200,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿 

Black Friday Sale on Now! Save up to 25% off Books, Toys, Board Games, & Puzzles! ✨

Confronting Murderous Men

Australian Police Slain in the Line of Duty 1922-1952
By Alan Leek
0.0 (0 reviews)
Brief Description
In the turbulent years from 1922 to 1952, Australia witnessed a chilling toll as twenty-two dedicated police officers sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. Others fell with them. Emerging from the shadows of World War I, the nation, newly minted and resilient, navigated through... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3999
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In the turbulent years from 1922 to 1952, Australia witnessed a chilling toll as twenty-two dedicated police officers sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. Others fell with them.

Emerging from the shadows of World War I, the nation, newly minted and resilient, navigated through The Great Depression's pall, only to confront the re-emergence of war. During World War II, police officers, though deterred from enlistment, were released for service, or seconded for intelligence work, thrusting expanded responsibilities onto those who remained.

Operating in an unspoken battleground, law enforcers met their demise at the hands of dangerous criminals – murderous men driven by madness or consumed by hatred, most to cover crimes of little worth. Their stories unfold in gun battles, investigations gone wrong, opportunistic killings, and the disturbing murder of two police officers dismembered and burnt by petty thieves.

This collection of stories is more than sensational; they are the tales of lives cut short. Each story stands testament to the indomitable spirit of those who faced duty's relentless call during an era when greed held sway over decency.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781923144446

Publisher: Big Sky Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 31 July 2024

Country: Australia

Imprint: Big Sky Publishing

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 230.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 386

Collections

Alan Leek Biography & Memoir Crime & Thriller Fiction New Zealand and Australia Published True Crime

About the Author

With a distinguished 34-year career in the NSW Police, Alan Leek's narrative weaves through the intricate tapestry of law enforcement. Serving as a detective in Sydney, its suburbs, and the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains areas, he rose to the rank of superintendent. Leek's leadership included roles such as officer-in-charge of Blacktown-Mt. Druitt detectives and commanding officer of the challenging Cabramatta patrol during the heroin trafficking era and Australia's first political assassination. Alan has used his policing background and meticulous research to write books including Whirlpool VC, The Killing Chronicles, Rat in the Ranks. Rendezvous with Death, Confronting Murderous Men is his fifth book.  

Also by Alan Leek

View all
  • Rat in the Ranks
    Australia was a grim place during the Great Depression with little or no money for leisure. Small bets on horse racing were a common diversion, but illegal thanks to the pious with political sway. Outlawing the practice simply created opportunities for murderous thugs, criminal activity and corruption. Police were required to enforce the hated gaming laws, pitting themselves against the...
    By Alan Leek
    Paperback
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Rendezvous with Death
    The harrowing true stories of fallen police officers and how they met their end in a rendezvous with death on the path of duty. A new century and a new nation forged by the will of the people seemed to turn a new page and raised hope for a better future. In this there was abundant truth, but there still...
    By Alan Leek
    Paperback
    $3999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Blood on the Badge
    Gunfights, stabbings, and unspeakable violence — these are the true stories of the officers who stood between chaos and order. Early 20th-century criminals were among the most ruthless in Australia’s history. Their violent excesses left communities reeling. In an era when handguns, explosives, and Tommy guns were the weapons of choice, police officers faced down dangerous offenders without modern tactics,...
    By Alan Leek
    Paperback
    $3999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

