Australian Crime

The ultimate collection of Australia's craziest cons and mad schemes from a master storyteller. Australia is the birthplace and setting of some of the wildest, craziest and least-likely-to-succeed cons and rorts in history. From the cleverest double-crosses to the most unlikely and maddest schemes, master storyteller Jim Haynes reminds us that we've never been shy of pulling a trick or two.

While estranged twins Oliver and Theo Wingfield are identical in appearance, they couldn't be more different. Theo, an extrovert verging on arrogant, was always a drifter, a nomad, operating on the fringes of the law. Oliver, intense, creative and introspective, was destined to become a winemaker. Each vintage, every bottle from Oliver's Mudgee-based label, Four Dogs Missing, sells out. And now, after fifteen years without contact, Theo unexpectedly turns up at his brother's vineyard, bearing an invitation that his twin knows nothing about.

During a broiling heatwave, the inner circle of a high-profile charity attend a critical meeting at White Ash Ridge, a small hotel nestled in the Australian wilderness. As the temperature rises, a body is found lying in the thick bush, bludgeoned to death. One of the four remaining guests is a murderer - but who, and why, is a mystery. Detective Dana Russo knows the national spotlight will be sharply focused on the case. The charity was formed when the founders' teenage son was killed after intervening in a vicious assault - sparking public outrage and a damning verdict on the investigation.

A missing girl ... a cold case ... a sister who won't give up . 'I was there on the day Rebecca disappeared. I watched her hurry away. If I close my eyes I can still see her...' When Rebecca Bundy fails to return home after the last day of school in 1984 her father reports her missing. But the...

Detective Sergeant Philip ‘Cato' Kwong is light on sleep but high on happiness with his new wife Sharon Wang and their baby girl. But contentment is not compatible with life in the Job, and soon a series of murders of Fremantle's homeless people gets in the way of Cato's newfound bliss. As New Wave journalist Norman Lip flirts online with the killer, it becomes apparent that these murders are personal—every death is bringing the killer one step closer to Cato.

Burnt-out from policework, Detective Sergeant George Manolis flies from Australia to Greece for a holiday. Recently divorced and mourning the death of his father, who emigrated from the turbulent Prespes region which straddles the borders of Greece, Albania and North Macedonia, Manolis hopes to reconnect with his roots and heritage. On arrival, Manolis learns of the disappearance of an 'invisible'—a local man who lives without a scrap of paperwork. The police and some locals believe the man's disappearance was pre-planned, while others suspect foul play.

'A rising star of Australian crime fiction' SUNDAY TIMES 'S. R. White is the real deal' CHRIS HAMMER Deep in the Australian wilderness, a famed sinkhole renowned as a stunning freediving spot attracts people from all over the world. But there's a dark, puzzling mystery when a local sports hero -...

Constable Jenny Williams moved to an outback mining town to find her missing cousin. The cold case is finally warming up, but it appears the remote, desolate desert community is hiding more secrets. When a car crashes into the local motel reception, Jenny jumps in to help dig the owner from the debris—only to find tragedy. A woman’s corpse is discovered hidden in the carnage, turning the crash scene into a crime scene. Jenny starts digging, but quickly discovers the prime suspect is her friend, the woman who’s been her rock since she came to town.

A glimpse into the brutal past of Will Slater, told at breakneck speed in this page-turning novella from Matt Rogers, million copy bestseller and ‘the most successful writer you’ve never heard of’ (The Story). Chicago, 2003. For twenty-year-old Will Slater, each day is a matter of survival...

A tale from Jason King’s brutal past, told at breakneck speed in this page-turning novella from Matt Rogers, million copy bestseller and ‘the most successful writer you’ve never heard of’ (The Story). Florida, 2010. Three years into his tumultuous career as a black-ops wrecking ball, a...

Constable Jenny Williams took a job in a remote opal mining town for answers. When the case surrounding her missing cousin goes cold, she embraces an invitation to party with the locals. But the night is cut short when the live music event turns into a crowded crime scene. A high-pitched scream and the smell of burning flesh has left a woman burned to death. No one saw the perpetrator, not even Jenny. Now it’s her job to catch the psychopath before they kill again. With no ID, no witnesses and no one coming forward who knows the woman, her case has no leads—not even a motive.

When Jenny Williams took a job as the new constable in an outback opal mining town, she thought she’d be hunting down clues to find her missing aunt and cousin. But when a young woman’s body is found at the bottom of a mine shaft, a possible murder forces her personal agenda to take a back seat. Jenny goes head to head with her new commanding officer. He doesn’t want to ruffle feathers in town and rules the case Death By Misadventure. But Jenny is sure the dead woman met with foul play.

One outback town. Two puzzling murders. Fifty suspects. In Unamurra, a drought-scarred, one-pub town deep in the outback, two men are savagely murdered a month apart - their bodies elaborately arranged like angels. With no witnesses, no obvious motives and no apparent connections between the...

A woman has been found crushed and mutilated inside mining equipment. Jenny is sure the woman’s death was no accident. She investigates and uncovers a link to an extremist Sovereigntist cult who don’t take kindly to strangers. As if fanatics weren’t scary enough—the commune is full of armed men and what appears to be women held captive. Her gut instincts are telling her this cult is trouble, but she needs proof. Jenny’s boss tells her to do what she’s never been good at—be patient, don’t stir up trouble and keep her mouth shut.

Together in print for the first time - including two brand new stories - this collection is an intoxicating mix of suspense, history, romance, supernatural and mystery! The Long Weekend Tracy, Eve, Jet, Mel and Danielle are looking forward - if a little nervously - to their upcoming digital...

Liz Porter's riveting casebook shows how forensic investigators - including pathologists, chemists, entomologists, DNA specialists and document examiners - have used their expertise in dozens of fascinating crimes and mysteries.

Emily Webb, co-host of the popular Australian True Crime podcast, details chilling cases of murder and crime that have happened in the quiet streets of Australia's suburbs. Featuring contemporary cases as well as some shocking historical murders you've probably never heard of, Suburban True Crime proves you shouldn't say 'it could never happen here'. This collection of cases that are hard to believe, except they really happened—and all in the streets and homes of the Australia many of us know and live. The suburbs.

The Australian Outback is a hot, remote, desolate place to die. Skeletal remains of several young women have been discovered in the bottom of a long-abandoned well, and major crime investigators Russell Foley and Sam Rose are assigned to the case. Foley and Rose soon learn a number of young backpackers, traveling around Australia on the adventure of a lifetime, have been reported missing in the area. Are these the remains of those unfortunate young women?

Combining the emotional power and dual narrative style of Before We Were Yours with the nuanced, layered, and atmospheric mystery of The Dry, a powerful debut novel revolving around a shocking disappearance, two neighbor families, and shameful secrets from the past that refuse to stay buried. It...

Australia's most baffling homicides and mysterious missing persons' cases are uniquely explored in this stunning true-crime book in which you the reader are invited to play armchair detective. Featuring 18 infamous cases, Unsolved Australia unearths a host of jaw-dropping new evidence via...