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Top five crime and mystery picks

Podcasts, movies, longreads and more

Mystery stories, true crime, and unsolved murders all have audiences fascinated (thanks, Serial).

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And you can get your hit from a podcast, an absorbing read, a book or movie.

Here are a few newbies and old faves that we recommend for armchair detectives. 

1. The Darkest Web – book by Eileen Ormsby

“Hitmen for hire, drugs for sale. Inside the dangerous world that lurks beneath the bright, friendly light of your internet screen.”

Eileen Ormsby spent five years of her life deep diving into the mysterious dark web. This book takes you into the “murkiest” depths of the web, a place for hitmen hire, red rooms, hurt core sites and markets that really do sell anything. Riveting.

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The Darkest Web

2. Father Joe: Saint or Sinner – article by The West

Perth priest Father Joseph Tran allegedly took his own life after being confronted by a 12-year-old girl’s mother, who accused him of sexually assaulting her daughter. Police were on their way to his home to question him when they found him dead.  

“Can you ever really know another person?” claims the promo for the project, which explores whether Father Joseph was guilty of what he was accused of.

The West has been investigating the story in installments.

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3. Boghouse – podcast

The Boghouse follows a wild, wonderful and totally true tale told by Australian-born Melissa Dunphy and her husband Matt. The couple “bought a magic theatre from a pedophile, discovered treasure, and became accidental amateur archaeologists.”

boghouse

4. Swindled – podcast

“A true crime podcast about white-collar criminals, con artists, and corporate evil.”

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Crime isn’t always a murder mystery. Swindled claims that “Money truly is the root of all evil,” and it follows different stories of crimes that are financially motivated. Embezzlement, fraud, Ponzi schemes, environmental disasters and more. It even covered the infamous Fyre Festival.

swindled

4. In Her Skin – movie

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This film is based on the true story of the murder of 15-year-old Rachel Barber. She went missing on 1 March, 1999. Later, it was discovered that Rachel was murdered by her former neighbour and baby sitter, 19-year-old Caroline Reed Robertson, who strangled her with a phone cord. She plotted to steal Rachel’s identity.

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The 2009 movie stars Miranda Otto, Guy Pearce and Sam Neill.

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