Trial of the Outback: The Lindy Chamberlain Story is a potent reminder that fighting for the truth is worth it, writes Sam Brooks. “The dingo ate my baby!” If there’s one line synonymous with Lindy Chamberlain’s story, it’s that. There’s a cruel irony that it’s not even what she said after the tragic death of … Read more
The second season of the female-focused anthology series is as much a portrait of a disintegrating marriage as it is a crime story, writes Catherine McGregor. This review contains mild spoilers for episodes one and two. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, they say, but we all know it’s not actually true, not … Read more
The most famous solved cold case of the 21st century finds its way to the small screen in I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, but it’s as much an ode to the closer as it is a depiction of the criminal, writes Jean Sergent. In the fervour of the true-crime trend, people who don’t get … Read more
Wondering how to spend a long weekend when you can’t leave the house? Emily Writes has a guide to all the other wild documentary series you could watch. Netflix’s true crime/poverty porn series Tiger King is a hit, there’s no doubt about it. It’s been the streaming service’s most popular title for nine days straight … Read more
The new true crime documentary sensation shares many of the flaws of its own subject, writes Sam Brooks. Joe Exotic, the man at the centre of Netflix’s new documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, is a star. There’s an unnerving charisma that burns through the tattooed eyeliner, the sickly bleached hair and the … Read more
Crime week: In 1931, 17 year-old Phyllis Avis Symons was buried alive by her partner in the fill from construction of Mount Victoria Tunnel. The man who killed her was hanged. The case was a sensation, and is the focus of Andi C. Buchanan’s new novel, extracted here. You know how the story will go, … Read more
Jean Sergent is left bemused and beaten-down by CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties, a book that sucked up two decades of the author’s life. As the resident murderino on The Spinoff’s guest roster, I’m the natural choice to review this new book on the Manson murders. Timed for … Read more
Sometimes, less is more. Even when it comes to Quentin Tarantino (Warning: Contains mild spoilers). Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is an impressive film. It’s got great acting, stunning visuals, and a twist ending, all laced with the sort of attention to detail you’d expect from the nuttiest of film nuts out there. It’s … Read more
Jean Sergent reviews Prime TV’s Manson: The Lost Tapes, a documentary that looks inside the Manson Family and sheds light on the darkest ‘family’ in recent American history. It’s going to be a glut season for Manson Family content, with the 50th anniversary of the Tate Labianca murders in early August. Tom O’Neil’s new book … Read more
True crime aficionado Jean Sergent reviews The Five by Hallie Rubenhold. In the annals of Ripperology, there are classics and there are clangers. The latest slew of “Jack the Ripper finally uncovered!” headlines recycle the same faulty DNA studies, but there has never been a definitive answer to the mystery of identity of the Whitechapel … Read more
A real-life mother-daughter twisted true crime story makes it way to Lightbox tomorrow in The Act. Jean Sergent reviews the television event of the season. As a connoisseur of true crime, there is no telly event I’ve been more excited for this year quite like The Act. Chronicling the horrific crimes of Dee Dee Blanchard and … Read more
All the superheroes are coming to Lightbox this month – Spider-Man, Aquaman, Jennifer Lopez, Spongebob Squarepants – but there’s a few villains in the bunch too. It’s your round-up of what is coming to Lightbox in April. The Act (Four episodes dropping April 4, then weekly) From Jean Sergent’s review of The Act, coming later this … Read more
It was the *other* double murder that defined the nineties – the one that wasn’t OJ-related. Coming to Lightbox today is its TV dramatisation: Law and Order True Crime: The Menéndez Murders. But who are all these people? Sam Brooks has the info you need. I was not yet born when Lyle and Erik Menéndez walked on … Read more
Black Sheep is a RNZ series about the shady, controversial and sometimes downright villainous characters of New Zealand history, presented by William Ray. Here he introduces Joseph Burns and Margaret Reardon, partners in murder. October 10th, 1847. The brutal murder of a Devonport family leaves Auckland fearing an invasion of vengeful Māori. But when that threat fails … Read more
Bringing back an awesome show from 20 or 30 years ago may seem like the answer to all our modern TV problems, but is it really? Today, Calum Henderson examines the case for bringing back a true crime masterclass. Mike Bungay QC was a New Zealand lawyer so famous they gave him his own TV … Read more
Black Sheep is a RNZ series about the shady, controversial and sometimes downright villainous characters of New Zealand history, presented by William Ray. Here he introduces Thomas Hall, the Timaru man whose murder trial was an 1880s sensation. “You have achieved in the annals of crime the position of being the vilest criminal ever tried … Read more
Michael Bennett won the 2017 Ngaio Marsh crime writing award for best book of non-fiction on Saturday night for his book In Dark Places, a study of the wrongful, shameful conviction of Teina Pora for the 1992 murder of Susan Burdett. The excerpt is from the opening chapter. Content warning: This chilling excerpt describes the … Read more
Duncan Greive watches Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, a miniseries following the true 90s case that gripped the world and caused a media circus. You know the true crimewave is getting out of hand when Law & Order is getting in on the game. The franchise, of which True Crime: the Menendez … Read more
From small beginnings in January last year, the true crime podcast My Favorite Murder has grown into a worldwide phenomenon. Ahead of their Auckland show next week, Lucy Gable pays tribute to creators and hosts Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff, while Sam Brooks lobs them some questions. Imagine this; It’s a shitty, wet Saturday night and … Read more
Exclusive: a book by Steve Braunias, a memoir by the woman who was left for dead by Tony Dixon, and a former TV reporter’s investigation into the wrongful conviction of Teina Pora all feature in the shortlist for this year’s crime writing awards. Ye olde Spinoff Review of Books can exclusively reveal the finalists of … Read more