The Matriarch: The Story of 'Granny Evil' Kathy Pettingill

by Adrian Tame

The matriarch of Australia’s most violent and notorious criminal family, and allegedly the inspiration for the award-winning film Animal Kingdom, tells her side of the story. Kathy Pettingill is a name that’s both respected and feared, not only by Australia’s criminal underworld, but by many in the Victorian police force. As the matriarch at the head of the most notorious and violent family of habitual offenders in Australian criminal history, her life has revolved around murder, drugs, prison, prostitution and bent coppers – and the intrigue and horror that surround such crimes. Her eldest son, Dennis Allen, was a mass murderer and a $70,000-a-week drug dealer who dismembered a Hell’s Angel with a chainsaw. Two younger sons were acquitted of the Walsh Street murders, the cold-blooded assassination of two police officers that changed the face of crime in Melbourne forever. One of the two, Victor, was gunned down himself in the street 14 years later, becoming the third son Kathy has buried. In this revised and updated authorised edition of Adrian Tame’s bestselling The Matriarch, Kathy Pettingill reveals the chilling truth behind many of the myths and legends that surround her family, including her experiences in the blood-spattered charnel house at the centre of Dennis Allen’s empire of drugs and violence. But this is no plea for pity. Forthright and deeply disturbing, like its subject, The Matriarch pulls no punches. Updated and revised for a new generation, this true crime classic is as terrifying and powerful as when it was first published.  

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Biography, Crime, Audiobook, Australia, Biography Memoir

267 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2002

About the author

Adrian Tame was born in 1944, and spent 25 years in journalism. After resigning as news editor of Truth in 1986, he spent eight years, six of them as a director, with IPR, Australia's largest public relations company. Adrian is the author of the bestselling The Matriarch: The Kathy Pettingill Story (1996).

Reviews

[Leo]

I've read more then half the book but completely lost interest o. It. Not much for true crime, still a beginner to the genre and I never heard about this case before.

[Mish · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting story with so much more potential. Dennis and Kathy are the two standout characters, for very different reasons. She, at least, has redeeming qualities. The rest of the characters all merge into one.

Second half of the book descends into a protracted account of alleged this, alleged that. Wouldn't recommend unless you have a thing for Australian gangland stories.

[Bill reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kathy Pettingill is known as "Granny Evil" in Australia where she gave birth to ten children by three different fathers. Three were adopted out and the remaining seven became drug addicted criminals. The shining star of the flock was Dennis, who tortured and killed an unknown number of victims.
The problem here is the format of the book which jumps back and forth with a large cast of miscreants. The author provides a chart before the index.
Somehow, Kathy found the time to work as a prostitute while raising seven children. She later ran massage parlors and sold drugs along with her offspring. They all spent time in prison and two of them were acquitted of the murder of two policemen. The case remains an open one and The Matriarch is an exhausting read.

[Lana Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

before underbelly, there was this and its much, much better!

[Joanne, drinker of tea, reader of books, servant to cats · Rating 2 out of 5]

First out of the gate, Kathy Pettingill and her family are thugs, thieves, murderers, and rapists - just a few of the charming adjectives that could be applied.

While Kathy has shown some small kindnesses to others, she herself is no shining angel. She was violent, had no compunction against threatening people with her own fists, and literally mopped up the charnel house that was Dennis's home. However, Adrian Tame tried very hard to make out that Kathy was simply a hard done by sweet woman who was forced into her life of crime an infamy by choosing the wrong man to love. Her sons were solely the products of their fathers with little maternal influence.

The story telling was all over the place. There is some linear tracking of her history, but frequently, from one paragraph to the next you are dragged forward (or back) by several years with a statement that has absolutely no correlation in time to the one you just read. Many times I wondered if I had missed a page, or if paragraphs had been removed in my edition of the book. But no, you just have to ride it out and hope that the missing years would be filled in at some point later in the book.

While there is a timeline at the back of the book, there are gaps in the events that more often than not are the same event gaps I was trying to work out from the paragraph jumping.

This was not a smooth read, there was clunky writing, and repetitions of facts. For a book about crims and their crimes, the biggest crime was how Adrian Tame presented this story.

[Asha Stark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely insane and interesting read about a woman whose life, were it presented as a film script, would be panned as unbelievable.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't mind a crime read for fast escapism. Enjoyed this. Lots of Melbourne references entwined with families and places you know if you're from Melbourne.

[Daniel Lang · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Matriarch: The Kathy Pettingill Story" by Adrian Tame provides a detailed and at times sensationalized account of the life of Kathy Pettingill, a central figure in one of Melbourne's notorious crime families. Tame delves into the complexities of Pettingill's life, exploring her relationships, the criminal activities of her family, and the broader underworld they inhabited.

The strength of the book lies in its comprehensive coverage of Pettingill's life, offering readers a glimpse into the tumultuous world she navigated. Tame doesn't shy away from portraying the grittier aspects of Pettingill's experiences, and the narrative is laden with sensational anecdotes that may capture the attention of true crime enthusiasts.

However, the book's emphasis on sensationalism and its at times tabloid-like approach may not appeal to all readers. The narrative occasionally leans towards dramatization, and Tame's writing style tends to prioritize salacious details over a nuanced exploration of Pettingill's character and motivations.

While the book does shed light on the criminal activities of the Pettingill family, it may lack a more profound analysis of the social and economic factors that contributed to their involvement in a life of crime. Some readers might find the narrative lacking in depth, particularly in its exploration of the broader societal context.

In conclusion, "The Matriarch" offers a detailed but sensationalized account of Kathy Pettingill's life. Readers with a keen interest in true crime and a tolerance for a more sensationalized narrative may find it engaging. However, those seeking a more balanced and nuanced exploration of Pettingill's story and its societal implications may find the book falling short of their expectations.

[J. Marchio · Rating 3 out of 5]

everything you could expect from a mafia true crime. there's betrayal, murders, theft, power struggles, entitlement and complete disregard for the law. Sometimes it lost me, because after a point there were no real stakes, i knew there'd be no consequences. but overall, ok.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this!

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The gripping story of Kath Pettingill, mother of a family of criminals. The book does a good job of portraying her complex character and the underworld of which she was a part.

[Zoey · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5★

[Ella Scott-Fleming · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was sikkk regardless

[D.M. Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rare example where the adaptation(s) of a true story had to be toned down instead of exaggerated due to how disturbing the actual reality was. Crazy.

[Billie Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s very interesting but kind of hard to follow without getting lost in the amount of people involved, but I liked the ending chapters a lot.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great to read but I feel they portray her more evil then she was, she definitely did bad things but a lot of it was her family.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend the audiobook for this one, the voice choices are fantastic and really draw you in to the story!

[Kassie Rankin]

Started this because we were enjoying the tv show, Animal Kingdom.
Honestly after finishing the show, I just didn't care about the book or her story anymore...

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had never heard of Kathy Pettingill and read it based on a book bingo needing a true crime novel. There are much more details that could have been given on situations. This book gives context and views from Kathy herself that other articles or books may not be able to give.

[Simeon Readingape]

#002.03 p. xvii So where do public perception and private reality diverge? What is it behind those eyes, one glass, the other fiercely alive, that has created the legend? In simplest terms there are two catalysts for the reputation Kathy and her web of relatives have earned as possibly the most infamous criminal family in Australian history. The first is her son Dennis Allen, and the second is the execution of two young police officers in a crime that has become known as the Walsh Street murders.

Dennis was Kathy's first-born son and, depending on whose version is believed, he murdered between five and thirteen people. He also built a drug-dealing empire over a five-year period which earned him an estimated $70,000 a week; he was linked with names like New South Wales's notorious rogue policeman Roger Rogerson; he tried to blow up a coroner's court building where an inquest was being held into the death of one of his victims; he used a heavy calibre automatic rife to try to shoot a police helicopter out of the sky when its night lights annoyed him; he flew the Jolly Roger outside his inner suburban home, and he once dismembered a Hell's Angel with a chainsaw.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that is as much about the infamous crime family, as it is about the entrenched Police corruption in Victoria, and the lengths certain now discredited detectives went too so that convictions occured in relation to the 'walsh st' killings of two innocent police officers.

The author had unfettered access to Kath, and and such the book is full of quotations that directly contradict the official line, and it is worth noting that Kath Pettingill comes across as highly believable, providing a first person perspective from an era where corruption in the Victorian detectives was endemic: the armed robbery squad was simply executing suspects, planting stolen weapons and behaving like the criminals they were supposed to be arresting.

A highly recommended read, plenty of insider information on some of the most notorious criminals of the Pettingill family, with candid comments from Kath herself, backed up where possible with references by the author. This makes for a fantastic read for fans of Australian true crime and makes a welcome antidote to the lies and rubbish printed about her family over the years.

[★ Jess]

Hmm...To read or not to read? This came to my attention recently when I started to develop a fondness for Australian gang-land stories, such as 'Animal Kingdom' and 'Underbelly'.
This is a big maybe.

[Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read! I'm thankful not to have lived next door to the Pettingill family.

[Dylan Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite book ever. A biography of a Melbourne crime family.

[Romany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting family portrait.