Gangster's Paradise

by Jared Savage

The much anticipated follow-up to the bestseller that exposed the escalation of organised crime in New Zealand.
Gangster's Paradise is about drugs, guns, gangs and money. Lots of money.

A gang which took over a small rural town. A police officer shot and killed in a routine traffic stop. A port-worker who helped a gang whisk a shipping container off a wharf in the middle of the night. A crew of corrupt baggage handlers smuggling meth into the country during Covid lockdowns. A shooting inside a 5-star hotel in broad daylight. Turf wars, retaliation, and new gangs like the Mongols and Comancheros have brought with them better connections with international syndicates, challenging the established gangs like the Head Hunters - so dominant for many years - who have had to up their game in response.

Jared Savage's bestselling book Gangland was about the evolution of gangs in New Zealand. Gangster's Paradise is about the deadly escalation.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Crime, True Crime

317 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 4, 2023

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very interesting look at organised drug crime in New Zealand. Best read with a bit of distance from Savage’s first book on this subject because ultimately I’m not sure there’s quite enough material here to fill a whole second book. Still a very interesting read.

[Daniel Headifen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of repetition from first book and from articles in the Herald. Also the epilogue felt like it was happening as he’s trying to publish this book so rush it in. But an easy read and thanks heaps Australia!

[Cam Yaxley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting insight to the NZ underground. The story is told by telling a different story in each chapter. Savage does a great job of tying these stories together to show the picture of what he is writing about.

[Hayden Pyke · Rating 4 out of 5]

NZ journalism has regularly skirted around crime in this country, all headlines, no substance. This book spends the time actually investigating the drug scene and its impacts. It's refreshing. Yea there are chunks of prose that are word for word from the last book, and the author's hard-on for the police and Tory politicians is about as balanced as a one sided seesaw, but it's still good reading. It's public interest journalism in long form. Its local, real and important.

[Nick Tinholt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is basically just a continuation of the previous one.

It reads well, but if you read it too soon after the first book you will find yourself painstakingly rereading fundamentally identical chapters for the first third of the book.

Overall, extremely interesting to learn about New Zealand crime, would recommend.

[Kath Dorrans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty heavy book, reads more like a court document, but quite crazy to hear about the criminals and what they do and how the police try to stop them

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great look into organized crime in New Zealand. I found it shocking, despite having the job I do, at the extent and level of crime in nz and I am surprised by how little goes reported or that kiwis truly know or understand about it.

Throughout I was horrified at the potential to friends that use. Given many of the stories of how people are dragged, and forced into crime.

I was horrified also at how willing these groups of underprivileged, and minorities don’t groups are so prepared to destroy similarly disadvantaged minorities and whole communities for greed. And that these people just don’t care.

It saddened me that so much damaged is caused by gangs that sonny fatupaito could not be taken seriously when he was sending a call to not only his gang, but to community leaders to support him in changing the use and purpose of his gang to one of a more whanau purpose of support, care and community. Gangs COULD be very very good things. However, unfortunately there has been SO MUCH damaged caused by gangs that it is a losing battle. Not lost completely. It IS possible. But it is unlikely to come to full fruition because of how gangs are portrayed and the reasons many gang members are drawn into the gang. I do wish him luck, and I wish him honesty in his goals. But I fear what he is attempting to do is unlikely to be seen in his lifetime. If ever.

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Michelle T]

Audiobook 🎧


Eye-opening and interesting.
Really well written and narrated.

[Lily Szymanik · Rating 3 out of 5]

No analysis just facts but still interesting read

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gangster’s Paradise serves as little more than a police blotter masquerading as investigative journalism. Jared Savage fills pages with rehashed narratives that reinforce tired stereotypes about Pacific communities, while tossing the Chinese into the mix for added drama. Far from providing an original take, Savage panders to popular beliefs without offering evidence. The book reads like a sensationalist NZ Herald article, replete with dangerous assumptions and very little insight. One glaring issue? There are zero citations throughout—no data, no studies, no verifiable sources. Just Savage’s sweeping claims and police-sourced “stories.”

