Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: robbery

  • The Bank Robber’s Boy

    The Bank Robber’s Boy

    From a young age, Peter Norris was subjected to constant change in his life. He lived in what was a dysfunctional family, with a father who would appear and disappear for varying lengths of time.

    He was groomed to burgle houses, lived life on the run and loved his Dad. As the youngest of four children he had no idea his Dad was the notorious Bank Robber, Clarence ‘Clarry’ Norris, who managed with skill and aplomb at times, to acquire millions and crowned it off by being the first man to break out of Sydney’s Long Bay Jail.

    To Peter he was just Dad.

    The Bank Robber’s Boy tells the story of Peter Norris’s remarkable journey through the challenges of growing up constantly on the move, the love for and of his father, the Welfare system and the love of excellent foster parents who helped and encouraged him to change his life.

    Not written to laud his father, but to share what is a remarkable life, Norris looks at the love that binds, the love that was never in doubt and the time when, as a young teen he had to make the heartbreaking decision to say No to his father.

    Over his tumultuous younger life, he had held down various jobs, succeeding, even as a young boy to be motivated, successful at what he was doing, eventually attending La Trobe University and graduating with a degree in Tourism and Hospitality.

    Today he reaches out as a foster parent to many children, heads up the multi-million-dollar Club Cowara and is a motivational speaker who uses his journey to inspire others.

    Many older Australians will remember vividly the pathway Clarrie Norris carved across Australia as a bank robber and escapee; that his son, once dabbling in the field of crime as a young boy, made the hardest decision of his life at age 13, not to go on the run with his father, is one that needed to be told and one that can only inspire.

  • Public Enemies Russell ‘Mad Dog’ Cox, Ray Denning and the Golden Age of Armed Robbery

    Public Enemies Russell ‘Mad Dog’ Cox, Ray Denning and the Golden Age of Armed Robbery

    Unlike today when it is a struggle to find an ATM, let alone an actual bank, the period of the late 1960’s to the end of 1990’s saw Bank branches sprout on almost every high street corner. Hence it is not surprising that it became the ‘Golden Age of Armed Robbery’; prospective armed robbers could undertake intense reconnaissance, and be assured of a healthy reward for their efforts. Amongst these professional criminals, Russell Cox and Ray Denning were considered to be Australia’s No.1 and No. 2 public adversaries. Their diverse but intertwined lives are chronicled in great detail in Mark Dapin’s well research book ‘Public Enemies’.

    Although quite different characters both started life similarly; their fathers were habitual criminals who spent most of their time when not incarcerated, getting drunk.  There was little upon which to model a wholesome life. Spending their formative years in barbarous children’s homes and brutal juvenile reform institutions, which were places not about rehabilitation but ruthless punishment and sexual abuse, they were disadvantaged from the start.

    Here the main subjects of the book forged networks which stood them in good stead throughout their criminal careers; it’s not surprising that theirs was a life of crime and violence.  Although Mark Dapin has some degree of sympathy towards these men and others like them, he makes it clear that he doesn’t want to glamourize their violent actions, as there are many innocent victims whose suffering ripples through their families to this day.

    Cox’s and Denning’s daring escapes from what were considered impenetrable prisons, has the making of a ‘Boys’ Own Adventure’. After one such bid for freedom, Denning managed to locate Cox in eight days; something which the police could not do in almost eleven years. The author contextualizes their story by introducing their associates, common enemies and even their victims.

    This gripping, entertaining but confrontational book leaves the reader wondering who were the felons; the police who verballed suspects and weren’t averse to using vicious force or those who were actually doing time for breaking the law.

  • The Dirty Dozen

    The Dirty Dozen

    Returning in her fifth book, Jane Tennison has become the first female detective to be posted to the Flying Squad, a position she has worked hard to achieve, but she is finding the going pretty terrible as the team that make up the ‘Sweeny’, known as the Dirty Dozen, are not taking at all kindly to having a woman, no matter how good, posted to their elite group.

    On her first a day a brutal robbery takes place, which sets the scene for another well-constructed plot from Lynda La Plante in The Dirty Dozen, that surges through the streets of London, involving a group of hardened criminals who believe the best cop is a dead cop!

    In typical La Plante style, the plot is such that the intimacy between the reader and the characters develops as the plot unfolds and once again, Jane is forced to pit her skills and intellect again a tide of distrust from the rest of the team, to prove she is more than capable of being a member of this elite Squad.

