Devil's Grip by Neal Drinnan

$32.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

'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

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow

$34.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

In a dramatic account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost. In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whis pered about: one of Hollywood's most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career, following his every move and weaponizing an account of abuse in his own family. All the while, Farrow and his producer faced a degree of resistance that could not be explained - until now. And a trail of clues revealed corruption and cover-ups from Hollywood, to Washington, and beyond. This is the untold story of the exotic tactics of surveillance and intimidation deployed by wealthy and connected men to threaten journalists, evade accountability and silence victims of abuse - and it's the story of the women who risked everything to expose the truth and spark a global movement. Both a spy thriller and a meticulous work of investigative journalism, Catch and Kill breaks devastating new stories about the rampant abuse of power - and sheds far-reaching light on investigations that shook the culture. ...Show more

Mrs Escobar: My Life with Pablo by Victoria Eugenia Henao

$35.00 AUD

Category: True Crime

The closest you'll ever get to the most infamous drug kingpin in modern history, told by the person who stood by his side The story of Pablo Escobar, one of the wealthiest, powerful and violent criminals of all time has fascinated the world. Yet the one person closest to him has never spoken out - until now. Maria Victoria Henao met Pablo when she was 13, eloped with him at 15, and despite his numerous infidelities and violence, stayed by his side for the following 16 years until his death. At the same time, she urged him to make peace with his enemies and managed to negotiate her and her children's freedom after Pablo's demise. On the 25th anniversary of Pablo's death, the most intriguing character in the Escobar narrative is ready to share her story and reveal the real man behind the legend. ...Show more

When the Dogs Don't Bark a Forensic Scientist's Search for the Truth by Angela Gallop

$29.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

Cold Case Investigations by Xanthé Mallett

$32.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

From the disappearance of the Beaumont children to the abduction of William Tyrrell to the double murder of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and her daughter Khandalyce, Xanthé is determined to expose the truth to maximise dignity for both deceased victims and those left behind. Xanthé talks to exp erts to uncover the how's and why's of tragic murders and haunting disappearances. Along the way readers will also be introduced to new forensic techniques and scientific methods that could - or did - help move the case forward. Cold Case Investigations covers mostly murders or suspected murders - such as Ashley Coulston, Mr Cruel and Ivan Milat - with the victims as the focus. Not only because, criminologically speaking, the more you can learn about your victim the more you can extrapolate about the person who killed or abducted them, but also because they deserve their stories to be told. They deserve for people to know their names. They shouldn't just be someone's victim. ...Show more

Solitary: Unbroken by Four Decades in Solitary Confinement by Albert Woodfox

$34.99 AUD

Category: True Crime | Reading Level: 3

Solitary is the unforgettable life story of a man who served more than four decades in solitary confinement - in a 6-foot by 9-foot cell, 23 hours aday, in notorious Angola prison in Louisiana - all for a crime he did not commit. That Albert Woodfox survived was, in itself, a feat of extraordinary endur ance against the violence and deprivation he faced daily. That he was able to emerge whole from his odyssey within America's prison and judicial systemsis a triumph of the human spirit, and makes his book a clarion call to reformthe inhumanity of solitary confinement in the U.S. and around the world.  Arrested often as a teenager in New Orleans, inspired behind bars in his early twenties to join the Black Panther Party because of its social commitmentand code of living, Albert was serving a fifty-year sentence in Angola for armed robbery when on April 17, 1972, a white guard was killed. Albert and anothe rmember of the Panthers were accused of the crime and immediately put in solitaryconfinement by the warden. Without a shred of actual evidence against them, their trial was a sham of justice that gave them life sentences in solitary. Decades passed before Albert gained a lawyer of consequence; even so, sixteen more years and multiple appeals were needed before he was finally released inFebruary 2016. Remarkably self-aware that anger or bitterness would have destroyed him insolitary confinement, sustained by the shared solidarity of two fellow Panthers, Albert turned his anger into activism and resistance. The Angola 3, as they became known, resolved never to be broken by the grinding inhumanity and corruption that effectively held them for decades as political prisoners. He survived to give us Solitary, a chronicle of rare power and humanity that proves the better spirits of our nature can thrive against any odds. 'This breathtaking, brutal, and intelligent book will move and inspire readers.' Publishers Weekly ...Show more

