The Fatalist

The Fatalist begins with the author's first encounter with Lindsey Rose while playing pool at The Burwood Hotel in 1988. At that time, the author was two years out of high school, and unbeknownst to them, Rose had already committed three murders.

The locals knew him as a brothel owner and knew not to cross him, but they had no idea about his past lives: fitter and turner, ambulance officer, private investigator, car thief, hijacker, arsonist, mercenary, drug dealer—and murderer.

For six years, the author frequented The Burwood. The last time they saw Lindsey as a free man was in early 1994 at a poker game at their home. By that point, Rose had committed two additional murders on Valentine's Day 1994, bringing his total to five.

What drives the making of a cold-blooded killer? How does a seemingly relaxed, sociable, loving man with a strong work ethic successfully conceal the truth of his inner life, his dark side, from friends, family, and even the woman he marries?

Informed by the science of criminal psychology, court documents and transcripts, and correspondence, as well as numerous interviews with Rose in the notorious Goulburn Supermax prison, Campbell McConachie's account is a unique and fascinating journey into the life and mind of a multiple murderer.