The Thrill of It is about the unbelievably shocking activities of a seemingly charming salesman who molests and brutally murders many elderly women. The location is Sydney and the time about 35 years ago. The salesman is referred to as ‘he’ throughout the book, which is not a bad way to evince a sense of contempt for the man. Who he is and what he does was inspired by a person who became known as the Granny Killer.Â
This can be seen as a horror story, even though it has no elements of the supernatural. It deserves that name for two very good reasons. One is that what this man does is so awful; the other is Mandy Beaumont’s superbly understated depictions of the molestations and murders. She conveys enough detail for you to understand what is happening without rubbing your nose in it. The horror of the atrocities he commits is made ever more palpable for being portrayed as ordinary everyday events – justified as the need to feed his uncontrollable appetite. In this, Beaumont exhibits a deep understanding of the mind, motivations and behaviour of this human who has let himself become a monster.
But saying this book is a horror story leaves it short. It is also a detective story, featuring the other protagonist in the novel, Emmerson Kerr, a young woman known as Em, who narrates her own experiences. Her grandmother, Marlowe Kerr, was murdered and Em believes the serial killer currently rampant in Sydney was responsible.
In an unusual and welcome departure from conventional detective narratives, the police in their sometimes-plodding way are actually more successful in their quest than the charming amateur sleuth who tells the story – although she is of some assistance in the investigation.
Em dedicates a lot of time to telling the story of her grandmother – an interesting, unconventional and not entirely honest, charming entrepreneur of a woman (and inspired by the real life designer and socialite Florence Broadhurst, who was murdered in 1977, allegedly also by ‘Granny Killer’ John Wayne Glover – Ed). Em’s slow revelation of who her adored grandmother was becomes increasingly important to her. While Marlowe’s story makes good reading, much of it is irrelevant to the main plot and it slows the pace somewhat, in unfortunate contrast to the fast-paced tale of the murders.
Beaumont has dedicated this book to the six women known to have been killed by the ‘Granny Killer’. She deplores the media’s sensationalism and glorification of the perpetrators of violent crime while the victims are ignored.
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It can be difficult to understand how a book describing such crimes operates to counter those issues. Arguably, it does so by giving us a better understanding of such a perpetrator; in presenting ‘him’ so vividly and clearly, she draws attention to how, when and where such crimes can happen. That she has done so in the entertaining guise of a detective story is a significant achievement and many readers will enjoy this book.
The Thrill of It, Mandy Beaumont
Publisher: Hachette
ISBN: 9780733651229
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272 pp
Publication: 26 February 2025
RRP: $32.99
