Gripping accounts of some of Australia’s worst murder cases – and insights into the men and women who committed the crimes. Why do some people cross the threshold from rational behaviour to cold blooded murder? What could motivate a mother to kill her own children? How could a man kill his own pregnant wife and toddler with a spear gun? How could someone kill a political rival - and think they could get away with it? All these questions and many more are answered in this collection of the most monstrous cases to hit the headlines in Australia in recent times. Well-known journalist and author Malcolm Brown goes into cases such as the Snowtown murders; the killing of Dr Margaret Tobin, Maria Korp, Melbourne's society murders, and the frightful case of Kathleen Folbigg killing her own four young children. These are not only gripping accounts of the terrible crimes themselves - but they look into what would lead someone to commit them.

On a cold, damp January night in 1961, 19-year-old Pearl Gamble made the final goodbye to her Mother an set off excitedly with two friends to the local dance. Little did Mrs Gamble know, it was the last time that she would see her daughter alive...The following day, the naked body of Pearl was discovered in the fields surrounding the small rural hamlet. She had been ferociously attacked: there were stabs wounds on her body and she had been severely beaten around the face. A post-mortem revealed a shocking list of injuries: one of the stab wounds had punctured her hart and would have led to her death had the perpetrator not finished the job by strangulation.This in-depth and intriguing book investigates all aspects of the murder: it looks at the police investigation as it unfolded; it traces the last known movements of Pearl and her friends at the local dance and it analyses the character and strange behaviour of the murderer, Robert McGladdery.McGladdery has been described as a Walter Mitty character who managed to lead the police on a merry dance once he was confirmed as their prime suspect. Strangely, almost everyone in Newry Town knew that he was the only suspect and watched while he was tailed by plain clothes police in an attempt to catch him returning to vital evidence which was concealed away from the murder scene.This gripping investigation tells the tale of a small-town community shattered by a brutal and savage crime. It is an emotive story which concludes with the execution of McGladdery, the last man to be hanged in Northern Ireland. It's a must-read for any true crime fan.

The Trial of Sunny Ang (1973). Bankrupt and desperately needing money, this is the true story of how a brilliant Singaporean psychopath tried to commit the perfect crime. This landmark trial was the first of its kind in Singapore—without a body, the prosecution had no medical evidence nor witnesses to claim unnatural death, so they caught Ang in a chain of circumstantial evidence he could not break, which ultimately led to his sentence. Pulau Senang—The Experiment That Failed (1980). In 1965, 18 men, all convicted criminals were sent to death for murder. They were to be a haunting testimony to the failure of a bold experiment to transform Pulau Senang into a gaol without bars and a sad realization that ‘creative work in healthy surroundings’ may not reform seasoned criminals. Reconstructing the events leading to the tragedy and trial, Pulau Senang attempts to throw some light to a question that has never been answered satisfactorily: Why did the experiment fail?

Founded in 1798, Hamtramck shrank in size even as it grew in population. Stuffing tens of thousands of people in 2.1 square miles is bound to breed conflict, and many of those conflicts boiled over into murder. Sunday, September 7, 1884, was supposed to be a day of joy for Fritz Krum, whose child was being christened. Instead, it ended in a fatal stabbing. The 1930 killing of police officer Barney Roth in a reputed mob hit drew national attention. The murder of Hamtramck teen Bernice Onisko remains an open case today, more than eighty years after it occurred. Gathering cases from the late nineteenth century to more recent times, prolific local historian Greg Kowalski takes readers on a journey through Hamtramck homicide.

Drawn from fragments of historical fact, Matthiessen's masterpiece brilliantly depicts the fortunes and misfortunes of Edgar J. Watson, a real-life entrepreneur and outlaw who appeared in the lawless Florida Everglades around the turn of the century.

A story of crime and punishment.

A collection of thrilling murder mysteries featuring “an unusually interesting detective” from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Spartacus (The Washington Star). Japanese-American Beverly Hills homicide detective Masao Masuto is a karate expert, a devotee of roses, and a Zen Buddhist. He does his job with a cool, caustic wit—and with surprising force when necessary. He possesses a singular sense of justice, taking action on his own and occasionally pushing the boundaries of the law . . . The Case of the Sliding Pool: After a decades-old hidden grave is uncovered by a rainstorm, Detective Masuto must look into the distant past to find a murderer who was very good at his job—and who is about to come out of retirement. “An interesting conception.” —The New York Times The Case of the Kidnapped Angel: The wife of one of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars has been kidnapped for ransom—one that is willingly paid. But Masuto doesn’t believe the worried husband’s performance. He suspects the payoff was for something deadly . . . “A talent for all times.” —The Moscow News The Case of the Murdered McKenzie: When a faded movie beauty is accused of killing her rich husband, it seems like an open-and-shut case—until Masuto investigates. And it soon appears that murder is only the beginning of an even more shocking conspiracy. “One of the best in the series.” —The New York Times As witty as he is wise, Detective Masuto is the brilliant creation of “one of the 20th century’s busiest writers” known for “creating stories that even his critics admired as page-turners (The New York Times).