Mugshots. 1

Australians are fascinated by crime and the people who commit it. Theyre intrigued by their motives and their methods, and the way theyre caught. Society has long been burdened by its share of bad guys, thugs and standover men, by crooks and corruption and by a pervasive and destructive drug culture. Those elements have regularly led to crimes of passion, hate and greed, and it seems the more lurid the detail, the more bizarre the circumstances, the more fascinated we are by it. Our best connection with major crime stories has often been the front pages of our newspapers, and the authors of this true crime collection have written many of the frontpage stories that have whetted our appetites and often left us wanting more details and more inside information. The stories in this line-up take us behind the scenes in cases that have made headlines over the past 25 years. Some of them are well known and instantly recognisable; some were overtaken by events and never dominated the news. All are good yarns, written by two of Victorias most experienced crime writers. Geoff Wilkinson and Keith Moor have been loitering with intent around cop shops and courtrooms for 50 years between them. They know their stuff and they know a good crime story.