KILLING FOR PLEASURE - Debi Marshall
A disused bank vault holding eight dismembered bodies immersed in barrels of acid. Two bodies buried in a suburban backyard. A further two found in the bush.
Informed by material never seen before - an interview with Bunting's last lover Elizabeth Harvey, and with the Crown's key eye-witness James Vlassakis and with details of the torture and crimes not previously released - this is a tensely woven and microscopic examination of tawdry lives and tragic deaths.
Four men who tortured and killed for fun, for power. Four men who kept each other's dark secrets for years. By the time the police investigation concluded, the story had invited comparison with the nightmare of Rosemary and Fred West, the British House of Horrors. Details of what the killers did to their victims before and after their deaths were deemed so depraved that suppression orders were in place throughout the trial. But the killers were not insane. They made deliberate choices to kill and lived in a culture of complete anarchy, sadistic violence, deviance and chaos.
Journalist and author Debi Marshall explores the killers' psychopathic makeup in minute and harrowing detail. She charts the victims' exposure to generational paedophilia, incest, unemployment and hopelessness. Marshall covers the exhaustive trials and interviews the lawyers who ran them. Through interviews, she captures the voices of the victim's families and examines the police and forensic investigation and then wades into the social structure that spawned the people in this story.
Book Review:
Quick comments, rather than a full review, but for those that aren't aware - this is a book about the notorious South Australian "Snowtown" killings. There's only ever been a couple of other books that have taken me longer to read - KILLING FOR PLEASURE has been picked up, read a bit and put down since 2006.
Not because of the writing, or the analysis or even the nature of the crimes - this book covers one of those completely inexplicable, sad, pointless, horrible crimes that really did happen - as unlikely as that could possibly be. It also attempts to look for some answers, albeit seemingly on the basis of the author's own research - there appears to be little by way of official explanations or consideration. Ultimately this was a very difficult book to read because this is real life and this is about the nature of a place and society that allowed twelve people (they know about) to disappear over seven years.
Other Entries About this Book:
Books
Book Review
Other Entries About this Author:
Author
Debi Marshall :
15 Jul 2011 - 10:05pm
Book Review
LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER - Debi Marshall :
1 Jun 2011 - 11:00pm
KILLING FOR PLEASURE - Debi Marshall :
16 Aug 2010 - 10:26pm
Blog entry
Currently Reading - Lambs to the Slaughter, Debi Marshall :
16 Mar 2011 - 5:58pm
Ned Kelly Short List for 2007 :
26 Jul 2007 - 2:43pm
Currently Reading - The Devil's Garden, Debi Marshall :
17 Nov 2011 - 2:29pm
Books
Her Father's Daughter :
28 Jul 2011 - 8:01pm
Justice in Jeopardy :
28 Jul 2011 - 8:04pm
Killing for Pleasure :
28 Jul 2011 - 8:05pm
Image
Debi Marshall :
30 Jul 2011 - 1:37pm
