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The Murder of Sheree
The Murder of Sheree is much more than simply a true crime book. At its heart, it's a powerful and compelling account of how one of the most infamous and shocking murders in Australian history came to happen - and how justice came to be done. But it's also a forensic examination of how the crime would shatter the lives of dozens of people, some of whom had never met six-year-old Sheree Beasley. Wayne Miller's newspaper reporting on the case earned him a Walkley Award for excellence in journalism. With The Murder of Sheree he went much deeper, his enduring relationship with those most deeply affected by the murder revealing just how much devastation such a crime can cause. Miller's writing is as clear, passionate and compelling as ever, and The Murder of Sheree remains one of the finest books of its kind ever published in Australia.
Brad Newsome,
Fairfax Media
Brad Newsome,
Fairfax Media
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
461 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 1996
124 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 14, 2016
A good read about a grim, horrifying case. This author apparently had access to EVERYTHING -- the killer's therapist, all the police involved, the star witnesses, the courtroom proceedings and the families of the victim. We got to see it all. It's still a day late and a dollar short for poor Sheree. Don't miss this one.
December 21, 2012
Was hesitant at first to read this book , but once i started i could not put it down. The book did not dwell on how Sheree was murdered but detailed the investigation in to finding her killer and then in to the mind of her killer, it is a chilling read but fascinating also.
April 15, 2014
Beautifully written which is terribly tough in such a sensitive yet sickening subject. Read this book three times.
June 12, 2017
When I saw Foreward I should've been pre-warned of the shocking mess this book is in...why didn't I let that tip me off ? Instead of which I ploughed past mistake after mistake after mistake till I got to 59% and just couldn't deal with it anymore. I only stuck with it THIS long as I wanted to know what happened (though he dragged it out ad nauseum) and because I paid for this. Amazon will be hearing about it, as it's just not good enough selling something in such a terrible state. They must think we're stupid. Though I did notice no other reviewers mentioned mistakes.....so 'nuff said, really.
Yellow badges on letterboxes was mentioned at one point but I cannot find anything more on this. I assume it means they are safe places.
He uses should and not shouldn't/offence not offend/defended not defensive/get not got/permanent not permanently/run not ran/stranger not strangers/wars not wares/passerby not passersby (he has an issue with plurals)/one not ones/beefed not briefed (!!)/her not he//storied not stories.....then apostrophe errors, missing capital letters where needed along with speechmarks.....all adding to the UTTER BLOODY MESS !!
"Lorraine his voice would sound wonderful on radio" makes no sense nor does "But the car company old had the Vehicle Identification Numbers".
"Kylie Maybury set off the local Food Plus" lost words, clearly.
"...and appeared to arbitrary and inconsequential".....Huh ??
This passage is also meaningless-"The car was a metallic blue Mitsubishi Sigma sedan registered number BMI548. It was a Chrysler station wagon to Invicta group of industries"....slapdash mess altogether.
"Quietly, Lowe told both me he didn't have anything to add" then "She Robert's lack of insight every time she saw him"
"...was his total lack of your or contentment in his life" ???
"....he had to nut out what was going to be included"
"...if you've just been p and got your whatever is"
"She leaned over the put her wedding ring on Robert's knee..."
He not her/eve n doesn't need a space nor h ad/of not or/once not one/is not his/sorts not shorts/tell not told/of not off/car not cart/suspect t doesn't need that extra t/and not an/thought not though/fund not fun/inform not infirm/apologies not apologises/raise not raised/hm not him/member not members/us not use/terrible not terribly/lent not leant......a total state.
THEN we have Lowe written as Lower which is the main protagonist's name he couldn't even get written correctly !!
His wife was so naive it defied belief, although she'd had a way too religious upbringing. The psychologist he saw, Margaret, drove me to distraction. She was so ineffectual it was a waste of everyone's time. She never managed to dissuade him from carrying on with his crimes in the least.
I read "....and pusher her further" and packed this in. I have never paid for anything in such an effing mess and I'm not happy.
I wanted to know what happened and no doubt I will need to rely on Google for that now unless this ever gets a proofreading exercise done at some point. I will be complaining to Amazon as well. Nothing presented as horribly should be sold.
Yellow badges on letterboxes was mentioned at one point but I cannot find anything more on this. I assume it means they are safe places.
