Throughout her short life, Sallie-Anne Huckstepp lived a dangerous existence. This is a true story, brilliantly told, of someone who was gutsy and determined – and who paid the ultimate price for speaking out against corruption and murder.In 2014, Xoum is proud to release a new edition of this seminal work.Praise for Huckstepp by John Dale‘A marvellous book, brilliantly written and researched.’ Louis Nowra‘A significant, original work that challenges as much as it reveals.’ The Australian‘Dale nails the treachery, corruption and decadence of a part of Sydney society that traces its origins to the Rum Corps.’ Andrew Rule‘A brilliantly constructed record of one of Kings Cross’ most infamous characters. A great city story.’ The Australian‘A fine and disciplined piece of writing.’ HQ‘As gripping as a thriller.’ The Northern Star‘Only the very famous – or infamous – are known by a single name. Huckstepp conjures memories of the bad old days in Sydney; of a time when cops and crims were as likely to be allies as enemies. In the age of Underbelly, John Dale’s new edition of Huckstepp is a timely reminder of the human cost behind the headlines. Through extensive interviews with those who knew, loved and used Sallie-Anne Huckstepp, Dale vividly recreates a time when heroin was currency, and corruption and murder were the everyday tools of violent men. It is a deadly, dangerous, brutal world, depicted with realism, not romanticism. For some, the name Huckstepp will forever carry a frisson of excitement, the promise of secrets, sex, drugs and crime. In this book, Dale ensures that Sallie-Anne’s name will also forever remind us of that fateful moment when a young woman with a gap-toothed smile and a story to tell naively believed that publicity would guarantee her protection. Huckstepp is still famous, but her story runs deeper than the headlines. In this book, Dale takes the reader beyond the underbelly, into the very belly of the beast.’ P.M. Newton

    Following on from Our Story, Ron Kray fills in the gaps and gives his version of the murders of Jack The Hat McVitie and George Cornell, describing his bisexuality and his marriage in Broadmoor and clarifying many of the misconceptions about the years when he and Reg ruled the London underworld, shot enemies at will and simultaneously socialized with some of the most glittering politicians, celebrities and hostesses of the time.

    Britain has always been a land of gallows, and every town had its hanging post and local 'turn off man.' First these men were criminals doing the work to save their own necks, and then later they were specialists in the trade of judicial killing. From the late Victorian period, the public hangman became a professional, and in the twentieth century the mechanics of hanging were streamlined as the executioners became adept at their craft. Britain's Most Notorious Hangmen tells the stories of the men who worked with their deadly skills at Tyburn tree or at the scaffolds in the prison yards across the country. Most were steeled to do the work by drink, and many suffered deeply from their despised profession. Here the reader will find the tale of the real Jack Ketch, the cases of neck-stretchers from the drunks like Curry and Askern, to the local workers of the ropes, Throttler Smith and the celebrated Billington and Pierrepoint dynasty. Along with some of the stories of famous killers such as William Palmer and James Bloomfield Rush, here are the bunglings, failures and desperate lives of the notorious hangmen, some who could entertain the vast crowds enjoying the show, and others who always faced the task as a terrible ordeal.

    Part of one of the most prominent and richest families in America: The du Pont Family. Then, strangely, he started losing his mind. This is what is known: du Pont was a fan of amateur sports and established a wrestling facility at his Foxcatcher Farm. He befriended several Olympic champions--including Dave Schultz, who he murdered. It was a never a question of if he did it; the question is why. What turns an otherwise sane man into a psychotic killer? This page-turning true crime story will take you into the mind of a man who had everything and let it all fall away due to madness and paranoia.

    Boss of the Richardson Gang and rival of the Krays, to cross him would result in brutal repercussions. Famously arrested on the day England won the World Cup in 1966, his trial heard he allegedly used iron bars, bolt cutters and electric shocks on his enemies.The Last Gangster is Richardson’s frank account of his largely untold life story, finished just before his death in September 2012. He shares the truth behind the rumours and tells of his feuds with the Krays for supremacy, undercover missions involving politicians, many lost years banged up in prison and reveals shocking secrets about royalty, phone hacking, bent coppers and the infamous black box.Straight up, shocking and downright gripping, this is the ultimate exposé on this legendary gangster and his extraordinary life.

