{"title":"Neil Mercer","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNeil Mercer\u003c\/strong\u003e crafts gripping tales that delve into the darker corners of crime and justice. His novels often explore complex characters entangled in moral dilemmas, corruption, and unexpected twists that keep readers on edge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom wrongful convictions to the gritty underworld of crime, Mercer's stories deliver suspenseful narratives woven with sharp insight and relentless tension. Fans of atmospheric thrillers will find his work both compelling and thought-provoking.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-kingpin-and-the-crooked-cop-by-neil-mercer-9781760879952","title":"The Kingpin and the Crooked Cop","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 NED KELLY AWARD FOR BEST TRUE CRIME\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 DANGER AWARD FOR CRIME NON-FICTION\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Stunning revelations, shocking crimes and a cracking read: I thought I knew a lot about these two infamous villains, but what I learned from Mercer's book surprised even me.' \u003cb\u003eKate McClymont, author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eDead Man Walking\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e and \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eHe Who Must Be Obeid\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRoger Rogerson captured Australia's attention as its most notorious cop in the golden age of graft and violence. But who was the real Rogerson? And who was his principal partner in crime, the underworld kingpin, heroin dealer and armed bandit Arthur 'Neddy' Smith? Now Rogerson and Smith are both dead, and the full truth can be revealed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRoger and Neddy have fascinated the public for decades. Our most decorated yet crooked police officer and the murderous drug importer he protected and enabled led interwoven careers that were truly stranger than fiction. Their crimes were committed against the backdrop of a changing Australia, as the nation's social fabric adapted to a more global world, and money - and drugs - poured into the country. Police, judges and even the media were up for sale, and Rogerson and Smith were the princes of this glamorous but bloody kingdom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut as Roger and Neddy grew ever richer and more powerful, their crimes became too brazen, too violent and too public, leading to their spectacular downfall, years in court and life in prison. Crime reporter Neil Mercer knew Roger and Neddy from the early 1980s, when the men were at the height of their powers. He followed their careers for major news outlets, met with them and was given exclusive interviews and insider information. Rogerson even wrote to him from jail. With key witnesses finally coming forward, Mercer has uncovered astonishing new evidence that will rewrite the story of the Australian underworld.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Kingpin and the Crooked Cop\u003c\/i\u003e is the definitive account of Roger and Neddy, and the era that made them. As compelling as any crime novel, it is filled with colour, violence and inside stories never seen or read before.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'This is a truly cracking read. The sweeping array of colourful characters, the front-page incidents, are all covered with flair and a thoroughly entertaining style. This book is a serious history of a lost era in Sydney. There has never been a better, more thoroughly researched summation of Sydney's criminal world from the 70s onwards.' \u003cb\u003eNick Kaldas, former NSW Deputy Police Commissioner\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'The best account of the era that I have read. Meticulously researched and powerfully written.' \u003cb\u003eKeith Banks, author of \u003ci\u003eDrugs, Guns \u0026amp; Lies\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGun to the Head\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'A riveting read. Mercer has left no stone unturned.' \u003cb\u003eTom Gilling, co-author of \u003ci\u003eSmack Express\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBlood Money\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Neil Mercer is just the man to write the definitive account of the lives, times and many crimes of Sydney villains Neddy Smith and Roger Rogerson, one a robber, drug dealer and convicted murderer, the other a (very) corrupt cop . . . tells plenty of stories we haven't heard before.' \u003cb\u003eJason Steger, \u003ci\u003eSydney Morning Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Dedicated readers of True Crime will really appreciate it . . . a lot of new material mixed in very artfully with established material and written by one of our finest investigative journalists and wordsmiths.' \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLife and Crimes with Andrew Rule\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Great reading . . . a real window into the criminal underworld' \u003cb\u003eAndy Park, ABC Radio National\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'A fascinating read.' \u003cb\u003eRay Hadley, 2GB\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47072744636652,"sku":"9781760879952","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/26186463482814.jpg?v=1765129685"},{"product_id":"falsely-convicted-by-neil-mercer-9781761472978","title":"Falsely Convicted","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNine wrongful imprisonments. Nine innocent men and women freed.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAustralia has a robust legal system. According to conventional wisdom, only the guilty end up behind bars. The reality is far more complex and, for First Nations Australians and other minorities in particular, the law can become a trap—one that has condemned completely innocent people to years, even decades, of wrongful imprisonment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eImpeccably researched and compellingly told, \u003cem\u003eFalsely Convicted\u003c\/em\u003e exposes shocking injustices in all their devastating detail. These cases reveal how fragile truth can be, how easily lives can be destroyed, and how freedom—when it arrives—often comes only after everything else has been lost.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere's teacher Josephine Greensill, whose life was upended by allegations from two former students from three decades before. Henry Keogh, who discovered his fiancée dead in the bath, only to be accused—and convicted—of her murder due to catastrophic forensic failures. And Gene Gibson, an 18-year-old Aboriginal man from one of Australia's most remote communities, convicted of a killing by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, hindered by language barriers and entrenched prejudice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eFalsely Convicted\u003c\/em\u003e, Walkley Award-winning crime reporter and bestselling author Neil Mercer turns his investigative skills towards the most chilling crimes of all: the ones committed by the system itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'A meticulous unravelling of Australia's most horrendous judicial failures, Mercer's book reads like a thriller, but at its heart is the devastation wreaked on innocent victims of the legal system. \u003cem\u003eFalsely Convicted\u003c\/em\u003e will make your blood boil—a must-read.' \u003cstrong\u003eKate McClymont, Chief Investigative Reporter at the \u003cem\u003eSydney Morning Herald\u003c\/em\u003e and author of \u003cem\u003eDead Man Walking\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Neil Mercer—one of Australia's finest investigative journalists—has in \u003cem\u003eFalsely Convicted\u003c\/em\u003e crafted a thrilling and unputdownable compendium of miscarriages of justice. There is genuine horror here too—knowing that beneath these tales of concocted confessions, false allegations, skewed forensic evidence and the misdirected motivations of some investigators, sits a judicial trapdoor that could at any moment spring open and swallow anyone. This is true crime at its brilliant best—measured and analytical yet embracing all the dramatic tragedy and redemption of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances. It also raises a flag in tribute to the media and its unending battle to secure justice for the wrongfully convicted. These are not just cases from the past. \u003cem\u003eFalsely Convicted\u003c\/em\u003e rightly suggests that injustice never sleeps. And you just know that the still shocking, life-altering mistakes made here will strike a tuning fork that'll be heard well into the future. Mercer concludes, \"The good fight goes on\", as does his own ascension as one of our most trusted true crime chroniclers.' \u003cstrong\u003eMatt Condon, author of \u003cem\u003eThree Crooked Kings\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47932157624556,"sku":"9781761472978","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781761472978-falsely-convicted.jpg?v=1783855322"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/neil-mercer.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}