Some crimes shock an entire nation, and in doing so, define us for all time. In Australia the twelve infamous crimes detailed in this book have become part of our cultural landscape - 'Gatton', 'Pyjama Girl', 'Shark-Arm', 'Brown-Out', 'Thorne Kidnapping', 'Backpacker' and 'Snowtown' - each name has become synonymous with our unique criminal heritage. And when normal police methods fail to produce answers, as in the 'Bogle-Chandler' Mystery, the 'Wanda Beach Murders', the disappearance of the 'Beaumont Children' and more recently, the 'Norfolk Island' case, the crimes take on almost an urban mythology where fact and fiction become difficult to separate. But more than that, these events - and our reaction to them - reveal more about Australian society than we may care to know.
