The topic for our reading this month is 'True Crime' and this was suggested by our 'Crime Queen', Joan.
Sheila: Portrait of a Killer by Patricia Cornwall
Sheila 's first comment was that Cornwall is a beautiful writer who in this book comes to a conclusion as to the identity of Jack the Ripper. She used a modern setting and investigative tools available to present day detectives. But as the book went on, it became too graphic and so Sheila didn't finish it.
Pamela: City of Shadows Sydney Police Photographs 1912-1948 by Peter Doyle
Pamela doesn't like true crime and so she read something else.
In the 1980s an enormous collection of police photos were rescued from a flooded warehouse, but unfortunately the written details were lost. The photographs were eventually given to the Justice and Police Museum and in 2005 a selection were published in this book. They include murderers, petty criminals, fraudsters and accident scenes. They are nothing like the current 'mug shots' and give an insight into the seedier side of Sydney in the early part of the 20th century.
The book is only available from the Historic Houses Trust (or Pamela).
Wendy & Connie: Mad Dog by Peter Corris
William Cyril ‘Mad Dog’ Moxley was hanged at Long Bay Gaol in 1932 for
the murder of Frank Barnaby Wilkinson and the rape and murder of Dorothy
Ruth Denzel.
Peter Corris has set out to try to understand, did he intend to commit murder? The book gives a good insight into the depression, the poverty and society in the aftermath of the war.
Wendy thought he was bad but not a murderer. Today he would not have been found guilty on the grounds of insanity. It was well written and included descriptions of the brutal murders.
Connie is another member who doesn't like true crime. She prefers a mystery where she can try to work out 'who did it' and not already know the ending. She also doesn't want to know the awful things that real people do to each other.
In this book, she enjoyed the photographs showing the background of what Sydney was like at the time. She thought the detective work was pathetic, and so many of those involved from police to prosecutors were incompetent.The trial and the execution happened within a few months then his council just walked away.
Joan: Fatal Flaw by Roger Maynard
On Easter Sunday 2002, the body of Janelle Paton was found wrapped in black plastic hidden near a waterfall on the far side of the Norfolk Island. This was the first murder in the 150 year history of the island and so all of the 1500 inhabitants were a suspect.
Roger Maynard is a well respected English writer who followed through the whole process from the finding of the body to 4 years later when a man was finally brought to trial. It was a unique case because the whole island was fingerprinted, many of the islanders are descendants of the Bounty and a hierarchical social structure existed. Islanders denied there was a conspiracy of silence, but few would talk on the
record and there was evidence of a drug subculture.
The arrested man was eventually convicted and is currently serving his sentence in Lithgow Jail.
Kris: The Innocent Man by John Grisham
This is the author's first nonfiction book, a true tale about murder and injustice in a small town. The Innocent Man chronicles the
story of Ron Williamson, how he was arrested and charged with a crime he
did not commit, how his case was (mis)handled and how an innocent man
was sent to death row.
Innocent until proven guilty does not seem to apply in this case.
While Kris has not had time to read the entire book, she always like to finish those she has started.
Kate:
Kate has been away for several meetings and so had not read anything on the topic. The current television show of The Paradise, based on Emile Zola's book, has encouraged her to now read other titles by this author.
Jewels: Watching the Detectives; One woman's Journey Through Sydney's Underworld by Deborah Lockier
Deborah Lockier had always wanted to join the police force but it wasn't long after she graduated that she encountered police corruption, bribery, substance abuse and sexual harassment. Having worked her way up to Senior Constable she decided to blow the whistle on her colleagues. This came at a terrible cost to both her professional and family life.
Jewels found it a riveting story, couldn't put it down and found it difficult to believe what had happened to this woman. A truly inspiring story!
Judy: Tamum Shud The Somerton Man Mystery by Kerry Greenwood
On December 1st 1948 a body of a man was found on Somerton Beach (South Australia). There was no obvious sign if death, no identification or identifying marks. Despite extensive searches and investigations both within Australia and involving police forces around the world, the man has never been identified and no cause of death has been established.
The title Tamum Shud, comes from a scrap of paper found in his fob pocket. It was later established that it had been torn from of books of poems by Omar Khayyam. When the book was eventually located, it also contained a 5 line code which has proved to be unsolvable.
