The Phillip Island Murder by Vikki Petraitis; Paul Daley

$19.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

The discovery of the body of Beth Barnard in her Phillip Island farmhouse in 1986, began a homicide investigation that rocked a peaceful community. It also created an enduring mystery, for no one was ever brought to trial for her brutal death, and the main suspect disappeared - never to be seen again. Beth Barnard, a popular and attractive 23-year-old, had been having an affair with a local married man. On the night of her brutal murder, a car belonging to Vivienne Cameron - wife of Beth's lover - was found abandoned near the bridge that connects the famous tourist island to the mainland. No trace of Vivienne was ever found, and her disappearance has never been adequately explained. Nevertheless, a Coroner's Court found that Vivienne had killed her rival then jumped to her death into the waters of Westernport Bay. The case was closed but not forgotten. Ever since their first edition of The Phillip Island Murder, in 1993, Vikki Petraitis and Paul Daley have been regularly contacted by people wanting to know more; people who, like the authors, let the case get under their skin. More than three decades later the mystery, rumours and arm-chair solutions continue. ...Show more

Broken Lives by Estelle Blackburn

$29.99 AUD

$32.99 (9% off)

Category: True Crime

Eric Edgar Cooke was the last man to hang in Western Australia. Between 1958 and his capture in September 1963, Cooke committed 22 murders and attempted murders that forever changed the face of Perth from a friendly big country town to a city of suspicion and fear. His fantasies and delusions led him to commit a series of sexual perversions and crimes, including theft, deliberate hit-and-runs, vicious attacks on women in their beds and murder - by shooting, stabbing and strangling. When two innocent men were convicted and jailed for crimes committed by Cooke, journalist Estelle Blackburn began an exhaustive investigation which lasted six years. 'Broken Lives' is the award-winning, compelling and thought-provoking result of her relentless search for the truth. Blackburn reveals the life of a social misfit with a desire to hurt others, and the stories of the people whose lives he intruded upon. She examines and appraises the police investigation and uncovers the workings of the judicial system of the day. Through her investigations and the new evidence Blackburn presented in 'Broken Lives', new appeals were gained before Western Australia's Court of Criminal Appeal for John Button and Darryl Beamish, leading to Button being exonerated of manslaughter in 2002 and (as this updated edition reveals), Beamish being exonerated of wilful murder in 2005. ...Show more

The Missing Among Us: Stories of missing persons and those left behind by Erin Stewart

$32.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

In Australia 38 000 people are reported missing each year and in the US it's over 600 000. In the UK someone is reported missing every 90 seconds. Many of these cases are never resolved. Blending long-form journalism with true crime and philosophy,The Missing Among Ustakes us from the Australian bush to the battlefields of Northern France and the perilous space of a refugee camp to explore the stories of the missing. Erin Stewart speaks to parents of missing children, former cult members, detectives and investigators, advocates working on the crisis of missing refugees, a child of the Stolen Generations and many more to trace the mysterious world of missing persons. Examining famous cases like that of Madeleine McCann to those who are lesser known yet equally loved and mourned, this unique book forces us to see the complex story behind each missing person and those they leave behind.'The Missing Among Us will wrench your heart while it stretches your mind. Erin Stewart has undertaken a large inquiry, encompassing personal investigation, historical events, true crime, untold and untellable mysteries, while never losing sight of the emotional distress at the core of every missing person's story. This is a rare book from a gifted writer: intelligent yet poignant, enlightening yet deeply disturbing.' — Malcolm Knox'The Missing Among Us is illuminating, profound and wise. Stewart is a distinct new voice and her inquiry into the gaps and absences so many of us try to gloss over is intelligent, gentle and brave.' — Anna Krien'A deeply moving and insightful exploration of the concept of "missingness". Erin Stewart brings compassion and informed understanding to these hugely diverse stories of personal loss, resilience and advocacy.' — Siobhán McHugh'Nothing goes unnoticed in this beautifully written and thought-provoking exploration that will enlighten and enthral.' — Loren O'Keeffe, founder of the Missing Persons Advocacy Network ...Show more

Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer by Philip Carlo

$27.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

Richard "The Ice Man" Kuklinski led a double life beyond anything ever seen on The Sopranos, becoming one of the most notorious professional assassins in American history while hosting neighborhood barbecues in suburban New Jersey. Now, after 240 hours of face-to-face interviews with Kuklinski and his w ife and daughters, author Philip Carlo tells his extraordinary story.Kuklinski was Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's partner in the killing of Paul Castellano at Spark's Steakhouse. John Gotti hired him to kill the neighbor who accidentally ran over his child. For an additional price, he would make victims suffer; he conducted this sadistic business with cold-hearted intensity, never disappointing his customers. By his own estimate, he killed over two hundred men, taking enormous pride in his variety and ferocity of technique.Kuklinski's story, once known, captivated the public and became the subject of three HBO documentaries about which the New York Times raved "Few viewers are ever likely to forget this thoroughly chilling portrait. As for possible movie competition, it would work on the level of The Silence of the Lambs." ...Show more

The Stranger Beside Me - The Inside Story of Serial Killer Ted Bundy by Ann Rule

$24.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

The Inside Story of Serial Killer Ted Bundy Ann Rule was a writer working on the biggest story of her life, tracking down a brutal mass-murderer. Little did she know that the young man who was her close friend was the savage slayer she was hunting . . . TED BUNDY was everyone's picture of a natural 'win ner' - handsome, charming, brilliant in law school, successful with women, on the verge of a dazzling career. Fast-forward to 24 January 1989, Ted Bundy is executed. He had confessed to taking the lives of at least thirty-five young women, coast to coast. This is his story: the story of his magnetic power, his unholy compulsion, his demonic double life and his string of helpless victims. It was written by a woman who thought she knew Ted Bundy, until she began to put all the evidence together and the whole terrifying picture emerged . . . As recommended by the hosts of the podcast My Favorite Murder. Fascinating further reading for viewers of the Netflix documentary Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. ...Show more

Barrenjoey Road by Ruby Jones; Neil Mercer (As told to)

$34.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

A gripping expose of a notorious cold case 1978. An idyllic beachside community. A series of abductions and rapes. So what happened to Trudie Adams? The disappearance of 18-year-old Trudie Adams while hitchhiking home on Sydney's northern beaches in 1978 left her family and community devastated. When police began to investigate, the dark underbelly of the so-called 'insular peninsula' was exposed, where surfers ran drugs home from Bali, teenagers hitchhiked everywhere due to the lack of public transport, gangs of men prowled the beaches and the roads, and predators abducted and raped countless young women, crimes rarely reported or investigated. Inspired by the award-winning #1 podcast and ABC TV series and containing new revelations never previously revealed, Barrenjoey Road is the gripping expose of why the case was never solved. It takes us all the way to the top, from a criminal perpetrator with a lifelong record and links to organised crime who was never formally accused, to police corruption at the highest level. ...Show more

Marching Powder (PB) by Rusty Young

$19.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

San Pedro is Bolivia's most notorious prison. Small-time drug smuggler Thomas McFadden found himself on the inside. Marching Powder is the story of how he navigated this dark world of gangs, drugs and corruption to come out on top.Thomas found himself in a bizarre world, the prison reflecting all that i s wrong with South American society. Prisoners have to pay an entrance fee and buy their own cells (the alternative is to sleep outside and die of exposure), prisoners' wives and children often live inside too, high quality cocaine is manufactured and sold from the prison.Thomas ended up making a living by giving backpackers tours of the prison - he became a fixture on the backpacking circuit and was named in the Lonely Planet guide to Bolivia. When he was told that for a bribe of $5000 his sentence could be overturned, it was the many backpackers who'd passed through who sent him the money. Written by lawyer Rusty Young, Marching Powder - sometimes shocking, sometimes funny, is a riveting story of survival. ...Show more