He uses should and not shouldn't/offence not offend/defended not defensive/get not got/permanent not permanently/run not ran/stranger not strangers/wars not wares/passerby not passersby (he has an issue with plurals)/one not ones/beefed not briefed (!!)/her not he//storied not stories.....then apostrophe errors, missing capital letters where needed along with speechmarks.....all adding to the UTTER BLOODY MESS !!
"Lorraine his voice would sound wonderful on radio" makes no sense nor does "But the car company old had the Vehicle Identification Numbers".
"Kylie Maybury set off the local Food Plus" lost words, clearly.
"...and appeared to arbitrary and inconsequential".....Huh ??
This passage is also meaningless-"The car was a metallic blue Mitsubishi Sigma sedan registered number BMI548. It was a Chrysler station wagon to Invicta group of industries"....slapdash mess altogether.
"Quietly, Lowe told both me he didn't have anything to add" then "She Robert's lack of insight every time she saw him"
"...was his total lack of your or contentment in his life" ???
"....he had to nut out what was going to be included"
"...if you've just been p and got your whatever is"
"She leaned over the put her wedding ring on Robert's knee..."
He not her/eve n doesn't need a space nor h ad/of not or/once not one/is not his/sorts not shorts/tell not told/of not off/car not cart/suspect t doesn't need that extra t/and not an/thought not though/fund not fun/inform not infirm/apologies not apologises/raise not raised/hm not him/member not members/us not use/terrible not terribly/lent not leant......a total state.
THEN we have Lowe written as Lower which is the main protagonist's name he couldn't even get written correctly !!
His wife was so naive it defied belief, although she'd had a way too religious upbringing. The psychologist he saw, Margaret, drove me to distraction. She was so ineffectual it was a waste of everyone's time. She never managed to dissuade him from carrying on with his crimes in the least.
I read "....and pusher her further" and packed this in. I have never paid for anything in such an effing mess and I'm not happy.
I wanted to know what happened and no doubt I will need to rely on Google for that now unless this ever gets a proofreading exercise done at some point. I will be complaining to Amazon as well. Nothing presented as horribly should be sold.
November 25, 2017
Un-put-downable...but needs an editor BADLY
The story is (very sadly) fascinating and extremely well told from every angle.
Mr. Miller leaves no stone unturned, telling the affect the murder of this little girl had on her family (parents, as well as maternal and paternal grandparents).
However, he also delves very deeply into the other victims that many true crime authors forget about - the family and friends of the murderer, and how solving the case - especially the high profile case of a six-year old child - affects the police officers.
I gave this book four stars, and it does deserve five, but I cannot give it five until it's edited. There are stray letters in the middle of sentences (like a p stuck in the middle for no reason); a bunch of periods outside of the quotation marks that should be inside; first and last names that should be capitalized but are lowercase (more towards the beginning); incorrect word usage, and typos galore throughout the book. It doesn't even appear that spell check was run because some of this could have been caught with that little step.
If the author had an editor look it over, and sent a new version to everyone who has purchased this bad version, I'd gladly change my review to five stars, but for now I have to stick with four. It was so poorly edited, I'd usually give three, but the content made up for it.
The story is (very sadly) fascinating and extremely well told from every angle.
Mr. Miller leaves no stone unturned, telling the affect the murder of this little girl had on her family (parents, as well as maternal and paternal grandparents).
However, he also delves very deeply into the other victims that many true crime authors forget about - the family and friends of the murderer, and how solving the case - especially the high profile case of a six-year old child - affects the police officers.
I gave this book four stars, and it does deserve five, but I cannot give it five until it's edited. There are stray letters in the middle of sentences (like a p stuck in the middle for no reason); a bunch of periods outside of the quotation marks that should be inside; first and last names that should be capitalized but are lowercase (more towards the beginning); incorrect word usage, and typos galore throughout the book. It doesn't even appear that spell check was run because some of this could have been caught with that little step.
If the author had an editor look it over, and sent a new version to everyone who has purchased this bad version, I'd gladly change my review to five stars, but for now I have to stick with four. It was so poorly edited, I'd usually give three, but the content made up for it.
May 4, 2019
If you like details...
If you like details, then this is a book for you!! This is such a sick crime that it is almost unimaginable and every itty bitty detail is here for you to read about. Throughout the investigation the use of tape recordings and write tapping was used. The author clearly had most if not all of the tapes and they were published in this book...every single "Mmm", "Ah", "Hmm", "Yeah", etc. The author did not give a summary about what was said. It was all there word for word (and even every(pause). Trying to read in this format could sometimes be confusing and could sometimes make for some boring reading.
