Jeff Popple reviews three books about Australian crimes, both true and fictional. More of Jeff’s reviews can be found on his blog: murdermayhemandlongdogs.com

The Widow of Walcha by Emma Partridge

Simon & Schuster, $34.99

In 2017, farmer Mathew Dunbar was found dead, apparently as the result of suicide. The small town of Walcha, however, believed that his partner Natasha Darcy had killed him for his multi-million-estate. Natasha had a chequered past, including being previously charged with trying to kill her estranged husband Colin, who, in a bizarre twist of fate, was the first paramedic on the scene of Dunbar’s death. Award-winning journalist Emma Partridge travelled to Walcha to find out the truth and interviewed Mathew’s friends and family in the lead up to Natasha’s eventual arrest. A fascinating and well told account.

Betrayed by Sandi Logan

Hachette, $32.99

Anyone around in the 1970s will remember the ‘Drug Grannies’, two elderly American women who were arrested in Australia with a campervan full of hashish. In Betrayed, Sandi Logan tells the true story about the Drug Grannies and how they were duped by one of their nephews into driving a drug-laden campervan from Germany to India and onto Australia. Logan chronicles their adventures across 10 countries and their eventual arrest by Australian authorities. He also tells the sad story of their imprisonment and long fight for justice. A truly stranger-than-fiction story that also reflects on the politics behind their arrests. Recommended.

Death at The Belvedere by Sue Williams

Text, $32.99

Sue Williams provides a lighter approach to crime with her latest book about unofficial private investigator Cass Tuplin. In Death at The Belvedere, Cass is lured away from the red dust town of Rusty Bore to help her wayward sister Helen recover a valuable book from a crime scene. Helen’s latest boyfriend died after suspiciously falling from the roof of his Melbourne apartment and the police suspect that Helen may be the mysterious woman seen at the scene. Cass agrees to help and finds herself in more trouble than she expected. An enjoyable and often amusing novel with a good mystery plot.

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