Snowing in Bali by Kathryn Bonella

$19.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

From the internationally bestselling author of Hotel Kerobokan and Operation Playboy and co-author of Schapelle Corby's autobiography, this is the incredible inside account of Bali's hidden drug world."a unique, uncensored insight into a hidden world." The ChronicleIt's snowing in Bali. Among Bali's dru g dealers it's the code for a huge cocaine shipment having just landed. For the men who run the country's drug empires, it's time to get rich and party hard.Snowing in Bali is the story of the drug trafficking and dealing scene that's made Bali one of the world's most important destinations in the global distribution of narcotics. With its central location to the Asia Pacific market, its thriving tourist industry to act as cover for importation, and a culture of corruption that can easily help law enforcement turn a blind eye, Bali has long been a paradise for traffickers as well as for holiday-makers.Kathryn Bonella, bestselling author of Hotel Kerobokan and Operation Playboy, has been given extraordinary access into the lives of some of the biggest players in Bali's drug world, both past and present. She charts their rise to incredible wealth and power, and their drug-fuelled lifestyles, filled with orgies, outrageous extravagance and surfing. But running international drug empires in Bali can also be a highly risky business, with terrible consequences for those caught and convicted. ...Show more

Presumed Guilty by Bret Christian

$29.95 AUD

Category: True Crime

At the centre of this in-depth and often chilling book is the tragic murder, in 1959, of twenty-twoyear- old Perth woman Jillian Brewer, and the mostly inconceivable wrongful arrest and conviction of a young deaf man, Darryl Beamish, for the act. Charting in extraordinary detail the procedural errors, f antastical egos and often deliberate obfuscation of truth that took place in the Beamish conviction, along with many other cases, Christian reveals the startling array of potholes and pitfalls that continue to threaten the execution of proper justice in our society. Readers will be glued to their seats as they encounter the jaw-dropping recollections Bret Christian has compiled of badly interpreted forensics, biased testimony, mismatched and botched statements of fact, and downright dirty policing tactics. All at once horrific, mind-blowing and puzzling, the stories Christian has unearthed might well be fiction u but tragically, are all true. ...Show more

Hotel Kerobokan by Kathryn Bonella

$19.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

From the internationally bestselling author of Snowing in Bali and Operation Playboy and co-author of Schapelle Corby's autobiography, this is the shocking inside story of Bali's most notorious jail."A fascinating insight into the prison, Hotel Kerobokan included shocking testimonies and black humour" I rish Examiner"Bonella casts a cool, journalistic eye over some horrific events" Sun HeraldWelcome to Hotel Kerobokan, the ironic nickname for Kerobokan Jail, Bali's most notorious prison, which has been home to a procession of the infamous and tragic: the Bali Bombers, Gold Coast beautician Schapelle Corby and the Bali Nine, among many others.Backed up by hundreds of prisoner interviews, the truth about Hotel Kerobokan explodes off the page. In these filthy and disease-ridden cells, a United Nations of prisoners live crushed together in misery. Petty thieves and small-time drug users share cells with killers, rapists and gangsters. Hardened drug traffickers sleep alongside unlucky tourists, who've seen their holiday turn from paradise to hell over one ecstasy tablet.Hotel Kerobokan reveals the wild 'sex nights' organized by corrupt guards for prisoners who have the money to pay, the rampant drug use, the suicides and killings, and days out at the beach. It exposes the jail's role in supplying high-grade drugs to the outside, the gang that rules the jail through terror, the corruption that means anything is for sale, and the squalor and misery endured by prisoners. ...Show more

Dead Centre by Robin Bowles

$25.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

The most mystifying murder and abduction to take place on Australian soil. Thanks to Robin Bowles' extensive research, this is the exclusive story of Peter Falconio's murder and the escape and tale of Joanne Lees which raised more questions than answers.'This is by far the most engaging of the books on the Falconio case, because it is a picaresque odyssey in which Bowles emerges as the comic hero of her own investigation. Bowles is my kind of sleuth' - Dr Sue Turnbull, Sydney Morning Herald'A spellbinding analysis of one of Australia's most bewildering crimes' - Tom Percy QC, Perth. ...Show more

Stalking Claremont by Bret Christian

$32.99 AUD

Category: True Crime

  The gripping true story of the notorious Claremont serial murders and the nation's longest and most expensive investigation to catch the killer In the space of just over year in 1996-7, three young women disappeared from Claremont, an upmarket suburb in central Perth. When two of the young women were found murdered, Australia's longest and most expensive investigation was established. More than twenty years later, an unlikely suspect was arrested based on forensic evidence that also linked the murders to two previous vicious rapes. The Claremont Killings, by local newsman Bret Christian, is a riveting story of young lives cut short, a city in panic, an investigation riddled with error and incompetence, and a surprising twist that absolutely no one saw coming. ...Show more