    She is not to impressed when she finds she has been selected, not just on her merit, but the fact she is female in an experiment to see if working with a woman on the team curbs the ‘clubbish’ nature of the Forces elite. Her nickname of Treacle impresses her even less!

    Becoming friendly with a young, ‘wanna be crook’, she finds herself attending a wedding involving a number of notorious criminals, even having her photo taken with them, an event which will bring both heartache and a breakthrough in a seriously vicious robbery.

    Her exacting attention to detail see her slowly gaining respect from some of the team members, but also finds that as she lacks training in gun use, she is severely limited in what she can safely do, and the team make the most of this, offering her the most menial of tasks to be undertaken.

    Tenacious to the end, Jane and her partner Teflon keep on investigating the mundane, but Jane is beginning to connect the dots, raising the suspicion that a couple of the Sweeny may not be altogether honest cops, which begins to raise a fresh set of issues as there has already been a number of Police suspended on corruption charges.

    When the ending is revealed it is almost an anticlimax as the pace of the plot has been somewhat hectic, but as an entrée into a new division of Police work for the feisty Jane Tennison, it’s a pretty good introduction and an engrossing read.

  • Widows’ Revenge

    Widows’ Revenge

    Following on from Widows, originally published in 1983, Widows Revenge takes things one step further when the three women, Dolly Rawlins, who husband was a respected master criminal and mastermind of the robbery gone wrong, Shirley Miller and Linda Pirelli, decided to get even and stage a heist to end all heists.

    They, along with new recruit Bella O’Reilly set out to complete the final plan drafted by Harry before his death, that of a security van robbery, but while going through Harry’s papers Bella finds the address for Jimmy Nunn, so she decides to pay him a visit. She discovers far more than she ever really wanted to know, which completely changes the rationale for the planned heist; it is now nothing but pure revenge that is the motivating force.

    The four women pull off the heist and flee to Rio in the knowledge that they outwitted the Master himself, Harry Rawlins. The scales are balanced, or are they? But Harry is far from dead. When learns what has happened, his ego takes a devastating blow, and he sets out to discover just where Dolly and the others have gone!

    And so, the storyline is set for another thriller of a novel from the Queen of crime writing Linda La Plante as she carefully plays out what happens next when the four women head back to London, intending to reclaim the remainder of het hidden money, and then go their own way.

    However, Harry is furious he has been outsmarted, his bank accounts cleaned out; he wants revenge and is none too fussy about how he takes that revenge. He slowly pieces together where they have gone and so a very dangerous game begins.

    Who will survive and who will not, is to be discovered as it is a ‘kill or be killed’ situation that finally plays out with surprising results!

    The Afterword ties so much together turning what is obviously a well-crafted plot into something which could indeed be very real!

    A gripping read that is best read after reading or rereading Widows, as it gives a lot more clarity to the Widows Revenge.

  • Baby’s First Bank Heist

    Baby’s First Bank Heist

    This is just the story to capture a child’s attention and sense of humour. It is written in rhyme, which adds to the humour of the story, “There were leopards in his cupboards and a beaver in the bath.” It also addresses the yearnings which some children have, and how solving these problems yourself may not be the best way. Baby Frank is desperate for a pet. His parents however feel he is too young to care for it, and, bottom line, they can’t afford a pet. Frank however, is determined to have his own animal to play with.

    While out shopping one day, Frank suddenly had a thought; the best way to get some money for a pet would be to rob a bank. The interesting thing is because of his size and his determination he was successful, stuffing notes inside his romper suit. The next problem came when Frank had to decide upon a pet to buy, he wanted so many, but would have to keep them hidden from his parents. Eventually his secret was discovered, and he realized that stealing was wrong. However, all the money had been spent, so a clever plan had to be put in place to raise money to pay the bank back, one that would make money and keep everyone happy.

    This is a joyful book to explore. The text and illustrations tie in so well and provide humour visually and orally. Details such as the shop names in the main street “Getaway Travel and The Robber’s Arms,” have us smiling before the story begins. The simple task of choosing a pet becomes overwhelming for Frank as he lacks any sophistication as far as choice or sensible options. As for hiding the giraffe he ordered…..

    Many children love pets and all children will relate to desperately wanting something forbidden. With humour, compromise, and love this story shows how families deal with outlandish situations which can arise.

    Baby’s First Bank Heist is lots of fun to read together and enjoy.