“Mostly it only took a trumped up charge to ruin a reputation and silence a person, but sometimes the rat pack that ruled Perth in the 1970s would have to resort to murder. Not the back room, needle in the arm, overdose kind of murder that could so easily be written off, nor the disappearance altogether of troublemakers like anti-drugs campaigner, Donald Mackay and publisher, Juanita Nielsen on the east coast of Australia. Away from prying eyes in one of the remotest and richest cities on earth, there was no need to hide your crime. A public display, a theatrical performance, murder in the west was a bit of a joke. Dressed to impress in her finest ball gown, dripping with expensive jewellery and driving her limited edition luxury car, society madam Shirley Finn was invited to the busiest spot near town for a very special occasion — a kind of modern day public execution — her own murder. They knew they wouldn’t be caught. Their power reigned supreme.” |
xiv, 237 pages ; 23 cm #010122/071223 Includes bibliographical references (pages 225-231). Previous edition published by Alto Books in 2015. Whish-Wilson, David, writer of foreword