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The Australian Book of True Crime
Twenty-one of Australia's most startling real-life crimes, from the late 1800's to the present day are collected here in one gripping volume. Using exhaustive research, court records, police statements and original interviews, Larry Writer offers fascinating new insights into the lives of some of Australia's most notorious villains and their victims.
304 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 16, 2012
This is a compilation of true crimes that were committed in Australia. There are 21 cases in this book and they vary in time committed and type of crime. One was a couple I had read about before: Catherine and David Birnie; but most I had never heard of. They range from kidnapping, murder, rape, serial murder mass murder, there is an account of two ladies (using the word loosely The Law of the Razer, 1920s-1930s) that ran rival gangs. The first kidnapping of a child for ransom. Some are just a single crime, or in the case of a serial murderer, the murders committed and some are the life story of a career criminal (Gone to Gowings, 1940s-1980s).
Since this are in effect ‘short stories’, there is not a lot of excessive detail. All the necessary details of the crime committed are there, along with what happened to the perpetrator. And how he behaved in prison. I was not left with unanswered questions about these crimes, unless the author himself couldn’t find an answer and in that case he told us.
If you like reading quick accounts of crimes with all the details encapsulated for you, I would recommend this book. Another reason I like reading compilations is it is easy to put it down and pick it up later.
Since this are in effect ‘short stories’, there is not a lot of excessive detail. All the necessary details of the crime committed are there, along with what happened to the perpetrator. And how he behaved in prison. I was not left with unanswered questions about these crimes, unless the author himself couldn’t find an answer and in that case he told us.
If you like reading quick accounts of crimes with all the details encapsulated for you, I would recommend this book. Another reason I like reading compilations is it is easy to put it down and pick it up later.
August 29, 2012
Larry Writer's short story collection, THE AUSTRALIAN BOOK OF CRIME covers 21 different cases, spread in a date range from 1892 through to 2001. Which is definitely a big enough span to give a reader a chance to realise that law and order, crime, murder, bad behaviour has been around for a very long time.
Although the collection is not necessarily put together in date order, there's something quietly telling about the way that patterns emerge, although luckily, mass killings are not quite as common here as the two entries in this collection perhaps indicate.
As with all these sorts of short story collections, there are some cases that will trigger a particular response in readers, there are other cases where maybe the passage of time, or the type of crime, might simply be general interest. Personally I was reminded yet again of the appalling and pointless death of Dr Victor Chang, and I was intrigued by the story of the Cross-Dressing Killer from 1917 as that's a case I'd never heard of before.
Whilst there's not necessarily a connection between each of these short stories, or an overriding theme for the book, each case is a reminder that the more things change, the more some things simply don't.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
Although the collection is not necessarily put together in date order, there's something quietly telling about the way that patterns emerge, although luckily, mass killings are not quite as common here as the two entries in this collection perhaps indicate.
As with all these sorts of short story collections, there are some cases that will trigger a particular response in readers, there are other cases where maybe the passage of time, or the type of crime, might simply be general interest. Personally I was reminded yet again of the appalling and pointless death of Dr Victor Chang, and I was intrigued by the story of the Cross-Dressing Killer from 1917 as that's a case I'd never heard of before.
Whilst there's not necessarily a connection between each of these short stories, or an overriding theme for the book, each case is a reminder that the more things change, the more some things simply don't.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
April 3, 2014
Short, informative essays on some of Australia's most famous and/or interesting crimes. While there are a few notable exceptions-- Ivan Milat immediately springs to mind-- they are more than compensated for by a number of cases from the late 19th and early 20th Century of which I was unfamiliar. Writer's style is simple and, for the most part, unobtrusive, although he lapses into the occasional conservative judgement that jars with the text: there is a constant association between his subject's physiognomy and his/her criminal behaviour that wouldn't be out of place in a 19th century textbook, for example. But the book serves as a worthy primer for anyone unfamiliar with the cases in question, and is presented in sufficiently non-sensationalist terms to satisfy anyone wishing a genuine examination of the crimes in question.
September 16, 2013
I really enjoyed this book, which covered a wide range of criminal cases from throughout Australia's history. The writing style was engaging and each case was well-researched and brought to life.
I'd recommend it for any crime buffs out there.
I'd recommend it for any crime buffs out there.
March 2, 2011
A decent read. Short stories. Good time killer
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May 21, 2016can someone please tell me befor i buy this book to read if it has a chapter about mackay qld
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews