Category Archives: Australian crime film

Dishing up Pulp Curry in a new way: why I am starting a Substack newsletter

After much thought I have decided that to experiment with moving the focus of my blogging from this site to a new Pulp Curry Substack newsletter.

Why am I doing this?

The first post on this website appeared on July 2010 (about the incredibly underrated 1979 Australian heist film, Money Moversyou can read the post here). I’ve been writing on the site with varying frequency ever since (579 posts in all), and for the most part have enjoyed it immensely.

But for the last 12 or so months I just haven’t been feeling it – or getting the hits to make it seem worthwhile – and have started to wonder whether it’s worth continuing with the effort. Posting on a website has been starting to feel like the equivalent of trying to read a broadsheet newspaper in a crowded tram carriage, unwieldy and inconvenient.

And, thinking about it, I suspect the blog format is starting to get a bit stale for me and is actually now a brake on my posting more regularly.

I know that I’m no Robinson Crusoe in this regard. The majority of the blogs I used to follow have gradually fallen by the wayside, as people have moved on, grown weary of the effort, found other interests, adopted other means to get their message out, or, in some cases (gulp), died.… Read more

Orphan Road book launch

Melbourne folk, just a very quick heads up that I will be launching my latest crime novel on Tuesday July 11 at Brunswick Bound bookstore, 316 Sydney Road, Brunswick. Details are below. It would be great to see you there.

And if you cannot make the date but would like a copy of the book, please ask your local bookseller to order it in via Ingram Spark or drop me a line and I can fix you up with a copy.

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Orphan Road now available

My latest crime novel, Orphan Road, is now available.

Orphan Road is available from the publisher Down and Out Books. It is also available from Amazon and other online platforms, and bookshops are able to order it via Ingram Spark.

And Melbourne friends, a heads up that I’ll be launching the book at my local bookstore, Brunswick Bound, 361 Sydney Road, Brunswick, on Tuesday, July 11.

Please put that date in your dairy and more details come soon.

Orphan Road – a sequel to my last novel, Gunshine State – sees my (not so) professional thief Gary Chance become involved in the murky aftermath of one of Australia’s largest heists, Melbourne’s Great Bookie Robbery. In April 1976, a well organised gang stole as much as $16 million from bookmakers in the Victoria Club, located on the second floor of a building in Queen Street and the City. The real amount of what was stolen was never confirmed and the culprits, although they are known now, were never identified at the time or apprehended.

But, of course, the heist always goes wrong and while the police never arrested anyone for the Great Bookie Robbery, the various members of the gang fell out amongst themselves, leaving a trail of bodies.

As the starting point for Orphan Road I posited the question, what if a large amount of cash wasn’t the only thing stolen that day in April 1976.… Read more

Pre-orders open for my new novel, Orphan Road

Just a quick heads up to let you know that you can now pre-order my new crime novel, Orphan Road.

You can order it from the publisher, Down and Out Books. It is also available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

For pre-order information, check out this link. You should also be able to order it through your local bookstore, closer to the date.

Orphan Road is a sequel of sorts to my last novel, Gunshine State.

The pitch is as follows:

Gary Chance is an ex-Australian army driver and nightclub bouncer turned professional thief and
in need of a job. An offer comes from a former employer, once notorious Melbourne social
identity, now aging owner of a failing S&M club, Vera Leigh.

A shadowy real estate developer is trying to squeeze Leigh out of a rapidly gentrifying city. But she has a rescue plan that involves one of Australia’s biggest heists, Melbourne’s Great Bookie Robbery. On April 21, 1976, a well organised gang stole as much as three million dollars, a fortune at the time, from a Melbourne bookmakers club. The money was never recovered. No one was ever charged. And everyone associated with the crime has since died, either by natural causes or violently.

Leigh maintains that money was not the only thing stolen that day.Read more

The noir genius of Mr Inbetween

Late year I chaired a panel in which several American crime writers discussed their most memorable discoveries in terms of noir television and film during the various COVID lockdowns we have all endured. As the moderator I did not get any time to discuss my own discovery, but if I had it would have been the Australian/American television production, Mr Inbetween.

My first piece for the US CrimeReads site for 2023 is a love letter to one of my favourite Australian television shows, Mr InBetween. You can read it in full on their site at this link.… Read more