The details of this case are enthrallingly retold by the author, but other sections of the book are not so engaging. Efforts to explain who the man was, why he was killed/on the beach, the meaning of the code etc all become a little tedious and incredulous. She concludes the book with Miss Phryne Fisher solving the mystery....of course!
Maree: Blood Vows by Helen Cummings
It was the summer of 1976 when Helen Cummings found the courage to
leave her violent husband, take the children, pack the car and head for a
new life.
Her husband, Stuart Wynter, was a respected doctor but in the
privacy of his home he was a tyrant. His tirades, physical abuse,
need for absolute obedience and a growing interest in guns finally
compelled her to escape. Eight years later, his second wife and their
child were not so lucky. He killed them both and then himself.
Through out the book the author continually blamed her husband's mood
swings on her own insecurities. She protected him because of his career
and because she wouldn't be believed.
Now Ms Cummings wonders whether she would leave that marriage
today given the Family Law Act's emphasis on
children maintaining a ''meaningful relationship'' with both parents.
She thinks she would probably stay rather than leave her two children
alone with their father in some shared care arrangement the court might
order.
Leslie: Australian Serial Killers by Paul B Kidd
These are the true stories of Australia's most notorious killers. To be recognised as a serial killer a person has to kill 3 or more over a period of days whereas a mass killer has killed many!
Some of Leslie's comments:
*they are terrible stories and she couldn't understand how people can do such terrible things to each other
*there are different triggers - a deep physiological issue, a desire to kill someone etc
*many have led terrible lives
*many of the killings are random
*the amount of bungling and corruption within the police force was frightening
*in the early days there were no victim rights
*police technology is so much better now
*women were just as nasty and cruel
Anne: The End of Innocence by Estelle Blackburn
During the late 1950s and early 1960s Eric Edgar Cooke commited over 20 violent crimes in Perth, including murder, assaults, break-ins etc. Before he was hung, he confessed to 2 other murders for which he was never convicted. Two other young men had already been convicted and imprisoned for these crimes.
The author is a journalist who spent many years in the 1990s investigating these cases, eventually convincing the attorney-general that they should be reopened.
In 2005 their 1961 convictions were squashed, 40 years after the men had first been arrested.
These years were not a good time for the Western Australian police!
Jo: Shadow of Shame: How the Mafia Got Away with the Murder of Donald MacKay by Bob Bottom
This book tells of the corruption and the influence of the Mafia and in particular Bob Trimbole in the drug trade around the Griffith area and eventually the murder of Donald MacKay in 1977. The Mafia even tried to implicate his wife by accusing her of having an affair.
The author suggests that the body of the anti-drugs campaigner was dumped in the Murray River following his murder. It has never been found.
Dianne: Murderous Women
This book is set in England and is written by an ex-cop but in Dianne's opinion it is like reading a cop's note book. She found it itemized and bitty, reading only some off it because she couldn't get into it. She wouldn't recommend it.
Margaret: Bondi Badlands by Greg Callaghan
In the 1980s, 4 gay men were attacked on the path along the cliffs from Bondi to Tamarama. The initial investigation concluded their deaths were accidental and that vital evidence had been lost. In the 1990s these crimes were re-investigated and it was found that there were 3 gangs operating in the area. Unfortunately there was insufficient evidence to prosecute anyone.
Margaret commented that that this tied in with a recent edition of Australian Story and a similar case on the northern beaches of Sydney. Here a suicide verdict has been overturned, allowing the case to be re-opened, and the government has offered a large reward for information.
Rosemary: Suddenly One Sunday The Story of the Port Arthur Tragedy Based on Eyewitness Accounts by Mike Bingham
The Port Arthur tragedy happened in 1996 and this book was written soon after.
Rosemary found it interesting to read about Martin Bryant's childhood. He had a low IQ with learning difficulties and was possibly autistic. The circumstances of the death of a woman he befriended and his father, were suspicious but the evidence inconclusive. He had a dreadful childhood with an ineffective mother.
It seems he had been thinking about the murders for 4-12 weeks beforehand as the first few people he shot were targeted. The rest of the shootings were at random or people who rushed to the area thinking it was an historical re-enactment.
