John Kerr (10)

The problem with bent pollies is that it's all too easy to forget the excesses, the nasties, the downright corrupt. BENT POLLIES is a book that in John Kerr's inimitable style reminds us, all too clearly, to keep an eye on all levels of society.

This book covers some of the stories that seemed to have dropped a bit from public conscience - Milton Orkopoulos from NSW was a sexual predator. Full stop, nothing more to be said really, although Kerr gives us the background of how he managed to get himself into the position he did. Rex Jackson was a Prison Minister, who ended up in Prison corruption - gambling got him in the end. Sir John Bjelke-Peterson was tried, but never convicted, and the story of what happened on his jury is frankly gobsmacking. From there we go to Crime Bosses, and whilst many of these "characters" have been covered in other books, again, it's Kerr's ironic, wry tone that makes this compelling reading. The final part of the book is then about Drug Runners.

This book (and the smaller individual ones that make it up) are designed as "Commuter Crime" - small, pointed, interesting and revealing little snippets to read when you have a few moments. Probably just as well I can't catch public transport. I'd be guaranteed to miss my stop.

Bent Pollies, and the most recent book A Pack of Bloody Animals are available for purchase from Kerr Publishing: (http://www.kerrpublishing.com.au)

(Disclaimer: I work on the Kerr Publishing website - which gives me an opportunity to hear about these books as they arrive... the opinions I voice are my own and Mr Kerr isn't even aware if / when I am likely to review one of his books).… (plus d'informations)

There are quite a lot of collections of true crime stories floating around, and more than one that uses the theme of murder in the family as it's connecting fibre. BLOODY RELATIONS, however, touches on a number of family murders that are less well known - as well as some of the better known cases in Australia.

Starting off with the startling case of the death of Maureen - wife of Dr Rory Thompson in Hobart in 1983, the book then heads to a more well known case in the death of Jennifer Tanner at Bonnie Doon in 1984. Next up the death of Chris Hatfield in 1985, asleep on his couch in Sydney's Southern Beaches he was shot in the head. Then the strange and complicated Waters family goings on when the live-in man of the ex-wife of Ces Waters was shot dead outside their home in 1988. From there the death - originally thought to be of SIDs of four of Kathleen Folbigg's children starting in 1989, which dogged police work and expert testimony finally revealed as something considerably more disturbing. Then the New Zealand case in 1994 where originally it was thought that Robin Bain had shot his wife, three of his four children and then himself. Until the police had a closer look at the only surviving son - David. In 1997 the body of Svetlana (Lana ) Rana was discovered in a vat of acid in Sydney, when she was supposed to have gone missing from Crown Casino in Melbourne, and in 2000 the family of Jack van Krevel finally imploded completely and he died, horribly. In 1994 the simple life of Lindsay Jellet was ended, run down by a car on the roadside just outside Ararat - in one of the saddest stories in the entire book. Around the same time as the highly publicised Wales-King murder in Melbourne, Gaetano and Maria Russo were killed in their home in North Altona. Similar circumstances - not as much notoriety. In 2000 Katherine Knight killed her lover John Price - the way that she opted to dispose of his body, well even in a careful telling of the story like the one in this book - it's not pleasant to think about. In 1991 the investigation into the death of 22 month old Harry Manley has some chilling similarities with the Azaria Chamberlain case, and finally, in 2001 the violent deaths of the mother, father and sister of Sef Gonzales seems to have left him distraught - for far too short a time.

The author of this book has continued with his almost conversational, slightly wry tone in BLOODY RELATIONS which actually really helps the reader come to grips with many of these stories. Not just a chronology of events, there is some commentary and analysis in many of these accounts of some of the more notorious, sad, bad, horrific and just simply pathetic murders in families in Australia in the past couple of decades. Whilst you may have heard of some of these cases, there are some that are less well known - but the style of the book makes it's a very enlightening insight into all of them.… (plus d'informations)

GANGSTERS' WOMEN is one release in a series of "commuter true crime" books. Available via newsagencies and similar outlets, they are designed as quick little books - perfect for the train or tram journey home. Not bad for a Sunday night read as well!

This book tells the story of a number of women who, for whatever reasons - and they vary woman to woman - choose to get involved / stay involved with Gangsters. A varied selection, including some well known Gangsters' Women - Roberta Williams, and the women of Terry Clark's drug organisation - now probably more generally known about courtesy of Underbelly2. Less well known the role of Kath Flannery in notorious hitman Christopher Dale Flannery's life, as well as Judi Kane - with a well-timed reminder of the origins of the Moran / Kane clan.

The book is a very quick read and the style of the writing is almost conversational - it reads like you're having a beer or a coffee and a chat with the author. Very engaging, and at the same time quite revealing - GANGSTERS' WOMEN lays out the what about these women. It may not be able to fully explain the why, but then who could.… (plus d'informations)