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PI Harry Kenmare - on tour and on hand!

28/1/2018

As a total bibliophile, I love it when I go places and find random collections of books which are there for public enjoyment. Our wonderful public libraries, of course, formalize this availability of books to everyone, ensuring that all citizens can access books, without having to be able to afford to buy them.
Sure, as an author I want people to buy my books, but far more importantly, I want people to be able to have the access to ideas and stories that reading books provides, and does so quite unlike any other storytelling.
So, back to these random collections. I've seen quite a few recently, I guess I'm probably noticing them more, who knows. But I do like to have the opportunity to throw in a couple of my books to join the collections. I've had a few copies of Harry's World join the large bookcase in our local pub, the Australian Youth Hotel, otherwise known as the Emerald Bar in my fiction work. I'm told by the staff that they have been well read! Given I've had to replenish the stock down there, I'll take that as being accurate.
Well, I was in Paris late last year to visit my sister, and we went for a meal at one of her local favourite eateries, Le Bariole on the Rue de Belleville. And they had a shelf of books against the back wall, mostly French titles, of course, but a couple of other English ones. So PI Harry Kenmare had to join them - I hope some locals may have enjoyed some hard-boiled noir from the other side of the planet!
Cheers,
ABP

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COPS WRITING CRIME - The Squad reaches 50 members today!

23/1/2018

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The ongoing project to discover cops or ex-cops who have taken to writing crime fiction - The Squad as I've named us!

Today, the Squad reaches the milestone of 50 members!
I've added another American to the permanent index for The Squad on my website: Michael A. Black was a long-serving officer with the Matteson, Illinois PD, and he has been a prolific crime fiction author as well.

The Squad now numbers 50 in total:

28 American, 11 British, 7 Australian, 1 French, 1 Canadian, 1 Bahamian, and 1 New Zealander.

I'll keep adding more as I come across them, and if you know of any others please feel free to drop me a line.
Check out The Squad: Also: Cops Writing Crime

And please remember, my list is only for CRIME FICTION - not all the true crime and/or memoir writing by cops and ex-cops that's out there (as good as so much of that is).

Cheers,
ABP

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CORRUPTION TALES! Issue # 3 - NSW Local Government

16/1/2018

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Over the many years of my work in corruption investigations, I've delved into many, many councils in New South Wales. And so I have a treasure trove of tales of corruption to draw upon - local government is an incredibly fertile ground for naughtiness! I certainly use some of what I've seen to inspire my fiction writing, but some tales are so stellar that they warrant joining this blog of factual history! These are the stories which are not fictionalized, aside from being anonymized.

These things happened!!!
Here's the first of them, and it's an absolute pearler!

This is a tale of Nepotism Central.
I had a complaint in a council about the recruitment process for the HR Manager (of all positions!).
So, the background was this: the HR Manager's position had been vacant for some time, with an HR Officer (Person X) acting in the position. Nothing unusual so far. This acting person (Person X) was very much in favour with the council's general manager and executive - basically did their bidding, and had a very "close", and I mean "very close" (saliva involved, me thinks), relationship with one of the executive who was going to sit on the selection panel for this recruitment. (The general manager also ended up sitting on the selection panel, along with two other executive members.) Again, whilst starting to get a little distasteful, and a little issue of a potential conflict of interest, nothing here is unusual in government circles.
So the vacant position was then advertised - but internally only.

Wait till you see how much this job was paying! Read on!

The council's recruitment policy said that if recruitment was to be internal only, there had to be a "pool" of suitable applicants. Person X, who was applying for the position, went to one of their staff and told them to apply as well, so that there would be a "pool" of applicants, namely two of them. To the credit of that staff member, they refused to comply.
So, the recruitment process still progressed with just the application of Person X. So much for a "pool". How does one person constitute a "pool"? Go figure. Clearly, the council's own policy counted for nothing, since Person X was definitely wanted for the job.

