Eugenia by Mark Tedeschi
one of the strangest stories from Australian history Keep Reading
The Worst Woman in Sydney: the life and times of Kate Leigh by Leigh Straw
Fascinating biography of notorious brothel madam, sly grog seller, and drug dealer. A reminder that for much of the twentieth century, leading organised crime figures like Kate Leigh were prominent public personalities in Sydney, often regarded with a certain amount of affection. The author lectures in history at the University of… Keep Reading
A Collusion of Powers by Philip Arantz
Memoir by detective who in 1971 released true crime statistics to the Sydney Morning Herald. For years the NSW Police had been lying about the real level of crime and the clear-up rate. Following the leak, Arantz was sent (briefly) to a psychiatric institution by outraged Police Commissioner Norman Allan,… Keep Reading
Huckstepp: a dangerous life by John Dale
The following is taken from the publisher’s website. It will be updated with original text when time permits, but we thought it important to have a reference to this seminal book on the site. Huckstepp investigates the murder of the charismatic young woman who has fascinated Australians since she first… Keep Reading
Killing Juanita by Peter Rees
Important book about the disappearance of Juanita Nielsen on 4 July 1975. Very good on her own background and also that of property developer Frank Theeman, whose endeavours she was opposing. Nielsen’s disappearance was a seminal event in Sydney’s criminal history, because it shocked the city and drew attention to… Keep Reading
King of Thieves: the adventures of Arthur Delaney and the Kangaroo Gang, by Adam Shand
Story of master shoplifter Arthur “The Duke” Delaney and the gangs of Australian shoplifters who laid waste the fashionable retail precincts of London and the Continent in the late 1960s, when shoplifting was far more profitable, and far easier, than it soon became (even George Freeman was a shoppie in his… Keep Reading
Chow Hayes, Gunman: Australia’s most notorious gangster, by David Hickie
After the great success of The Prince and the Premier, David Hickie was contacted by Chow Hayes who invited him to write his biography.Hayes was one of Sydney’s top standover men during the 1930s, 40s and 50s, and killed a number of other criminals. For three years Hickie visited Hayes once… Keep Reading
Bumper: the life and times of Frank ‘Bumper’ Farrell, by Larry Writer
Fascinating biography of famous Sydney inner city cop from the period 1938 to 1976. Farrell was a highly successful sportsman – he represented Australia in rugby league – and a big, violent man who used his fists, and sometimes his teeth, to impose justice on his beat. In many ways… Keep Reading
Gambling for Love by John Killick
Killick is a career criminal and jailbird, best known for escaping from Silverwater prison in 1999 in a helicopter hijacked at gunpoint by his girlfriend Lucy Dudko. This book covers his life only to 1973 and is a boring record of a typical criminal’s life, with a sometimes violent childhood… Keep Reading
The Dodger by Duncan McNab
Informed and at times unexpectedly sympathetic biography of Roger Rogerson by former detective Duncan McNab. Like his mentor Ray Kelly and many other detectives before him, Rogerson was an effective and brave officer who became too close to the criminals he was supposed to be controlling, and in the opinion of many observers… Keep Reading
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