Browse lists from our team

The Latest at Book Hero

View all

More from Crime & Thriller

View all
  • New Release
    Adam and Eve
    THE FINAL NOVEL FROM THE MASTER STORYTELLER Armistice Day 1918. Two children are born on the same day, hours – but worlds – apart. One the son of a shepherd, the other the daughter of an Earl. Adam and Eve. Their births mark the end of one war. Their love will change the outcome of another. 'If there were a...
    By Jeffrey Archer
    $3900
    Elsewhere:
    $4999
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    King’s Ransom
    Five innocent hostages. Five private investigators. A fiendish ransom game. Has Detective Sam Speedman met his match? A fast and deadly Matthew Reilly thriller. A DARING ABDUCTION The richest man in the world has been kidnapped. Along with four of his children. THE DEADLY CHALLENGE The kidnapper's demand: the five best private detectives in America must come to the missing...
    By Matthew Reilly
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • King’s Ransom
    On Sale
    18% off
    New Release
    Eve's Pick Eve's Pick
    King’s Ransom
    Five innocent hostages. Five private investigators. A fiendish ransom game. Has Detective Sam Speedman met his match? A fast and deadly Matthew Reilly thriller. A DARING ABDUCTION The richest man in the world has been kidnapped. Along with four of his children. THE DEADLY CHALLENGE The kidnapper's demand: the five best private detectives in America must come to the missing...
    By Matthew Reilly
    Hardback
    $3700
    Elsewhere:
    $4999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The French Illusion
    Bestselling author John Grisham delivers a new gripping, suspenseful page-turner about aParis honeymoon gone horribly wrong - and the nightmare that follows. After Paul and Chelsea Tanner's fairytale wedding, their future is full of promise. But their honeymoon to Paris takes a dark, shocking turn when they are kidnapped while on a day trip to the French countryside. Who would...
    By John Grisham
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Chain Reaction
    Jack Reacher, \"the coolest continuing series character\" (Stephen King), returns in a brand new, pulse-pounding read from Lee and Andrew Child. The world’s bestselling hero is back in a brand new, high-octane adventure! ‘She knew that finding Reacher would not be easy . . .’ Washington DC. General Susan Turner needs help from the only guy she knows will get...
    By Lee Child and Andrew Child
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Family Cross
    In the gripping new thriller in James Patterson's globally bestselling series, Alex Cross faces his most personal case yet as a ruthless conspiracy targets Washington's most vulnerable... and his own family. Discover the latest gripping thriller in the globally bestselling Alex Cross series - now the inspiration for the original series CROSS on Prime Video starring Aldis Hodge as Alex...
    By James Patterson
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Heights
    In The Heights by #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sir Ian Rankin, murder comes to London's most exclusive high-rise - and every resident is a suspect... MURDER COMES TO LONDON'S MOST LUXURIOUS HIGH-RISE: AND EVERY RESIDENT IS A SUSPECT. The Heights: a gleaming, high-end high-rise looming over Hyde Park. Newly built from steel and smoked glass, it is a billionaire's playground offering sumptuous suites...
    By Ian Rankin
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    26% off
    New Release
    Death Row
    With all hope of an appeal fading away, the fate of a condemned murderess takes a shocking turn in a breathtaking short story from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Housemaid! A thrilling novella from #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden! Death is coming for her… unless she finds the truth first. Talia Kemper is on death row for murdering...
    By Freida McFadden
    Paperback
    $1700
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Signed Copy
    On Sale
    12% off
    Dying Days
    Award-winning writer delivers a pulse-pounding espionage thriller. Missing soldiers, MI6 secrets and European partisans collide in a deadly game where the lines between lies and reality are fast disintegrating. In the dying days of the Second World War, a new conflict is about to ignite. May, 1945: After fighting to liberate Europe from the Nazis, Tito's Yugoslav Army and Allied...
    By Anthony Byrt
    Paperback
    $2800
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    22% off
    New Release
    Fury In Death: An Eve Dallas thriller (In Death 63)
    In the new crime thriller from the bestselling author, Lt. Eve Dallas journeys into the darkness where murder is born… NYSPD homicide detective Eve Dallas has seen a lot in her time but even she is shocked by the savagery of a beating which leaves a wealthy biotech executive dead in his home office. The victim’s corpse is so mangled...
    By J. D. Robb
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • On Sale
    25% off
    New Release
    Tom Clancy Pressure Depth
    Jack Ryan Jr leads a team of divers in a race to beat the Chinese Navy to a weapon of terrible destructive power in the latest entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series. Jack Ryan Jr. is on Guam to work on a project for Hendley Associates. It's a perfectly ordinary insurance matter, but trouble finds the Ryans...
    By Jack Stewart
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Country Road Murders
    On Sale
    13% off
    The Country Road Murders
    From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a pulse-pounding thriller about justice, vengeance and the roads that lead us home. No one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades — LEE CHILD Cross Rivers is the kind of small town where everyone knows your name – and your secrets. Silas Tucker...
    By James Patterson
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 200,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.