There were many lives destroyed by this monster. The list is long but my heart really broke for Sheree's parents änd grandparents! It would be horrible to lose your child to death or even murder but the WAY this little six year old died must be unbearable for those who loved her most.
The book was long, at times slow and with many mistakes but I would still recommend it...but only if you like details.
If you like details, then this is a book for you!! This is such a sick crime that it is almost unimaginable and every itty bitty detail is here for you to read about. Throughout the investigation the use of tape recordings and write tapping was used. The author clearly had most if not all of the tapes and they were published in this book...every single "Mmm", "Ah", "Hmm", "Yeah", etc. The author did not give a summary about what was said. It was all there word for word (and even every(pause). Trying to read in this format could sometimes be confusing and could sometimes make for some boring reading.
There were many lives destroyed by this monster. The list is long but my heart really broke for Sheree's parents änd grandparents! It would be horrible to lose your child to death or even murder but the WAY this little six year old died must be unbearable for those who loved her most.
The book was long, at times slow and with many mistakes but I would still recommend it...but only if you like details.
October 21, 2024
A heart wrenching story of murder of an innocent child and the way this death affected so many people. From the police who relentlessly sought to bring Sheree’s murderer to justice for her, the lifelong affect of her family and friends, the affect of this man’s behaviour on his wife and children and the ongoing torture of the psychotherapist.
After reading the book for a second time, I needed to look further into the evil person who took this angels life.
He never showed remorse, even attempting to claim innocence many years after the original murder charges were made. He continued to torture his wife and family, fighting to make a claim on their marital home and possessions throughout settlement of their divorce.
He was also suspected of running a pediphile ring within the walls of prison.
Robert Lowe was the scum of the earth and I was pleased to read that he died in 2021, within the prison walls.
The death of his therapist via MVA continued his ongoing torture of everyone involved in this sad case.
After reading the book for a second time, I needed to look further into the evil person who took this angels life.
He never showed remorse, even attempting to claim innocence many years after the original murder charges were made. He continued to torture his wife and family, fighting to make a claim on their marital home and possessions throughout settlement of their divorce.
He was also suspected of running a pediphile ring within the walls of prison.
Robert Lowe was the scum of the earth and I was pleased to read that he died in 2021, within the prison walls.
The death of his therapist via MVA continued his ongoing torture of everyone involved in this sad case.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2022
If you really want to get inside the mind of a dirty, filthy pervert like Robert Lowe this book is quite incredible. I am full of so much admiration for people like Margaret Hobbs who as a therapist sits and listens to people like him who disgust any normal person.
If you take the time to look at the photo of Sheree on the cover of the book and then imagine the fear and terror she must have felt at the end of her life - I just want to cuddle and comfort her.
The story is well rounded with input from a wide range of people including the family of Robert Lowe including his wife and sons. My only issue is the amount of transcripts in the book, from therapy sessions, police interviews and jail recordings. It does get a bit dragged down reading so much of that where at times just a summary could have covered the same story line in some cases.
I enjoyed the book and will read again no doubt.
If you take the time to look at the photo of Sheree on the cover of the book and then imagine the fear and terror she must have felt at the end of her life - I just want to cuddle and comfort her.
The story is well rounded with input from a wide range of people including the family of Robert Lowe including his wife and sons. My only issue is the amount of transcripts in the book, from therapy sessions, police interviews and jail recordings. It does get a bit dragged down reading so much of that where at times just a summary could have covered the same story line in some cases.
I enjoyed the book and will read again no doubt.
November 19, 2020
This is the absolute best book I have ever read. I first discovered this book in Kmart, geez 20 years ago. I cried my eyes out while reading it, and was so impressed with the police work and on the same hand appauled by the "God loving" married, father of 2 boys. I unfortunately leant it to a friend of mine, who move states and lost it. I have been looking for this book for many years and it has not left my mind. I would love to find a paper copy of it because it touched me so much. BEST BOOK EVER. I could not put it down and as I said would yell and be physically upset by the depravity of this sicko, and my heart broke for Sharee and her mother. Great detective work by, I think it was St Kilda, Victoria detectives whom I sure this case still stays with them. 10 out of 10.
March 23, 2025
This book is the definition of "TMI". Including every last detail of every single gross thing the guy did the entire time he was being surveilled was unnecessary. Disturbing for the sake of being disturbing. It could have been condensed to probably half the length - including entire transcripts of therapy sessions was also so unnecessary.