Joe Cinque's Consolation by Helen Garner

$24.95 AUD

Category: True Crime

In October 1997, a clever young law student at ANU made a bizarre plan to murder her devoted boyfriend after a dinner party at their house. Some of the dinner guests - most of them university students - had heard rumours of the plan. Nobody warned Joe Cinque. He died one Sunday, in his own bed, of a mas sive dose of Rohypnol and heroin. His girlfriend and her best friend were charged with murder. Helen Garner followed the trials in the ACT Supreme Court. Compassionate but unflinching, this is a book about how and why Joe Cinque died. It probes the gap between ethics and the law; examines the helplessness of the courts in the face of what we think of as 'evil'; and explores conscience, culpability, and the battered ideal of duty of care. It is a masterwork from one of Australia's greatest writers. ...Show more

Busted by Keith Moor

$35.00 AUD

Category: True Crime

Bestselling writer and organised-crime expert Keith Moor takes us behind the headlines of the world's biggest seizure of ecstasy to expose a sophisticated mafia network in Australia. In 2007, Melbourne customs officials intercepted 15 million ecstasy tablets hidden in 3000 tomato tins arriving from Napl es, Italy - the largest haul of ecstasy in the world. The seized pills had a street value of $440 million. After getting a lucky break from the actions of a diligent customs officer, the Australian Federal Police swooped on the traffickers. As they brought in the suspects, the powerful Calabrian mafia was exposed as being at the heart of it all. Drawing on years of research and never-before-revealed detail, Busted details this extraordinary case - one of the largest AFP operations ever - and how it fits into the murky history of Australian organised crime. From the Walkley Award - winning author of Crims in Grass Castles, this is a fascinating and powerful account of one of the biggest crimes, and many of the worst criminals, our society has seen. ...Show more

Dead Man Walking: The Murky World of Michael Mcgurk and Ron Medich by Kate McClymont

$34.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

We all know Sydney is full of corruption and crime, but none of us expected to read about a Sydney businessman being shot in the back of his head, in his driveway, in front of his nine-year-old son, in Cremorne. Nor that the order would come from a Point Piper millionaire. Kate McClymont is Australia?s best-known investigative journalist. Kate and McGurk received intel that he was going to be 'hit?. Before the two could meet, McGurk was murdered. Kate and her family also received death threats and were moved to a hotel for a few days. This story involves bumbling criminals, turncoats, snitches, developers, wealthy people brought down, and devastated families. It unpacks the structures of our major cities and asks some big big questions. Multiple Walkley-winner Kate tells it with pace and character and her insider status. ...Show more

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

$22.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case.   It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman's Card Club; the turbulent young redneck gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the "soul of pampered self-absorption"; the uproariously funny black drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young blacks dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else.   Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a sublime and seductive reading experience. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, this enormously engaging portrait of a most beguiling Southern city has become a modern classic. ...Show more

Murder in Mississippi by John Safran

$22.99 AUD

Category: Penguin Spinner Non-fiction

'One of the best pieces of sustained, rigorous journalism I've read in twenty years. It is absolutely magnificent -  smart, and wry, and emotional too.' Caroline Overington When filming his TV series Race Relations, John Safran spent an uneasy couple of days with one of Mississippi's most noto rious white supremacists. A year later, he heard that the man had been murdered - and what was more, the killer was black.At first the murder seemed a twist on the old Deep South race crimes. But then more news rolled in. Maybe it was a dispute over money, or most intriguingly, over sex. Could the infamous racist actually have been secretly gay, with a thing for black men? Did Safran have the last footage of him alive? Could this be the story of a lifetime? Seizing his Truman Capote moment, he jumped on a plane to cover the trial.Over six months, Safran got deeper and deeper into the South, becoming entwined in the lives of those connected with the murder - white separatists, black campaigners, lawyers, investigators, neighbours, even the killer himself. And the more he talked with them, the less simple the crime, and the world, seemed.Murder in Mississippi is a brilliantly innovative true-crime story. Taking us places only he can, Safran paints an engrossing, revealing portrait of a dead man, his murderer, the place they lived and the process of trying to find out the truth about anything. 'The elegance of this book is that its axis is a resounding 'perhaps' . . . It is this moral ambivalence that draws readers to the true crime genre, and Safran nails it.' Weekend Australian'Witty, insightful, compelling - In Cold Blood for our generation.' Eddie Perfect'[Safran] has written a marvellous book which I cannot put down.' Melbourne Observer'Now I know what to recommend people who liked Them.' Jon Ronson, author of The Men Who Stare at Goats and The Psychopath Test 'Stunning' Men's Style* ...Show more

Deliver Us from Evil: A New York City Cop Investigates the Supernatural

$24.99 AUD

Category: True Crime