    This is one of them. Seven-year-old Samantha Zaldivar is reported missing in February 1997. Despite the best efforts of the community and law enforcement to find her, it seems the first grader has disappeared without a trace until the forensic evidence leads a multi-agency task force to an ugly possibility. Months later, an unlikely turn of events reveals the young girl’s fate, which rocks the rural county in Western New York. Dedicated and meticulous police work brings a murderer to justice, but not without a cost to those involved. Stephen C. Tarbell, a retired Wyoming County Sheriff’s investigator shares his personal account of the investigation into the disappearance and murder of Samantha Zaldivar.

    John Branion was found guilty of murdering his wife in their posh Chicago home. After exhausting his appeals, he evaded authorities by fleeing to Africa. He was finally captured in 1983—but his case was far from over. It would take another seven years for Dr. Branion to finally win his freedom—and for those who prosecuted him to admit that he could not have committed the murder, and that they knew it all along.Acclaimed mystery writer Barbara D'Amato was drawn to this story two decades after the murder, as Dr. Branion languished in prison, ill and without hope. Her meticulous research repeatedly led her to one startling conclusion: that it was impossible for Donna Branion's murder to have unfolded the way the police alleged. In this award-winning account, D'Amato deftly explores the intriguing facts of this shocking case—from the tragic blunders made by authorities to Branion's arrest, conviction, and years practicing medicine in Africa as a fugitive from justice. The result is a damning indictment of our criminal system—and the vindication of an innocent man.The Doctor, The Murder, The Mystery by Barbara D'Amato won the Anthony and Agatha Awards for Best True Crime. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed Cat Marsala mysteries, including Hard Case and Hard Christmas. She lives in Chicago.The 1992 Anthony Award for Best True Crime and the 1993 Agatha Award for Nonfiction for The Doctor, the Murder, the Mystery

    Posing as jewel thief “Donnie Brasco,” Pistone spent the next six years undercover in the Family, witnessing-and sometimes participating in-the Mafia's gruesome activities while gathering enough evidence to send over 200 gangsters to jail. Pistone told his story in the 1988 book Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia-a New York Times bestseller and later a feature film starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino. But because of pending trials at the time of publication, many details of the alleged crimes were held back. Now, in Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business, Pistone for the first time reveals with great detail the horrific deeds of wiseguys Tony Mirra, “Lefty” Ruggiero, Sonny Black, and the rest of the cold-blooded Bonanno crew. Pistone puts the operation into historical perspective, detailing the timeline of Mafia trials that crippled the New York City crime family over the past 25 years. He also recounts his experiences after the operation, his time on the Hollywood set with Pacino and Depp, and other undercover operations through present-day. A tense, thrilling account of the greatest infiltration ever by a federal agent into the most brutal gang of killers in the world, Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business is the final chapter in the story of a real American hero.

    The book is an extraordinarily account of how a young Dubliner became a multi-millionaire criminal. It uses first-hand interviews with Gilligan, his thugs, friends, family, enemies, anti-drugs activists, members of the IRA and the police. It tells of violence, kidnapping, shootings, criminal espionage, drug dealing and how criminal gangs vied for power to control the Irish trade in drugs. Shocking, fascinating and frightening, 'Gangster' also tells the story behind the murder of Veronica Guerin, the crime reporter. Fully updated and revised with new photographs.

    Fish’s defense attorney obtained the services of Dr. Fredric Wertham for Fish’s psychiatric examination. Dr. Wertham’s files were ordered closed until 2010. Documents from Wertham’s files, including confessions and writings by Albert Fish, are published here for the first time in history.FULLY ILLUSTRATED - INCLUDING:CONFESSIONS AND OTHER WRITINGSIncludes never before seen documents handwritten by Albert Fish. FISH’S OWN STORY OF WEIRD LIFEWritten by Albert Fish for the NY Daily Mirror Newspaper.FROM THE FILES OF DR. WERTHAMFish’s Psychiatric Examinations and Rorschach Test Results.MASKS HAVE NO EARSFrom Dr. Fredric Wertham’s Book, The Show of Violence.ALSO INCLUDESCourt Documents, Correspondence, Grace Budd & Billy Gaffney Confessions, newspaper excerpts, photographs, and Fish's Vile Letters.

    

    The search would last only five days before the worst came to pass. Gary Hilton, suspected in the deaths of three more hikers across the Southeast, was arrested for her murder. What was once a small mountain town had fallen into the sights of a serial killer. Less than a month later, Hilton would plead guilty and be sentenced to life in prison in one of the swiftest cases in Georgia history. Lead investigator John Cagle shares the details of the investigation from start to finish in this day-by-day account. Witness the struggle firsthand to seek justice for Meredith, all while protecting her memory from the opportunists, sensationalist reporters, and unscrupulous practices that threatened to deny her the dignity she deserves. Discover not only the facts of her murder, but the impact on the personal lives of those who worked tirelessly to find her. For them, those days in January will never end.

    Do not buy this summary & analysis if you are looking for a full copy of this fascinating book, which can be found back on the Amazon search page.Instead, we have already read Orange Is the New Black and pulled out some of the key points, story lines and insights to give you a comprehensive chapter-by-chapter summary & review. In doing so, unfortunately we do not have the space to include all of the many important ideas and anecdotes found in Orange Is the New Black. To get it all, you should first order the full book. Packaged together in an engaging and easily digestible format, this concise summary & analysis works best as an unofficial guide or companion to read alongside the book. ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK: MY YEAR IN A WOMEN’S PRISON by PIPER KERMAN -- SUMMARY, REVIEW & ANALYSIS As a naive 24-year-old looking for adventure, Piper Kerman got into a romantic relationship with a woman 10 years her senior who was running a heroin smuggling operation. For a short time, being the girlfriend of an older woman who was a drug smuggler seemed exciting and risqué to Piper. Puppy-like, she followed her girlfriend around the world and played the role of the "kept woman" in all sorts of exotic locales: Bali, Belgium, France, and Switzerland. Although Nora didn't ask anything illegal of Piper in the beginning, the day came when Nora asked Piper to carry a suitcase full of cash into Brussels. Piper agreed to help. Several years later, when Piper was living in New York City, working as an art director and dating her future husband Larry, federal agents knocked on her door. In this summary, you will discover:•The prison work system, where inmates are often paid about as much for their labor as people who work in factories in developing nations. •Most of her new neighbors in Prison Dorm B were African-American; spending time with them helped Piper to recognize and overcome some of her more subtle racial prejudices.•Sometimes inmates would flirt with male officers; other times, male officers would give unwelcome and uninvited sexual attention to the women.•Most federal prisoners, both at the time of Piper's incarceration and today, are non-violent drug offenders.•Piper finally admitted fault and revealed a sense of remorse for her actions when she described herself as a party to the drug addictions of some of her incarcerated friends.You will get all this and much more!FROM START-TO-FINISH IN JUST 30 MINUTES!Here's your chapter-by-chapter guide to Piper Kerman's Orange Is the New Black that you can download right now!

    

    Anjette Lyle's restaurant was a popular gathering place. It was the place to go for lunch to hear the latest news. Then, one day, Anjette Lyles was charged with the murders of two husbands, her mother-in-law, and her nine-year-old daughter, all committed over the course of seven years. The case was the most sensational Macon had ever seen. The newspaper accounts spiced up the allegations of murder with references to voodoo ceremonies and black magic. The trial attracted record crowds and received worldwide coverage. Anjette Lyles was a glamorous figure and spectators stood in line for hours, hoping for just a glimpse of the defendant. Both lucidly written and emotionally engaging, this is the story of a woman who was called both "cold-blooded" and the "sweetest woman I ever knew," and despite overwhelming evidence and her conviction, many still believe that she was innocent.