Milat cover art

Milat

Inside Australia's Biggest Manhunt - a Detective's Story

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Milat

By: Clive Small, Tom Gilling
Narrated by: Peter Hosking
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $21.99

Buy Now for $21.99

About this listen

A true insider's story of the backpacker murders from the detective who led the team that arrested Ivan Milat.

Milat - the serial killer who preyed on young hitchhikers. The backpackers - the innocent victims of a brutal murderer. Belanglo - a place that became synonymous with pure evil. It was the biggest and most complex manhunt in Australian history, an investigation that gripped a nation. Behind the many false leads and dead ends, precious clues emerged that pointed to one man.

This is the story of how Ivan Milat was caught. Clive Small takes us inside the operation he led as his team painstakingly pieced together the evidence that put Milat behind bars. But questions remain. Did he act alone? Were there other victims? How much did his family know? And what of his great-nephew, who brutally killed a young man in 2010?

Chilling, forensic, compassionate - this is the definitive story that could only be told by someone at the centre of the police operation. It is also a powerful argument for the investigation of more than 100 unsolved murders.

©2014 Clive Small and Tom Gilling (P)2016 Bolinda Crime Murder Social Sciences True Crime Scary
All stars
Most relevant  
Great book, true information, have a new understanding of how they work. Very well written!

Worth the time

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Measured and balanced account authored by the cop who lead the investigation. Does seem a bit like a summary prepared for a Commission of Enquiry though. The narration wasn’t quite my style either but was ok. Overall it’s a worthwhile but not gripping account of what was a shocking case.

Overall worth listening to

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved the fact that it did not acknowledge the criminal but the focus was the Human Resources: - friendships, humility, detection, devotion and dedication. Absolutely fascinating. Thank you.

Fabulous

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What made the experience of listening to Milat the most enjoyable?

Well read with fascinating detail and insight into what occurred behind the scenes, behind the headlines that we all read back then. I couldn't put this one down.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Learning about the family involvement.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Scared me a little.

Any additional comments?

A gruesome part of Australian history that people should know about. Milat is behind bars forever but I'd be more worried about certain family members.

Fascinating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very well structured book. The Broader context of the media and an inside look at how a task force works was fantastic. The victims and their families were treated respectfully and I really enjoyed this tale of painstaking police work that bought a serial killer to justice. I enjoyed the performance but in parts the readers delivery is a little flat, a minor complaint though.

Fascinating inside look

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great read ! It's from the perspective of the detective running the task Force investigating the murders and whole sequence of events leading to his arrest and conviction; but also about police procedure and the politics at the time within the task Force in getting the job done. It goes beyond the Milat murders to include how police homicide investigations improved substantially from the systems and procedures put into place; and cites a few examples of solving other cold cases after Milat was jailed. Highly recommend.

An insider's view ... Great read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
great book, i liked how the victims and their families were always considered in the telling of the case. there is an interest back story about some of the police themselves that it's a bit gossip-y but not bad. I was only young when these crimes occured so I knew the name but was fuzzy on the case behind it. this fills in those blanks.

interesting story behind an infamous case

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Enjoyed listening to this book and very well read but It’s hard to believe how many monsters are in this world that could do such horrific things to people.

Great book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
If you've ever wanted to really know about Milat, then getting it straight from the investigators perspective is a great start. This is a great book. Well worth listening to. Part 1 focuses on Milat and is intensely interesting. Part 2 revolves around a Milat but diverges off into discussions of other unrelated yet noteworthy crimes in NSW. The discussion of those crimes in this book seems out of place.

I recently listened to a podcast where NSW Police were ridiculed for their failure to act when the Paul Onions attack was reported. That criticism is just and accurate. Small brushes it off as though it was inconsequential and unlikely to have diverted Milat from his murderous journey. This is the standard rebuttal of a commissioned NSW Police Officer to criticism and its sad to see that style enter the literature. It does the book no favours.

I would have like to have read more about Milat's motives. Why did he do it? Information from post arrest psychiatric analysis would be a great addition to the book.

Other than this, it's entirely worth reading or listening too

Intensely interesting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found this book a little to clinical ,the narrator was a little monotone but I think that is the way the had been written .

clinical and factual

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.