Social services and welfare, criminology Books

The heartwarming and hilarious part-memoir, part-guide from comedian and father-of-six Ashley Blaker, on parenting, adoption and raising children with special needs. ‘A funny, irreverent and loving book’ Daily Express‘We had such a variety of experts...

Damian longs for home, but one man stands in his way … Damian is just seven when he is taken in by foster carer Cathy Glass. His mother, Rachel, loves her three young children dearly, but she is vulnerable, naive and unable to cope on her own.Cathy sets...

‘Beautiful, emotional and hopeful, but have tissues to hand.’ Liz FenwickWhen Stephanie is told she’s pregnant and that she is sick on the same day, she faces an impossible choice… After trying for a baby for so long, finding out I was pregnant was...

‘I was hooked from page one. Be prepared to laugh and cry throughout this book!’ Reader review, ‘A fabulous family drama…it kept me turning the pages from beginning to end’ – Kerry Fisher the bestselling author of The Silent WifeYou can run from a lie,...

A heartbreaking true story of a broken family and the foster carer who wants to keep them together… The Watsons are no strangers to sibling placements but when Casey takes the call from her supervising social worker one frosty January morning, she can...

The true story of a 6-year-old boy with a dreadful secret. Oskar’s school teacher raises the alarm. Oskar’s mother is abroad and he has been left in the care of ‘friends’, but has been arriving in school hungry, unkempt, and with bruises on his arms,...

When Reece arrives at Cathy's door aged 7 years old, he has already passed through the hands of four different carers in four weeks. As the details of his short life emerge, it becomes clear that to help him, Cathy will face her biggest challenge yet.The...

A Mafia boss tells all .... to his former neighbour Anthony 'Gaspipe' Casso, boss of New York's Lucchese crime family, was a Mafia superstar, responsible for more than fifty murders. Now serving thirteen life sentences at a federal prison in Colorado,...

In the first book on philanthropy written from a donor’s perspective, businesswoman and philanthropist Lisa Greer lifts the lid on our charitable sector, with an authentic account that describes exactly how outdated...

A 5-year-old boy, Ethan, is brought to Casey in the middle of the night after the sudden death of his young mother after a drug overdose. Estranged from her parents, Ethan’s mum had been abused by her ex-partner, and began taking drugs to cope. Ethan is...

"A true-crime masterpiece." —Don WinslowFrom the FBI’s former assistant director, a shocking journey to the dark side of America’s highways, revealing the FBI Highway Serial Killings Initiative’s hunt for the long-haul truckers behind an astonishing...

The 32nd fostering memoir from international bestseller Cathy Glass Struggling to cope with three young children, Janie turns to experienced foster carer Cathy Glass. Helping the family each morning, Cathy soon uncovers how dangerous their situation has...

'Pentridge was a place of murder and mayhem. A bluestone hell. The worst prison Australia has ever seen.' Andrew Kirby, former inmate Welcome to Pentridge, Australia's most infamous prison.In the long-awaited return to his bestselling true crime series...

SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER‘If you think the UK isn't corrupt, you haven't looked hard enough … This terrifying book follows a global current of dirty money, and the murders and kidnappings required to sustain it’ GEORGE MONBIOT, GUARDIANAN ECONOMIST AND...

Underbelly meets Molly's Game - the true crime investigation that rewrote the story of Melbourne's infamous gangland war and triggered a royal commission. Melbourne's gangland war was an era dominated by murders, stings, hits, drug busts, corruption and...

We can’t choose who we love. We can choose who we fight for. ‘A powerful story that proves how love itself requires courage’ Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing ‘Storytelling at its best’ Sarah Winman ‘The perfect book club read’ AJ...

Finding Stevie is a dark and poignant true story that highlights the dangers lurking online. When Stevie’s social worker tells Cathy, an experienced foster carer, that Stevie, 14, is gender fluid she isn’t sure what that term means and looks it up...

The definitive account of Australia's most notorious criminal case When bodies were discovered in barrels in 1999, hidden within a bank vault in Snowtown in South Australia, Jeremy Pudney was one of the first journalists on the scene. Now, using his...

Yarns and memories that capture the experience of policing in the bush, gathered by the inimitable Bill 'Swampy' Marsh, bestselling author of GREAT AUSTRALIAN FLYING DOCTOR STORIES and GREAT AUSTRALIAN CWA STORIES.  'I tell you, you meet some...

The fifteenth fostering memoir by Cathy Glass. Danny was petrified and clung to me in desperation as I carried him to my car. Trapped in his own dark world, he couldn't understand why his parents no longer loved or wanted him, and were sending him away...

‘I’m going to love my baby and give her lots of attention,’ Jade said. ‘I’ll show my mum she’s wrong.’Jade, 17, is pregnant, homeless and alone when she’s brought to live with Cathy. Jade is desperate to keep her baby, but little more than a child...

Killer Looks is the definitive story about the long-forgotten practice of providing free nose jobs, face-lifts, breast implants, and other physical alterations to prisoners, the idea being that by remodeling the face you remake the man. In the beginning,...