This is the kind of true crime book that you can TELL was written by a cop, which is one of my pet peeves. There is basically nobody who I would recommend to read this book.
This is the kind of true crime book that you can TELL was written by a cop, which is one of my pet peeves. There is basically nobody who I would recommend to read this book.
December 30, 2024
This was a DNF for me which is a shame because it came highly recommended and I so badly wanted to like it.
It was simply too long and very repetitive. It is clear that the author had quite a bit of access to case material from a lot of different parties involved to write this book which is great, however I felt that it became a bit of I need to cram everything moment, which took away from the book.
It was simply too long and very repetitive. It is clear that the author had quite a bit of access to case material from a lot of different parties involved to write this book which is great, however I felt that it became a bit of I need to cram everything moment, which took away from the book.
May 5, 2021
Why
I will never understand how this crime could happen to this sweet innocent child Sheree I don't know how a family survive s this and goes on with the day to day we call life May this demon rot in hell May Sheree watch over her family and bring some peace to them and many she sleep sweetly xx
I will never understand how this crime could happen to this sweet innocent child Sheree I don't know how a family survive s this and goes on with the day to day we call life May this demon rot in hell May Sheree watch over her family and bring some peace to them and many she sleep sweetly xx
February 3, 2018
Spell binding. Wayne Miller is a writer that makes it hard to put his work down. Riveting story of true evil.
Miller draws his readers into the mind of this evil man and all those who still suffer from his acts of horror.
Miller draws his readers into the mind of this evil man and all those who still suffer from his acts of horror.
September 29, 2019
It's a brilliant read but not for the faint hearted. Some of my friends have found it far too confronting. Well written from beginning to end with an honesty and clarity that you are never sure you wanted.
May 11, 2020
I loved this book. Ok also believe that he did it and got what he deserved
I would recommend this book it is very compelling. I fell in love with Andrew's family. I felt so sorry for Lorriane.
I would recommend this book it is very compelling. I fell in love with Andrew's family. I felt so sorry for Lorriane.
December 26, 2017
Way to long!
About 800 pages to long. Very repetitious. The m an was sick from the get go and needed mental help long before he killed.
About 800 pages to long. Very repetitious. The m an was sick from the get go and needed mental help long before he killed.
January 26, 2018
Good book but I think if he had been properly punished at every time he had been caught and labled a sex offender which he should have been way back then especially as a repeat offender.
December 8, 2019
Riveting
Monsters walk amongst us! Well written and very thorough. You get a real sense of every character, especially the monster!
Monsters walk amongst us! Well written and very thorough. You get a real sense of every character, especially the monster!
August 3, 2021
Terrible Crime but Powerful story to tead
Had a hard time understanding some of the writing; but the author was very good at getting the subject's depravity across.
Had a hard time understanding some of the writing; but the author was very good at getting the subject's depravity across.
January 4, 2022
Murder of Sheree by Wayne Miller
This is a truly a heart breaking story. Very detailed and very well written. Awesome read. It truly breaks your heart.
This is a truly a heart breaking story. Very detailed and very well written. Awesome read. It truly breaks your heart.
September 21, 2015
I bought this book on Ebay and ended up giving it away one day after it arrived. The constant scenes of the killer masturbating in public, mainly in front of children, were very sickening. That made the story much fouler than I was already expecting.
The book had entirely too many pages and was verging on being dull. I didn't think there was anything interesting about the way the book was written at all.
The book had entirely too many pages and was verging on being dull. I didn't think there was anything interesting about the way the book was written at all.
April 17, 2017
Wayne Miller really captures the emotions experienced by people close to the victim of this crime. His research must have been outstanding because this book pulls at your heart strings. As a former Detective, I truly appreciate how he has been able to get into the phsych of a Police Officer, trying to find evidence against such a pathetic person as the main character in this book, Robert Lowe. From start to finish, this book is captivating.
April 30, 2017
hard going in places
I read this book because of the reviews it had.It is a very good account of an infamous case in Australia involving the terrible death of a little girl.Whilst I believe the author gives a very thorough account of a difficult case,he was too thorough and in some parts it became tedious.
Having said that it is an interesting study of a sex murderer ,though at times quite difficult to read.
I read this book because of the reviews it had.It is a very good account of an infamous case in Australia involving the terrible death of a little girl.Whilst I believe the author gives a very thorough account of a difficult case,he was too thorough and in some parts it became tedious.
Having said that it is an interesting study of a sex murderer ,though at times quite difficult to read.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews