Cocaine Cassie: Setting the Record Straight

by Cassandra Sainsbury

248 pages, Paperback

Published October 9, 2024

Reviews

[Kaitlan Sharpe · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all, this is a crazy story and you can tell Cassie Sainsbury has been through hell. She has been a household name in Australia for ages and now it’s finally her time to speak her truth. I was super excited for a look into what really happened and hear the story from the source. I have no doubt that this would have been extremely traumatic to write and relive what happened, but also just as hard to allow people to form more of an opinion than what they already have.
It is absolutely remarkable that Cassie has been able to turn her life around and start afresh. It is inspiring and reminds us that the past doesn’t always define who you are - people can learn from their mistakes. It is also important to remember how young Cassie was when everything went down and there is definitely a sense of naivety when reading the book

While I was excited to read the book, I really struggled with it.
Errors do creep in and are normal in books but the amount of grammatical and spelling errors are quite large. There was also a lot of repeated sentences within the same paragraphs which made it hard to engage in.
Some passages sound like they’re straight from ChatGPT. You can tell that the writing isn’t “her own”. Instead it’s full of flowery language which doesn’t actually say anything, it just extends the sentence without adding any depth to it.
There is also an excessive use of big words for no reason.

The production values of this book are also weird. The paper thickness is absolutely crazy for a memoir and it’s almost like they chose the thickest paper they can get just so it bulks out the book.

While I really do appreciate the story, it was a tough read and I was disappointed I couldn’t connect with it more.

[Zdenka · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this memoir didn’t keep my interest, there was a lot of flowery vocabulary but in did nothing to improve the storytelling of what would have been an horrific experience.

[Pauline Mapp · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too much focus seemed to be on having the most thickest paper to make the book thicker overall, that nobody proof read this book....not to mention the obvious use of a thesaurus to show "big word use" (face palm)

[Cassandra Albert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Struggled to read this book, it had the potential to be interesting and heartfelt but it is not well written. Lots of repeated sentences and "big words" not actually saying anything. Hard to believe that someone could be that naive, written as if trying to get sympathy, rather than factually explaining what happened. Unable to finish the book, read the first quarter.

[Bustagroovy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book appears to have been written by AI with instructions to make every sentence overly elaborate with annoying long-winded metaphors, and lots and lots of big words. Another stipulation seems to be having zero understanding of when to use TO and TOO.

It's amazing how she has a gut feeling or sense of foreboding right before anything bad happens. With ESP like that it's a wonder she was arrested at all. So she forgot the PIN for her phone but later on she agrees to log into the phone as part of the prosecution deal. How can she do that without the PIN? What happened to the $150,000 fine? Who paid her rent when she was released? Why can't she get Medicare? What happened with Wendy and Carlos? Wasn't Wendy Australian? She would have to return home at some point. Nobody is looking into any of this?

Without all the ridiculous embellishments and repetitiveness, the whole story could be told in about 48 pages. I highly recommend watching the Media Watch segment about this dum-dum on YouTube.

EDIT: I have just listened to Gary Jubelin's "I Catch Killers" two-part podcast and now she says she unlocked the phone and gave it to the police. How could anyone believe anything this person says.

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although a fascinating, heart-wrenching story, the writing is annoying to read and i quickly gave up on it ... I highly recommend rather listening to her speak about her harrowing experiences on the "I Catch Killers" podcast, interviewed by the compassionate ex-homicide cop, Gary Jubelin.

[Tahnee Moyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn’t finish this book. I really struggled with the typos and use of big words that didn’t seem necessary. A lot of sentences were repetitive and overall it was just pretty boring.

[Mia Salanitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

i'm not sure if this book was proofread..... but a great and rly sad story

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a lot longer than it needed to be, felt like a thesaurus was used to get big words out and what's with the very thick paper...?? When reading I thought; come 'on you can't be that naive, what you get a job from someone you don't really know on reception but need to take your clothes off and only wear your underwear, you get an all-paid holiday, and you don't look at your ticket to see the final destination... please! That's screaming red flag all over it it!!!! I understand that Cassie has no role models in her life to help her along the way and yea she made bad and wrong decisions. You can't expect being in gaol in a third world area known for drugs, crime, mafia and corruptions that they care about humanity and your experience in gaol is going to be like in Australia, it is what it is, so hearing Cassie talk about the injustice and inhumane conditions, what did she expect?!?! But credit to Cassie for writing her story and I'm sure it felt good to get it out. Seems like she has learnt a lot, grown from the whole experience and is on the right path finally. She has done her time, and everyone has to move on. If you have time, give it a read.