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The ghost of Ludwig Gertsch
On September 1994, wealthy homosexual businessman Ludwig Gertsch was murdered in his lover Vince Esposito's apartment. The crime remains unsolved to this day. This book makes an attempt to solve it. En route, it takes the reader on a madcap journey throug
413 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 24, 2017
What a great big exhaustive book this was... It's 450 pages of tiny font, every single minute detail of the mystery surrounding Ludwig Gertsch and Roger Claude Teyssedre.
This book was a labour of love for me to read, as an avid reader of Australian true crime books I'd always wanted to read this book however I'd never been able to find a copy, it's long out of print and copies go for well over $60 on eBay. Thankfully the trusty Kings Cross library had it, although it was a non circulating copy, so I spent 2 afternoons and 1 full day in the quiet bliss of the library and read it from cover to cover.
It's brilliant, it truly is a great example of how a true crime book should be written. Sandra doesn't have the easiest job considering that this tale is still unsolved, every event, every character (of which there are many eccentrics), every suspect gets their part in the story told, Sandra leaves no stone unturned. Supposedly she spent 5 years just doing the interviewing, you've got to take your hat off to a writer who is that determined. The way she writes the book is interesting, the other reviewer of this book has also mentioned it, at first it almost seems inappropriate however after a few chapters I came to really like it, it's actually quite humorous in parts, a lot of puns are used extremely well so big points to Sandra for bringing a little humour to the story.
This murder/ murders is a little known footnote in Sydney's true crime history, it's never really attracted a large amount of publicity unlike many other cases, however it's just as important and creepy as many of the high profile cases.
Thank you Sandra Harvey for writing this, you did an amazing job, I'm now going to try and find some of her other works now.
This book was a labour of love for me to read, as an avid reader of Australian true crime books I'd always wanted to read this book however I'd never been able to find a copy, it's long out of print and copies go for well over $60 on eBay. Thankfully the trusty Kings Cross library had it, although it was a non circulating copy, so I spent 2 afternoons and 1 full day in the quiet bliss of the library and read it from cover to cover.
It's brilliant, it truly is a great example of how a true crime book should be written. Sandra doesn't have the easiest job considering that this tale is still unsolved, every event, every character (of which there are many eccentrics), every suspect gets their part in the story told, Sandra leaves no stone unturned. Supposedly she spent 5 years just doing the interviewing, you've got to take your hat off to a writer who is that determined. The way she writes the book is interesting, the other reviewer of this book has also mentioned it, at first it almost seems inappropriate however after a few chapters I came to really like it, it's actually quite humorous in parts, a lot of puns are used extremely well so big points to Sandra for bringing a little humour to the story.
This murder/ murders is a little known footnote in Sydney's true crime history, it's never really attracted a large amount of publicity unlike many other cases, however it's just as important and creepy as many of the high profile cases.
Thank you Sandra Harvey for writing this, you did an amazing job, I'm now going to try and find some of her other works now.
August 17, 2023
This book is long out of print so I was pleased to be able to borrow it from the library. What an astonishing tale of treachery, greed, murder(?) and hapless cops! This cold case could be made into a very compelling movie.
January 2, 2018
This is interesting tale of true crime. Set around the in Sydney, it is the story of Roger Claude, a man who made his fortune in gay nightclubs, saunas,and restaurants.
After his death, Roger’s lover Ludwig, inherits fortune (under questionable circumstances). Later, Ludwig is murdered and his solicitor skims money off the estate. The murder is never solved.
I really enjoyed this book. I did find the narration a bit distracting but the rest was excellent.
After his death, Roger’s lover Ludwig, inherits fortune (under questionable circumstances). Later, Ludwig is murdered and his solicitor skims money off the estate. The murder is never solved.
I really enjoyed this book. I did find the narration a bit distracting but the rest was excellent.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2015
Woah. I was unsure about this book while I was reading the first chapter as the tone of the writing seemed almost inappropriate for the content. However, it was so interesting. It took some complex issues and made them easy to follow while constantly keeping me engaged in the narrative. Thrilling, very sad, and completely 100% worth a read if you are even a little interested.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews