Dead By Friday - How lust and greed led to murder in the suburbs
Book Details
Author(s)Derek Pedley
PublisherDerek Pedley
ISBN / ASINB00AN8ZPWW
ISBN-13978B00AN8ZPW4
Sales Rank188,694
MarketplaceUnited States 🇺🇸
Description
Dead by Friday was shortlisted for Best True Crime in the 2013 Ned Kelly Awards, Australia's premier crime-writing awards and won the 2013 South Australian Press Club Award for Investigative Coverage.
A compelling portrait of murder for hire in the Australian suburbs, it begins when a dangerous sexual predator seduces her husband's sleazy boss. Their obsessive affair leads to public sex and disturbing fantasies. Two mothers talk murder outside a primary school and suddenly down-payments are being made on contracts to kill. From the suburbs that spawned the Snowtown bodies-in-the-barrels killers, enter the hitman, a criminal who eats speed for breakfast and murder contracts for lunch - on a sandwich.Â
Award-winning journalist and true-crime writer Derek Pedley draws on five years of research as he takes readers inside the police investigation - and the killer's mind - to find the answers to one of Australia's most intriguing and horrifying crimes. For the first time, the truth about the lovers who wanted their partners dead, but didn't count on shrewd detectives, a brave husband and a shattered family - all determined to bring three killers to justice.
SYNOPSIS
He was once a bronzed lifesaver but is now a balding, overweight tyre-shop manager nearing 40, an ambitious man with desires his marriage cannot satisfy. She is 29, the wife of one of his employees; a serial cheater and manipulator, she can curl her lips into a knowing smile and bat bedroom eyes at any man who cares to take a second look. Kevin Matthews and Michelle Burgess are made for each other.
The affair begins with furtive sex in parks and offices, moving on to whiskey-fuelled trysts in motels. Their marriages crumble, his career and finances suffer and the obsession deepens. The pillow talk turns sinister. She issues ultimatums. Drastic action is needed if they are to start a new life together.
At the front gate of a suburban primary school, in between mothers' small talk, two murder plots are hatched. Contracts - complete with photographs of Matthews' wife and Burgess' husband - are issued. Enter amateur hitman David Key, who says he'll do both for $50,000. It is the perfect plan: Kevin and Michelle will escape their marriages, claim the $100,000 life insurance policy on Matthews' wife, Carolyn, and live happily ever after.
But their lust and greed is infectious; Key is instantly infatuated with Michelle, the "high-class sheila" who has hired him, and a second, parallel affair begins. When she tips over the edge into a manic and delusional state, the situation spins out of control, leading to a shocking and brutal crime.
It is recounted through the eyes of detectives, witnesses, families, friends, lovers and one of the intended victims, Michelle's husband Darren Burgess.
On the surface, it is a random and horrific crime without a motive. Who would kill a much-loved wife, mother and respected lifesaver? DEAD BY FRIDAY draws on the meticulous investigation and puts readers at the detectives' sides as they hunt the killers. It seeks the disturbing truth about Michelle Burgess - how did a schoolgirl who told extravagant lies to get attention grow up to be a serial sex-predator-turned-killer? The truth is revealed in a forensic profile that reaches conclusions that shock even the eminent forensic psychologist who compiled it.
Discover how the conspiracy and crime unfolded, leading to an inexplicable third affair, and the seduction of prison officers behind bars. Should authorities fear Michelle Burgess may try to strike again?
A compelling portrait of murder for hire in the Australian suburbs, it begins when a dangerous sexual predator seduces her husband's sleazy boss. Their obsessive affair leads to public sex and disturbing fantasies. Two mothers talk murder outside a primary school and suddenly down-payments are being made on contracts to kill. From the suburbs that spawned the Snowtown bodies-in-the-barrels killers, enter the hitman, a criminal who eats speed for breakfast and murder contracts for lunch - on a sandwich.Â
Award-winning journalist and true-crime writer Derek Pedley draws on five years of research as he takes readers inside the police investigation - and the killer's mind - to find the answers to one of Australia's most intriguing and horrifying crimes. For the first time, the truth about the lovers who wanted their partners dead, but didn't count on shrewd detectives, a brave husband and a shattered family - all determined to bring three killers to justice.
SYNOPSIS
He was once a bronzed lifesaver but is now a balding, overweight tyre-shop manager nearing 40, an ambitious man with desires his marriage cannot satisfy. She is 29, the wife of one of his employees; a serial cheater and manipulator, she can curl her lips into a knowing smile and bat bedroom eyes at any man who cares to take a second look. Kevin Matthews and Michelle Burgess are made for each other.
The affair begins with furtive sex in parks and offices, moving on to whiskey-fuelled trysts in motels. Their marriages crumble, his career and finances suffer and the obsession deepens. The pillow talk turns sinister. She issues ultimatums. Drastic action is needed if they are to start a new life together.
At the front gate of a suburban primary school, in between mothers' small talk, two murder plots are hatched. Contracts - complete with photographs of Matthews' wife and Burgess' husband - are issued. Enter amateur hitman David Key, who says he'll do both for $50,000. It is the perfect plan: Kevin and Michelle will escape their marriages, claim the $100,000 life insurance policy on Matthews' wife, Carolyn, and live happily ever after.
But their lust and greed is infectious; Key is instantly infatuated with Michelle, the "high-class sheila" who has hired him, and a second, parallel affair begins. When she tips over the edge into a manic and delusional state, the situation spins out of control, leading to a shocking and brutal crime.
It is recounted through the eyes of detectives, witnesses, families, friends, lovers and one of the intended victims, Michelle's husband Darren Burgess.
On the surface, it is a random and horrific crime without a motive. Who would kill a much-loved wife, mother and respected lifesaver? DEAD BY FRIDAY draws on the meticulous investigation and puts readers at the detectives' sides as they hunt the killers. It seeks the disturbing truth about Michelle Burgess - how did a schoolgirl who told extravagant lies to get attention grow up to be a serial sex-predator-turned-killer? The truth is revealed in a forensic profile that reaches conclusions that shock even the eminent forensic psychologist who compiled it.
Discover how the conspiracy and crime unfolded, leading to an inexplicable third affair, and the seduction of prison officers behind bars. Should authorities fear Michelle Burgess may try to strike again?
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