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Murder in Mississippi

winner of the Ned Kelly Award for best true crime

John Safran

$22.99

Paperback

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English
Penguin
24 September 2014

ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- It's probably safe to say that John Safran's approach to true crime writing is very different. His style recreates his documentary approach so vividly that I 'see' John leaning in to frame as he explains what has just occurred. Or gripping his hand-held video recorder as he does a 'selfie' to camera. The writing is engaging, with many amusing turns of phrase that paint an interesting picture of what it's like being a 'newbie' sleuth in action.

It's also a really tightly structured book, cleverly revealing more details along the way, making it compulsive to read. I found my own assessments of the key people getting tangled at times. That is a big part of this book - different versions and opinions can leave you perplexed as to what the real truth is. Is there an objective truth? How deep do you want to go? Philosophy rears its ugly head. At one point John expresses this struggle: 'In Mississippi, the more layers of the onion I peel, the more I'm standing in a mess of onion.'
 
Those who might condemn Safran for his tactics and modus operandi cannot fault his heart. He has followed his ingrained fascination with those who seek to vilify and categorise humans with a zeal that befits the most ardent white supremacist or religious zealot:

"I've been on a piece of elastic my whole life, being drawn closer and closer, to this meeting in this forest today. There is no one in the world - not one of the seven billion - who would appreciate this bizarre scene more than me."

Craig Kirchner

NED KELLY AWARD WINNER 2014 TRUE CRIME

When filming his TV series, Race Relations, John Safran spent an uneasy couple of days with one of Mississippi's most notorious white supremacists, Richard Barrett. A year later, he heard that Barrett had been murdered, and what was more, the killer was black.

At first the murder seemed a twist on the old Deep South race crimes. But then more news rolled in. Maybe it was a dispute over money, or most intriguingly, over sex. Could the infamous racist actually have been secretly gay, with a thing for black men? Did Safran have the last footage of him alive? Could this be the story of a lifetime?

Seeing his 'Truman Capote moment', he jumped on a plane from Melbourne to Mississippi to cover the trial. Over the next six months, Safran got deeper and deeper into the South, becoming entwined in the lives of those connected with the murder – white separatists, black campaigners, lawyers, investigators, neighbours, even the killer himself. And the more he talked with them, the less simple the crime, and the world, seemed.

Murder in Mississippi is a brilliantly innovative true-crime story. Taking us places only he can, Safran paints an engrossing, revealing portrait of a dead man, his murderer, the place they lived and the process of trying to find out the truth about anything.

Murder in Mississippi by John Safran at Abbey's Bookshop 131 York Street, Sydney

By:  
Imprint:   Penguin
Country of Publication:   Australia
Dimensions:   Height: 202mm,  Width: 130mm,  Spine: 23mm
Weight:   274g
ISBN:   9780143572084
ISBN 10:   0143572083
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Reviews for Murder in Mississippi: winner of the Ned Kelly Award for best true crime

ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- It's probably safe to say that John Safran's approach to true crime writing is very different. His style recreates his documentary approach so vividly that I 'see' John leaning in to frame as he explains what has just occurred. Or gripping his hand-held video recorder as he does a 'selfie' to camera. The writing is engaging, with many amusing turns of phrase that paint an interesting picture of what it's like being a 'newbie' sleuth in action.

It's also a really tightly structured book, cleverly revealing more details along the way, making it compulsive to read. I found my own assessments of the key people getting tangled at times. That is a big part of this book - different versions and opinions can leave you perplexed as to what the real truth is. Is there an objective truth? How deep do you want to go? Philosophy rears its ugly head. At one point John expresses this struggle: 'In Mississippi, the more layers of the onion I peel, the more I'm standing in a mess of onion.'
 
Those who might condemn Safran for his tactics and modus operandi cannot fault his heart. He has followed his ingrained fascination with those who seek to vilify and categorise humans with a zeal that befits the most ardent white supremacist or religious zealot:

"I've been on a piece of elastic my whole life, being drawn closer and closer, to this meeting in this forest today. There is no one in the world - not one of the seven billion - who would appreciate this bizarre scene more than me."

Craig Kirchner





'The elegance of this book is that its axis is a resounding 'perhaps' ...It is this moral ambivalence that draws readers to the true crime genre, and Safran nails it' Weekend Australian 'Mississippi is like a trampoline for [Safran's] eccentricities. But the form and content of the story bring out an unfamiliar side of him' Sydney Morning Herald 'A winning combination of memoir, true crime and gonzo journalism ...a compulsive summer read' Sunday Mail 'Funny and gripping and wonderfully weird ...It's a tremendous book. I can't praise it too highly' Louis Theroux 'Witty, insightful, compelling - In Cold Blood for our generation' Eddie Perfect '[Safran] has written a marvellous book which I cannot put down' Melbourne Observer 'Now I know what to recommend people who liked Them' Jon Ronson (The Men Who Stare at Goats and The Psychopath Test) 'Stunning' Men's Style 'John Safran's captivating inquiry into a murder in darkest Mississippi is by turns informative, frightening and hilarious. It is enlivened by a swarm of creepy locals and a torrent of astonishing details--such as hedge clippers put to surgical use in the performance of an official autopsy.' John Berendt, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil John Safran Murder in Mississippi - A Penguin True Story. Come face to face with the main characters, and become immersed in the sites and sounds of the Deep South at https://www.penguin.com.au/true-stories/john-safran/


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