Select Editions, Reader’s Digest (letter to author when including it in their Encounters edition, October 2002):

..an eye-opening account of the terrible things that can happen when the law is in error, and the grave damage serial killers inflict, not just on individuals and their families, but on the community as a whole. …..we feel sure readers will respond to your detailed and moving account of …

Judges’ comments on winning the Historical & Critical Studies (non-fiction) category of the 1999 WA Premier’s Literary Awards

In searching for answers concerning a possible miscarriage of justice, Estelle Blackburn has provided a detailed reconstruction of a series of events which illuminate the social history of Perth in the 1960s. Focusing on the extraordinary and chilling crimes of serial killer Eric Edgar Cooke she provides a fascinating insight …

The Australian

Brilliant reconstruction of the crimes of Perth’s hare-lipped serial killer…this six-year reinvestigation leaves no room to doubt that Darryl Beamish did 15 years for a murder committed by Cooke in 1959 and that John Button did five years for a 1963 murder by Cooke. Why do the guilty get off …

Innisfail Advocate

Graphic and gripping…magnificent…one of the greatest works I have ever read on crime, courts and police…amazed at the detail…the Australian literary equivalent of In Cold Blood (Truman Capote) and Executioner’s Song (Normal Mailer). Estelle Blackburn is one hell of a brilliant author.

Herald Sun

A painstakingly researched book that throws new light on Cooke’s crimes and points to what may be one of the worst miscarriages of justice in Australia…Blackburn’s image of Perth in the 1960s and her account of the impact of Cooke’s reign of terror is compelling…that the story she tells is …

The Australian

Random, incomprehensible violence…unspeakable crimes…a peeping Tom crouching excitedly at bedroom windows and lovers’ cars…Blackburn’s meticulous reconstruction of these frightening times is a masterly piece of work – and definitely not for bedtime reading…step by step she has uncovered the terrible details of Cooke’s murders…an outstanding work of investigative journalism.