Charities play an outsize role in the social, cultural and economic life of the nation, delivering goods and services on which lives depend. To effectively serve their communities, charities also participate in politics: campaigning for changes to law...

This book tells the history of adoption in Australia from its beginnings in the nineteenth century to its decline at the beginning of the twenty-first. The authors find that a market in babies has long existed. In the early years supply outstripped...

Demand for childcare has soared over the past decade as Australian families seek to reconcile work and care responsibilities. But the cost of care keeps rising, waiting lists in many metropolitan centres are long, and high quality services are not always...

Buying and Selling the Poor ventures behind the scenes of the multibillion-dollar welfare-to-work system, offering new insights into how Australia responds to unemployment and disadvantage. As the authors tell the story of four local employment offices,...

As much as everyone groans from time to time about the humdrum and stresses of work, retirement is an unsettling prospect for most people. It's a major transition in anyone's life and change of this magnitude often arouses anxiety. This is much more so...

“An invaluable guide.” Noel Whittaker, International bestselling author and finance writerWinner of the Australasian Journal on Ageing (AJA) Book Award. Informative and insightful, this is the essential family guide to navigating elder care and...

Guilty as charged.If reading true crime is a guilty pleasure, this collection of stunning heists and unspeakable murders from the front pages of history will leave no doubt about the verdict.Three unsuspecting men's lives cut short at the hands of their...

Over the last decade, Carol Gray's Social Stories approach has become established as a highly effective way of teaching social and life skills to children on the autism spectrum. Taking the form of short narratives, the Stories in My Social Stories Book...

It was the double murder case that gripped Australia, and former Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi KC is finally able to share all the astonishing details.Shortlisted for the 2023 Danger AwardsDorothy Davis and Kerry Whelan were both happy, healthy,...

What really goes on behind prison walls and in the hearts and minds of inmates?Few know better than Phyllis Taylor who, inspired by Oprah Winfrey's Toronto Lifeclass featuring six incarcerated women, left a comfortable and prestigious career teaching...

An invaluable resource for everyone concerned for the vulnerable people in their lives.Estimates suggest almost half of the adult population will someday be a caregiver, whether for an aging parent, an ailing partner, or a disabled family member. It is a...

Awards and HonorsReader Views Literary Awards Program Gold Award Independent Press Distinguished Favorite Award Book Excellence Awards Finalist

Homer Hudelson spent 30 years in the San Francisco Police Department and experienced some extraordinary events firsthand, such as the Dan White Riots, the SF State Civil Rights Demonstrations, and the search for the Zodiac killer. In addition to his role...

This book consists of a series of anecdotal experiences of a police officer in a small, but growing, police department in the suburban Denver area. Although set in the 1960's and 70's, it is easily translatable to today's law enforcement experience. It's...

"The Adoption: An Angels Way" is a compelling true story about an unlikely couple's struggle to adopt a Thai baby. This is a story about chance, divine intervention, and some wonderful blessings. This book is the perfect companion for all families...

A compelling new picture of one of the most important, complex, and misunderstood figures of our time.The name George Soros is recognized around the world. Universally known for his decades of philanthropy, progressive politics, and investment success,...

After being named Assistant Director of Intelligence for the Capitol Police just days before the 2020 election, Julie Farnam warned its leadership of the upcoming insurrection, sharing that "Congress itself is the target on the 6th." Tragically, her...

Why most Americans' finances improved during the worst economic contraction since the Great Depression-and the policy choices that made this possibleIn March 2020, economic and social life across the United States came to an abrupt halt as the country...

Over two million individuals are behind bars in US prisons, living in isolation from their families and their communities. Prison/Culture investigates the culture of incarceration as an integral part of the American experience through a compilation of...

A new account of urban Victorian life told through the dubious day-to-day of London's police courts.Nether World presents a rich, often humorous glimpse into everyday life in Victorian London through a revealing account of nineteenth-century...

The moment in the sun for special operations sometimes appears to have passed, seemingly eclipsed by preparations for potential conflict under the guise of 'great power' competition, combined with failure in Afghanistan. Yet the war in Ukraine serves as...

How institutional and interpersonal policing have been central to worldmakingPolicing is constitutive of colonial modernity: normalizing, internalizing, and legalizing anti-Black violence as the ongoing condition for white life and freedom. The result,...

This book is about investigating prison gang crimes-the crimes gang members commit for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in association, with the specific intent to promote, further, and assist their criminal street gang. A story told by me, a...

<p><strong>A critical anthology exploring the debates, conundrums, and promising practices around abolition and social work in academia and within impacted communities.<br /><br...

"A master class in how to be a person." --Joanna Rakoff, bestselling author of My Salinger Year"Astonishing...one of the most moving memoirs I've read." --Caroline Leavitt, best-selling author of With or Without You and Days of Wonder. In Breath Taking:...

Exposes Arabella Advisors as a major "dark money" operation that channels billions into progressive causes through opaque networks and deceptive grassroots groups, revealing its significant influence on U.S. politics and its far-reaching impact on issues...