You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
One of the landmark Australian true-crime books, with a new introduction following the death of disgraced Police Commissioner Terry Lewis. Three Crooked Kings is the shocking true story of Queensland and how a society was shaped by almost half a century of corruption. At its core is Terry Lewis, deposed and jailed former police commissioner. From his entry into the force in 1949, Lewis rose through the ranks, becoming part of the so-called Rat Pack with detectives Glen Hallahan and Tony Murphy under the guiding influence of Commissioner Frank Bischof.The next four decades make for a searing tale of cops and killings, bagmen and blackmail, and sin and sleaze that exposes a police underworld that operated from Queensland to New South Wales. This gripping book examines the final pieces of the puzzle, unearths new evidence on cold cases, and explores the pivotal role that whistleblower Shirley Brifman, prostitute and brothel owner, played until her sudden death.Awarded journalist and novelist Matthew Condon has crafted the definitive account of an era that changed a state and is still reverberating to this day.
Continuing on from the bestselling true crime stories Three Crooked Kings and Jacks and Jokers, All Fall Down follows Terry Lewis as he becomes police commissioner and the era of corruption at the highest levels of the police and government goes on. As the Queensland police become more connected with their corrupt colleagues in Sydney, the era of heavy drugs and crime also begins. Tony Murphy and Glen Hallahan, two of the original "crooked kings," become more enmeshed with "The Joke" which is run by bagman Jack Herbert. All Fall Down introduces new characters, more extraordinary behavior outside the law by the law, and along the way it charts the meteoric rise of police commissioner Terry Lewis. But with the arrival of the Fitzgerald Inquiry in the late 1980s, many will fall—and it's not always the people who should. Once again award-winning journalist and novelist Matthew Condon has drawn from unprecedented access to Terry Lewis, as well as hundreds of interviews with key players and conspirators to craft the definitive account of the rise—and spectacular fall—of one man, an entire state, and over a generation of corruption.
&‘He takes you in the middle of the night, like an angel, and you're gone for good.' - Witness at Vincent O'Dempsey's committal hearing. In 2017, Vincent O'Dempsey was sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murders of Barbara McCulkin and her two young daughters. It took over 40 years to bring him to justice. Feared for decades by criminals and police alike, O'Dempsey associated with convicted underworld figures and has been linked to a string of haunting cold cases, including the deadly Whiskey au Go Go nightclub firebombing that killed 15 innocent people. Award-winning investigative journalist Matthew Condon has interviewed dozens of ex-cons, police and witnesses to put together a compelling picture of the calculating killer who spent his life evading the law before he was finally brought to justice.
A brilliant, shocking story of domestic violence, with a twist. The gripping story of Luke, an easy-going deep-sea diver who likes to please everyone, and the strong-willed, beautiful Charlotte with whom he falls in love. On their wedding night she picks a fight with Luke in their hotel room and he ends up with a black eye that lasts well into their honeymoon. The novel unfolds with flashbacks to that night, when Luke finds himself questioning whether he's just ruined his life, and forwards again to their honeymoon, where Charlotte's moods veer wildly from loving to livid. When this novel was first published, Carmel Bird described it as 'The chilling calibration of a violent marriage told with wistful compassion and an erotic charge.'
A hilarious retelling of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, with not one but TWO twists! Tom has a VERY important job; every day he climbs to the top of the hill and watches for pirate ships. But when he rings his bell and shouts "Pirates!" a few too many times - and there's NO pirate ship - the villagers begin to get tired of hiding. So what will happen when the pirates really do show up? Repeated phrases make it fun for young adventurers to join in with the storytelling, and witty, bold artwork by Matt Hunt adds to the excitement, with hilarious things to spot on every rereading. John Condon has been shortlisted for various awards including the LoveReading4Kids Children's Book Awards. Matt Hunt has been nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal, and his book Stephen Hawking: Little People, Big Dreams was an Amazon bestseller. Related activity sheets available on the Nosy Crow website.
Part of a series in which leading Australian authors write about their hometowns, this unique and evocative exploration is part memoir and part guide to Australia's Brisbane. Intertwining personal stories with the city's historical past, this account paints a portrait of the contemporary transformation of the city.
Little Fish Are Sweet takes the reader behind the scenes of Matthew's Condon's epic six-year, three-book journey, as he fights intimidation and legal threats while relentlessly pursuing the truth. Investigating the web of cold murder cases and pedophile scandals of the past, Condon discovers that police corruption is only one part of a much bigger and more disturbing story. What is revealed in Little Fish are Sweet will make your blood boil.
After several lifetimes of living anonymously in the outback, Wildred Lampe is finally marked out for greatness in his hundredth year by the Sydney Olympic Committee who need an Australian everyman for their opening ceremony. On the verge of becoming a legend, Wilfred is in his paddock when a freak accident looks likely to rob him of his chance.
More than 100 heirloom recipes from a dynamic chef and farmer working the lands of his great-great-great grandfather. From Hot Buttermilk Biscuits and Sweet Potato Pie to Salmon Cakes on Pepper Rice and Gullah Fish Stew, Gullah Geechee food is an essential cuisine of American history. It is the culinary representation of the ocean, rivers, and rich fertile loam in and around the coastal South. From the Carolinas to Georgia and Florida, this is where descendants of enslaved Africans came together to make extraordinary food, speaking the African Creole language called Gullah Geechee. In this groundbreaking and beautiful cookbook, Matthew Raiford pays homage to this cuisine that nurtured his family for seven generations. In 2010, Raiford’s Nana handed over the deed to the family farm to him and his sister, and Raiford rose to the occasion, nurturing the farm that his great-great-great grandfather, a freed slave, purchased in 1874. In this collection of heritage and updated recipes, he traces a history of community and family brought together by food.
Glitz and glamour, greed and sleaze, fall and redemption. It's all happening on the Gold Coast. Icarus is a penthouse salesman on the Gold Coast. In his early thirties and at the top of his profession, he revels in the trappings of his success- the luxury apartment at Parthenon Place overlooking the endless rolling surf, the red Mustang convertible, the gorgeous beautician girlfriend. His life couldn't be more perfect - or could it? This is the story of the rise and fall and redemption of a modern-day Icarus, and is the final word on that strangely unsettling and gloriously tacky place we call the Gold Coast. Matt Condon's reputation as one of our most original and talented writers was set once and for all with the publication of this novel.