty, privilege and snobbery of the Western District's prized pastoral lands and dynasties to the bleak, loveless underworld of orphanages, rodeo stables and homeless shelters, The Devil's Grip is a courageous and thought-provoking meditation on the fragility of reputation, the folly of deception and the power of shame. Praise for The Devil's Grip 'A remarkable piece of work. It is a strange, unusual and beautiful book with an incredibly unique setting. I don't think I've read anything quite like it. It is compulsive reading. True crime. Memoir. History. How do you live a life honestly and with dignity? It's difficult to categorise because it traverses so many genres. But it WORKS.'  Matthew Condon, author of the Three Crooked Kings trilogy 'On its face this is the story of a family steeped in the pursuit of the perfect ram, but beneath the surface lies a riveting and ribald tale of lust, loss, manipulation, unbridled ambition and ultimately murder.'  Mark Tedeschi AM QC and author of Eugenia, Kidnapped and Murder at Myall Creek   'An unforgettable, courageous and deeply tragic local story which manages to become a universal tale'  Gregory Day, author of Archipelago of Souls and A Sand Archive   'It's got it all: sex, domestic violence, 'the land' - such an important concept resonating in the Australian mind - land-holders and property, privilege, prejudice, skulduggery and murder!'  David Bradford, author of The Gunners' Doctor and Tell Me I'm Okay ...Show more

Murder on Easey Street: Melbourne's Most Notorious Cold Case by Helen Thomas

$32.99 AUD

Category: Crime & Punishment

One summer night in January 1977, Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett were savagely murdered in their house on Easey Street, Collingwood - stabbed multiple times while Suzanne?s sixteen-month-old baby slept in the next room. Although police established a list of 130 'persons of interest?, the case beca me one of the most infamous unsolved crimes in Melbourne. Journalist Helen Thomas was a cub reporter at The Age when the murders were committed and saw how deeply they affected the city. Now, forty years on, she has re-examined the cold case, chasing down new leads and talking to members of the Armstrong and Bartlett families, the women?s neighbours on Easey Street, detectives and journalists. What emerges is a portrait of a crime rife with ambiguities and contradictions, which took place at a fascinating time in the city?s history - when the countercultural bohemia of Helen Garner?s Monkey Grip brushed up against the grit of the underworld in one of Melbourne?s most infamous knockabout suburbs. Why has the Easey Street murderer never been found, despite a million-dollar reward for information? Was the investigation mishandled? Did the women know their killer, or were their deaths due to a random, frenzied attack? Could the murderer have killed again? This gripping account addresses these questions and more as it examines one of Australia?s most disturbing and compelling criminal mysteries. ...Show more

The Good Bloke by Charles Staunton

$32.99 AUD

Category: Crime & Punishment

Charles Staunton is a good cop, a gun footballer, a loving husband and father. Until his refusal to inform on his corrupt mates sees him sent to jail and sacked from the police force. Charlie becomes a private detective and Mr Fix-it on Sydney's 'Golden Mile', respected and trusted on both sides of the law. His associates are colourful, their adventures hair-raising. The good times roll Charlie around the world, into fancy hotels and restaurants... and smack bang into a gig with the Pacific Mariner Cartel. Charlie now becomes 'The Prince' - a mythic smuggler of millions of dollars and euros to the farthest and darkest corners of the earth. Until the DEA kicks in his door and charges him at gunpoint with trafficking 25 tonnes of hashish. Busted but far from broken, Charlie's troubles are just beginning. Stuck in Canada's toughest prison, between two fiercely warring bikie gangs, he must use all his street smarts and charm to stay alive. After all, there's a double-date with Madonna and an appointment with The Godfather of the London underworld to get to... ...Show more