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The Consultant
Jay Malkoun isn’t the type of man who lets a little thing like being blown up slow him down. In March 2019 after his morning gym session, a car bomb detonated the Mercedes Jay was sat in. It was an explosion heard around the world, as global media, law enforcement agencies and underworld cartels speculated on who had moved to assassinate the former gangster and retired leader of one of the world’s most feared and powerful underworld organisations. There were a hundred possible suspects. Jay has some ideas about it too.
Just because death might come for you at any minute is no excuse not to live your life. Jay's gripping autobiography is a must-read for every true-crime fan. Jay's story is that of one of the most fascinating and complex figures that Australia has ever given the world. He is the streetfighter from Melbourne's roughest suburb who rubs shoulders with movie stars and opera singers. Convicted drug trafficker and champion horse breeder. Survivor of the Melbourne underworld wars, and ten years in Australia’s most brutal prison. Nightclub enforcer and peacemaker. Strip-club mogul and incurable romantic. A family man of deep religious faith who is capable of extreme violence when pushed. A loving father and a loyal son. A negotiator of multi-million-dollar deals in both the boardroom and the backroom. The one-time leader of one of the most influential and powerful outlaw motorcycle clubs the world has ever seen – whose power extends across the globe.
Confronting, confounding, hard to the core and laugh-out-loud funny, this is Jay Malkoun in his own words – a compelling narrative of violence, contradiction and redemption. The Consultant is both an unprecedented tour of the underworld,and a compelling exploration of a man who has lived a hundred lifetimes in one and is now ready to tell his story.
Just because death might come for you at any minute is no excuse not to live your life. Jay's gripping autobiography is a must-read for every true-crime fan. Jay's story is that of one of the most fascinating and complex figures that Australia has ever given the world. He is the streetfighter from Melbourne's roughest suburb who rubs shoulders with movie stars and opera singers. Convicted drug trafficker and champion horse breeder. Survivor of the Melbourne underworld wars, and ten years in Australia’s most brutal prison. Nightclub enforcer and peacemaker. Strip-club mogul and incurable romantic. A family man of deep religious faith who is capable of extreme violence when pushed. A loving father and a loyal son. A negotiator of multi-million-dollar deals in both the boardroom and the backroom. The one-time leader of one of the most influential and powerful outlaw motorcycle clubs the world has ever seen – whose power extends across the globe.
Confronting, confounding, hard to the core and laugh-out-loud funny, this is Jay Malkoun in his own words – a compelling narrative of violence, contradiction and redemption. The Consultant is both an unprecedented tour of the underworld,and a compelling exploration of a man who has lived a hundred lifetimes in one and is now ready to tell his story.
- GenresNonfictionMemoir
346 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 6, 2024
17 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 8, 2025
It was a really easy read, but it’s just wild how different people’s realities are
November 28, 2024
An interesting read if you can ignore the grandiose ego dripping off every page…..
More fantasy/fiction than a authentic biography I feel.
An interesting insight into male ego.
More fantasy/fiction than a authentic biography I feel.
An interesting insight into male ego.
January 24, 2026
The author has lived a very heavy lifestyle. Plenty has happened. Certainly enough for a second book.
September 8, 2025
An easy read about Jay’s life from poor kid growing up after immigrating to Australia, getting into petty crime & mingling with the right/wrong people.
He claims he “fell into trafficking” heroin which seems a bit unbelievable but he seems to be able to run alongside criminals if not with them for a fair chunk of his life until he was jailed along with his brother.
It does seem a bit incredible he was able to have the freedoms / respect / extras in such a harsh jail setting, but nothing is necessarily out of the realm of possibility based on other stories I've read. He served 10 years and was released back into the world with a lot more underworld contacts and respect.
He writes with a big ego but also like he’s telling a story to mates. You do have to wonder if some of his stories are embellished or if he played a much dirtier role than he acknowledges to have gained the respect of those he has. He seemed to be able to walk the line between respected businessman & underworld heavy and allow it to work in his favour for so long, until someone blew up his car with him in it. It seems odd that he claims he doesn’t know who planned it – noone bombs someone without letting them know their days are numbered. Surely the underworld talks, yet noone seems to know anything.
He seems to have lead an interesting, lucky, luxurious life if all is to be believed as he’s told it.
I enjoyed the book, his writing is easy to read & interesting. Enough information not to incriminate & be mostly believable.
He claims he “fell into trafficking” heroin which seems a bit unbelievable but he seems to be able to run alongside criminals if not with them for a fair chunk of his life until he was jailed along with his brother.
It does seem a bit incredible he was able to have the freedoms / respect / extras in such a harsh jail setting, but nothing is necessarily out of the realm of possibility based on other stories I've read. He served 10 years and was released back into the world with a lot more underworld contacts and respect.
He writes with a big ego but also like he’s telling a story to mates. You do have to wonder if some of his stories are embellished or if he played a much dirtier role than he acknowledges to have gained the respect of those he has. He seemed to be able to walk the line between respected businessman & underworld heavy and allow it to work in his favour for so long, until someone blew up his car with him in it. It seems odd that he claims he doesn’t know who planned it – noone bombs someone without letting them know their days are numbered. Surely the underworld talks, yet noone seems to know anything.
He seems to have lead an interesting, lucky, luxurious life if all is to be believed as he’s told it.
I enjoyed the book, his writing is easy to read & interesting. Enough information not to incriminate & be mostly believable.
September 13, 2024
I enjoyed this and was amazed at some of the stories but we needed less use of the C word
January 14, 2025
Loved it! wish we knew who did it
July 19, 2025
The Consultant by Jay Malkoun is a gripping and raw memoir that chronicles the life of a former member of the outlaw motorcycle gang world, a heroin trafficker, and someone deeply entrenched in the Australian underworld. His writing style is candid and unapologetic, which makes for an intense reading experience. The memoir is filled with personal anecdotes from his time in the underworld, offering a behind-the-scenes look at a lifestyle most of us only encounter through news headlines and crime dramas. His candidness about the moral dilemmas and internal conflicts he faced gives the book a compelling edge.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews