Wanda: The Untold Story of the Wanda Beach Murders

From Booktopia: On an overcast, wind swept day in January 1965, two teenage girls were raped and murdered on an isolated beach in Sydney's southern suburbs. The discovery of their bodies the following day sparked a public outcry, media frenzy and one of the largest police investigations in Australian history. To this date the deaths of Christine Sharrock and Marianne Schmidt - notoriously know as the Wanda Beach Murders - remain unsolved and the story behind the crime has never been told. In this book Alan Whiticker re-creates the lead-up to the aftermath of the murders and provides a fascinating insight into the history, lives and fate of Christine and Marianne.

Thoughts: I use to be almost fanatical about books to do with murders - especially mass murderers, serial killers and unsolved murders. However, after awhile it became hard to find anything new, different. Anything that wasn't simply a rehash of stuff I'd read before. 
When this came through the returns chute a work it looked interesting enough for me to pick it up. It is one of those events carved into the psyche of many Australians. Two girls who were brutally murdered with no real trace of who committed the crime. 
The thing that most probably stood out for me in this is how far our law enforcement services have come in the processes they use. Everything they do now is so more precise and the equipment they have available a lot more accurate.
The book contains no explosive insights. What it does do is analyse the crime investigation and the media coverage of the murders. It looks at possible links to other murders and the suspects who came under the microscope.
Wanda is well written and keeps you turning the pages. As I said, nothing explosive, but well worth the read if true crime is a topic you are interested in.  

Wanda gets 3 stars

 *        Did not like it
**       It was OK
***      Liked it
****    Really liked it

*****   It was amazing

Book Review: This House of Grief

From Goodreads: On the evening of 4 September 2005, Robert Farquharson, a separated husband, was driving his three sons home to their mother when his car plunged into a dam. The boys, aged ten, seven, and two, drowned. Was this an act of deliberate revenge or a tragic accident? The court case became Helen Garner's obsession. She was in the courtroom every day of Farquharson's trial and subsequent retrial, along with countless journalists and the families of both the accused and his former wife.
In this utterly compelling book, Helen Garner tells the story of a man and his broken life. At its core is a search for truth that takes author and reader through complex psychological terrain. Garner exposes, with great compassion, that truth and justice are as complex as human frailty and morality.

Thoughts: Harrowing is a word that instantly springs to mind in regards to this book. Helen Garner sat through and shares her thoughts about the trial of Robert Farquharson, a man convicted of murdering his three sons by driving his into a dam and allowing them to drown.
I've read a lot of true crime books, but Garner is the first writer who manages to not sensationalise or aim purely to horrify the reader. Her observations are thoughtful, heart-rending and have the tone of someone who is truly interested in the truth and at times conflicted by what she sees and hears in the courtroom. It's also a book that examines our jury system, removing any idea of the glamour of prestige Hollywood portrays these trials to be. Instead it shows how gruelling, often boring and frequently distressing they can be.
This House of Grief is a harrowing (there's that word again!)read, but well worth the emotional roller coaster it will take you on.