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Title: Jacks and Jokers
Subtitle: Three Crooked Kings, Book 2
Author: Matthew Condon
Narrator: Dave Treddinick
Format: Unabridged
Length: 17 hrs and 20 mins
Language: English
Release date: 09-01-17
Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd
Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime
Publisher's Summary:
The gripping second instalment of the rise - and spectacular fall - of one man, an entire state and generations of corruption.
'The message was powerfully clear. If you threatened the harmony of the Joke, you didn't last long.'
1976. Terry Lewis, exiled in Western Queensland, is soon to be controversially appointed Police Commissioner. As for the other two original Crooked Kings, Tony Murphy is set to ruthlessly take control of the workings of 'The Joke' while Glen Hallahan, retired from the force, begins to show a keen interest in the emerging illicit drug trade. Meanwhile, ex-cop and 'Bagman' Jack Herbert collects the payments and efficiently takes police graft to a whole new level.
The Joke heralds an era of hard drugs, illegal gambling and prostitution and leaves in its wake a string of unsolved murders and a trail of dirty money. With the highest levels of police and government turning a blind eye, the careers of honest police officers and the lives of innocent civilians are threatened and often lost as corruption escalates out of control.
Revealing more incredible facts and previously untold stories, award-winning journalist and novelist Matthew Condon once again exposes the shocking behaviour outside the law by the law.
Members Reviews:
Is there too much detail?
The book traces a fascinating period in Queensland (and Australia's history) and shows how police corruption can thrive when the lines between the separation of state and the police force become blurred or dissappear completely. It is also a sad reflection on the quality of the Queensland politicions of that period.
The author's research is prodigious and in some places I was wondering if he could have been compressed the narrative without losing too much. At times I had to keep going back a few pages to remind me who he was referring to. I can appreciate that in legal terms and as a book which could be nominated for required reading in a course, this is probably necessary, but to the average eader it can become boring.
Neverthess I will be looking forward to reading the next volume in this trilogy and probably an account of the Fitzgerald enquiry as well.
A good read
Jacks & Jokers is a an enjoyable read with several amazing revelation about the political landscape and police corruption in Queensland during the late seventies and early eighties. The first in the series (Three Crooked Kings) was for mine a better book with a tighter narrative but this second part was still very interesting all be it possibly weighed down by the incredible number of stories Matthew tried to include. Its a thorough investigation of an astonishing period in the states dark history.
I'm very much looking forward to the third of the trilogy.
Fantastic book by a dedicated writer Matthew Condon
Fantastic book by a dedicated writer Matthew Condon. To say it depicts a sad time in Queensland's history is a gross understatement. It shows the lengths that certain people will go, how low they are willing to stoop, and who they are willing to hurt/kill in the process, if the political climate is ripe for the pickings- and it was.
After reading this book I now wonder when do you ...
After reading this book I now wonder when do you trust government and their departments.
