“These two are the best first person true crime books of that era in Queensland that I have read.”
- Matthew Condon, Author of Three Crooked Kings; Jacks and Jokers; All Fall Down
“Banks has told his story in a raw and honest autobiography. It is the best true crime book published in Australia in a decade.”
— John Silvester, Crime Reporter for The Age on Drugs, Guns and Lies
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
In Queensland’s 1980s, violent men were needed to deal with violent criminals. This is the true story of the experiences of Keith Banks as a member of the Tactical Response Group in that era: the danger, loss and the impact of struggling to maintain his identity in a world few people experience.
“I stepped on his chest and put the barrel of my MI6 to his forehead. I could feel his body trembling under me as I looked down at him. I felt no pity. This was a little bit of payback for his victims”
SAS Instructors Course 1987. Entry to the Killing House.
The true story of the world of an undercover cop in 1980s Queensland. No training, no backup, little support and unfettered access to guns, drugs and cash. What could go wrong?
I sometimes wondered whether our real lives were our actual cover: acting as normal people with the attendant facades that life required. We spent that time waiting for the next job so we could become the person who didn’t obey the rules or conventions.
That was the problem: the fear and the rush were too fucking addictive….