Jacks and Jokers

Overview

Continuing on from the bestselling true crime story Three Crooked Kings, Jacks and Jokers opens in 1976. Terry Lewis, exiled in western Queensland, is soon to be controversially appointed Police Commissioner. As for the other two original Crooked Kings, Tony Murphy is set to ruthlessly take control of the workings of "The Joke," while Glen Hallahan, retired from the force, begins to show a keen interest in the emerging illicit drug trade. Meanwhile, ex-cop and "Bagman" Jack Herbert collects the payments and efficiently takes police graft to a whole new level. The Joke heralds an era of hard drugs, illegal gambling, and prostitution, and leaves in its wake a string of unsolved murders and a trail of dirty money. With the highest levels of police and government turning a blind eye, the careers of honest police officers and the lives of innocent civilians are threatened and often lost as corruption escalates out of control. Revealing more incredible facts and previously untold stories, award-winning journalist and novelist Matthew Condon once again exposes the shocking behavior outside the law by the law. Jacks and Jokers is the gripping second installment of the rise and spectacular fall of one man, an entire state, and generations of corruption.

Reviews

"A powerful treatment of an inelegant past that still smolders."  —Weekend Australian on Three Crooked Kings

"Delivers its promised 'explosive true story' . . . a fabulous tale of graft, extortion, sex, drugs, and mayhem. Condon's deft touch makes [this book] immediate, engaging, and riveting."  —Newtown Review of Books on Three Crooked Kings

"Broken new ground in telling disgraced former police commissioner Terrence Lewis's story."  —Australian on Three Crooked Kings

"A kick-arse piece of literary nonfiction!"  —John Birmingham, author, He Died with a Falafel in His Hand on Three Crooked Kings

"A great writer tackling a sordid part of Australia's past."  —Readings Monthly on Three Crooked Kings

"Hailed as the most explosive book of 2013—a riveting epic and unrelenting tour-de-force which will shock a nation. And it's all true. Compelling stuff."  —Chronicle on Three Crooked Kings

"Condon's book is the missing piece of the puzzle of the story of Queensland's endemic generational corruption.'  —Gleebooks Gleaner on Three Crooked Kings

"Paints a compellingly dark picture."  —Sydney Morning Herald/Saturday Age/Canberra Times on Three Crooked Kings

Author Biography

Matthew Condon is a prize-winning Australian novelist and journalist. He is currently on staff with the Courier-Mail's Qweekend magazine and previously worked for leading newspapers and journals including the Sydney Morning Herald, the Daily Telegraph, and the Sunday Age. He is also the author of several books of fiction, including The Ancient Guild of Tycoons, Brisbane, and The Lulu Magnet, Three Crooked Kings, and The Trout Opera.