It is about Derek Ernest Percy, a child killer who has been locked up for over 40 years and is also a person of interest in several other unsolved child murders and disappearances, including the most famous case in Australian history – the Beaumont Children who went missing in 1966 in Adelaide.

It is hard reading and Debi Marshall has done an excellent job, especially with the sources, including Percy’s mother and the relatives of the murdered and missing children.

Late last year (after book was published) an inquest was held into the disappearance and probable murder of seven-year-old Linda Stilwell in St Kilda in 1968. Percy’s lawyer objected to him giving evidence on the grounds of self incrimination and the coroner ruled it would not be in the public interest to grant a certificate for Percy to to give evidence without fear of prosecution.