Shallow Graves: The Concealments of Killers

by Paul B. Kidd, Peter Hoysted

There is only one thing that is synonymous with a shallow grave...murder

To enshroud a victim in the vastness of Australia's forests, deserts, foreshores, beaches or suburban landscapes offers fewer opportunities of the body being discovered than arguably in any other country in the world.

The most common shallow grave is a hole in the sand, usually on a foreshore or in a forest where the soil is thin enough for the assassin to hurriedly dig a plot, entomb the deceased, and then be on his way before he is caught in the act.

Some killers leave their victims where they have murdered them, covered only in foliage, in the the belief that there is little chance that the body will ever be discovered in the remoteness of its mournful resting place. Others leave their prey in bush culverts, aware that the possibility of discovery is remote and that when the rains come the evidence of their ghastly crime will be swept away, scattered on a riverbed, forever undetected.

And then there are the murderers who leave their victims in hiding places in the belief that they will be discovered sooner or later, as if they want the world to know of their grisly handiwork. Like a terrible trophy.

But no matter where the places of concealment may be, they all fall into the category of 'shallow graves' and play a grim part in some of the most mysterious, bizarre and horrendous murder cases in Australia's history - cases such as, the Read-Luckman murder, The Family murders, the mystery of Harvey Jones, and the Thorne kidnapping.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Australia

239 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Paul Benjamin Kidd (1945) was an Australian author, journalist, and radio show host. From 2001 until 2020, Kidd was the co-host of the 2UE George and Paul weekend show with George Moore; since 2020, he has co-hosted Weekends with John and Paul with John Stanley on 2GB. - Wikipedia

Reviews

[R.A. Goli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and truly gruesome collection of Australian true crime/murders. Much of it was graphic and shocking, all of it was interesting; the book was hard to put down. A must read for lovers of true crime.

[Fishface · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great read, full of hideous crime cases I want to learn more about. A gripping introduction to Aussie true crime.

[Venessa Johnstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's good.. I have read most of the stories in full books of their own...

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of stories I skipped having already read about them previously; but some new ones I hadn’t heard about.

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid compendium of Australian crime, though the author has a habit of spilling the all beans during his initial description of the case, then repeating himself later. My only other complaint is that so many of the chapters have children as victims, making the following statement all the more incongruous: "...in Australia where children were king and could swim, fish and bushwalk in absolute safety and the only predators were the sharks and magpies protecting their young."

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't a bad book, it was just that there was little information in it that was new or even specifically related to 'shallow graves'. Rather, the book simply gave a run-down on some of the more infamous murders in Australian history.

Still interesting, but just wish there was more, particularly more Criminological insight.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul B. Kidd has done it again he writes such amazing true crime stories and this book did not disappoint. The stories were interesting and didn't go overboard with legal jargon. Highly recommend to any true crime fan =).

[Amra Pajalic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overview of the biggest cases in Australian true crime history.

[Casey Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. It gets you gripped right from the start and keeps you there right until the end. Highly recommend for lovers of true crime.