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Once Upon a Time in Melbourne
Once Upon a Time in Melbourne
Once Upon a Time in Melbourne
Ebook413 pages6 hours

Once Upon a Time in Melbourne

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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About this ebook

Once upon a time in Melbourne there was a gigolo who thought he was a vampire. He bit the tongue off a prostitute and was then murdered in broad daylight on a suburban street. His execution, top brass believed, was organised by police. The aftershocks of this killing—and the murder of a state witness and his wife inside their fortress homerocked the police force and the Parliament, vanquished one government and brought the next to its knees.
This is the story of police corruption for years swept under the carpet to avoid a Royal Commission. It is the story of a police force politicised to the point of paralysis and a witness protection program that buries its mistakes. It involves a policeman still free and living in a very big house, a drug baron who survived the gangland war only to be murdered in the state's most secure jail, and battles royale within a police force comprised of thousands of pistol-packing members.
This is the story of Melbourne around the first decade of the new millennium: its lawmen, villains and politicians. It is a bizarre, tawdry, unbelievable tale. But every word of it happened.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateDec 1, 2015
ISBN9780522870015
Once Upon a Time in Melbourne
Author

Liam Houlihan

Liam Houlihan is currently the crime reporter with the Sunday Herald Sun. An award-winning journalist and qualified lawyer he has reported from New York for the New York Post, Washington DC as part of the press pool, Sri Lanka after the tsunami and around Australia. His crime stories are syndicated throughout News Limited’s national papers.

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book is an interesting history of crime, criminals, and the Victoria Police who tried to change things in Melbourne. It details two different crimes from start to finish and explains the impact these crimes had on the police involved. To say the least, Melbourne has a very colorful history. I received this book for free from NetGalley for a review and I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed it. The writing was very concise and well written. It had an excellent timeline that was easy to follow and understand. One statement that I really liked, made by Simon Overland, was he "knew the darkness that was in criminals was also in the hearts of bad cops." I think that is so true no matter where in the world you live. I especially liked the fact that the author brought you up to date on what the characters were doing today. It wa a very good book and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys true crime.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A fascinating history of modern Melbourne crime and policing. The book features two major crime incidents from start to finish. Houlihan presents the crime timelines in easy to read snippets, looking at the roles of various police and criminals (sometimes both at once). The snappy anecdotes have an almost Elroy feel. Great for the lover of true crime.  

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Once Upon a Time in Melbourne - Liam Houlihan

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