What’s notably absent in this so-called exposé on New Zealand’s meth problem is any meaningful discussion of the real driver of the drug market: the consumers themselves. Meth consumption spans socioeconomic boundaries, with many white, suburban users fueling the demand. But Savage barely glances at the impact of middle-class demand, leaving untouched the hypocrisy of the “clean” suburbanites who power the market while staying invisible in these crime narratives.

Politicians, of course, love the fearmongering. This kind of portrayal of crime gives a convenient rallying point for “tough-on-crime” platforms that seek to divide rather than understand. Savage seems content to cash in on the hype, leaning on sensationalist stereotypes instead of investigative rigor, laughing all the way to the bank. A read as shallow and performative as the daily headlines.

[Anna KW · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing follow up to Gangland! Gangland really built the foundation of organised crime in NZ and all the work that goes into it; Gangster's Paradise examines specific Operations, the events leading up to them and the outcomes. Lots of them are recent too. While Savage is no doubt a talented writer, sections of the book felt disjointed at times.

[Nick Iwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Came in cold after not having read ‘gangland’ and really enjoyed it. I especially liked the formatting, which chaptered different instances of criminal activity, but also intertwined them to create one big picture. As someone who knew a lot about these big drug busts through the newspaper, it was interesting to find out new info that wasn’t publicised. Also, Stoked to Support an NZ author

[Charlotte Lobb · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

An insight into the history of gangs and the escalation of organised crime in NZ. An interesting read full of facts and figures, from lethal turf wars, death by ball-point pen, to a carefully planned and professionally executed aggravated robbery...of the wrong house. It's a fantastic glimpse into a side of NZ you never knew existed quite to this scale.

[Warren Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Development from first book by Jared Savage ...."Gangland". Highlights the effect
of "501" extradition by Australia to NZ. Some detail appears in the first book but needs to be included in second book to elaborate. NZ's (and Australian) Politicians should read these books.

[Sophie Rattanong · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book in the series by NZ journalist Jared Savage. This is a really interesting (albeit frightening) investigation into the control and distribution of methamphetamine in New Zealand by local and foreign gangs.

[Helen Cummings · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely interesting and easy to read book. A fascinating look into the New Zealand crime scene.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and alarming. I think a book that could get some of the lads into reading.

[Berthine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The matter is interesting because só abhorrent. The style isn’t always the best and there are some grammatical errors.

[Kris Flower · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful! Factually written but still very interesting.

[Jordyn Crouch · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could do 1/2 stars this would be 3.5. Easy ready, and good but not quite a 4 star

[Stephanie luits · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very factual and very interesting but it doesn’t pass any judgement to people living their life in gangs.

[Ellie Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling look that doesn’t feel the need to overstate the drama of what’s going on.

[Stephen Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant follow up from his Gangland release.

[Jacob Byron-McKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book, one of best I've read. If you are interested in true NZ gang, drug stories and information, this is the best source.

[Esther Zhuang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very similar to the first book, so much so that I started second guessing myself in the first few chapters that I wasn't reading the first one again. I personally think it could've done with a bit more of a fiction proofread as sometimes hard to tell who he was talking about - sometimes talks about the same person as their last name, then 'the young ...' 'the xxx' . Also agree with other reviews that it does read like a police puff piece. I thought this one could get in deeper into the attraction of joining gangs, how hard it is to escape, impact on families and generations, the interviews with gang members for further insight.... no, still telling dr*g smuggling stories and police stings.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

good read from a non biased point of view .. and my friends mentioned in it so 💅

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit repetitive and full of witty remarks, which feel a bit like fillers. I learnt some new stuff, but a lot of it also comes from news articles. A relatively easy read given the subject matter.

[Grace Westenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not super gripping (maybe a me problem, feel like I’ve actually prob been more in the mood for fiction lately)

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed - can’t wait to read the third