But the real "get me the fuck out of here" moment is yet to come.

The "essential criteria" for the position, those things you just have to have to be eligible, included "relevant tertiary qualifications".
Now, Person X had NO relevant tertiary qualifications, absolutely none.
A major problem, you would think?
Aha! Never underestimate the audacity of the corrupt in government. Never, ever.
So, the applications closed for this recruitment - only one application - from Person X. The idea of a "pool" was long gone. And Person X did not meet the essential criteria for the job.
No problem at all, for this council and its executives - three of them! After the applications closed, the only applicant, Person X, was interviewed for the job. After that, and already acting in the position, Person X was allowed to rewrite the position description, for the position they were applying for, to remove the essential criteria they could not meet.
Then, two days later, Person X was appointed to the job, now that they could meet the criteria for the job.
I don't think, in all my years, I've ever seen such a brazen example of corrupt nepotism anywhere.
And as if the above isn't bad enough...

And guess what the position was paying...

$230,000 p.a.

Yes, that's right. Nearly a quarter of a million dollars a year, and this is the corrupt recruitment process that enabled it.
Aside from the obscene iniquity of it all, I do feel sorry for the ratepayers in that council area. Especially since, on all accounts, Person X wasn't even any good as an HR practitioner.
So, $230,000 p.a. when you can't even meet the essential criteria for the job.
Not bad fucking work if you can get it!

Cheers,
ABP

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COPS WRITING CRIME - The Squad grows with 2 more members! Now at 49!

16/1/2018

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The ongoing project to discover cops or ex-cops who have taken to writing crime fiction - The Squad as I've named us!

Today, I've added another two members to the permanent index for The Squad on my website: one fellow Aussie, Simon Higgins, a former officer in South Australia, and an American, Joe McKinney, who is still a serving officer in Texas.

The Squad now numbers 49 in total:

27 American, 11 British, 7 Australian, 1 French, 1 Canadian, 1 Bahamian, and 1 New Zealander.

I'll keep adding more as I come across them, and if you know of any others please feel free to drop me a line.
Check out The Squad: Also: Cops Writing Crime

And please remember, my list is only for CRIME FICTION - not all the true crime and/or memoir writing by cops and ex-cops that's out there (as good as so much of that is).

Cheers,
ABP

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"Switchblade" Issue 4 - IS HERE! Along with Harry, again!

14/1/2018

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Yes, all you hard-boiled and noir-loving folks, this weekend sees Switchblade Issue 4 hit Amazon, and I've already got my orders in today - couple of copies winging their way down here to Sydney, and one over to my Sis in France!
I'm hugely chuffed to be given a berth in this issue - PI Harry Kenmare is back again, in the first person, with plenty of mischief and filth. He's Harry after all, so corruption, crime and sleeze are never too far away. The story "White Powder, Black Leather, Grey Badges" is the second Harry short story, and it's only available in Switchblade, so you know what to do - paperback or Kindle, it's just waiting for you. Given the black leather characters in the story, the Issue 4 cover is right on the money.
And as always with Scotch Rutherford's great editing of the magazine, there'll be a plethora of great, dark and twisted reads to enjoy. I'm thrilled to be appearing alongside some authors I already know and admire - J.D.Graves, Nick Manzolillo and Peter DiChellis. And there are a swag more I'm going to be reading for the first time. Ah, the enduring pleasure of anthologies - there's always new and wonderful discoveries waiting.
Here's the link you need:
www.amazon.com/dp/099876504X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1515913166&sr=8-2&keywords=switchblade+issue

Cheers,
ABP

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PI Harry Kenmare - on tour and on hand!

COPS WRITING CRIME - The Squad reaches 50 members today!

CORRUPTION TALES! Issue # 3 - NSW Local Government

COPS WRITING CRIME - The Squad grows with 2 more members! Now at 49!

"Switchblade" Issue 4 - IS HERE! Along with Harry, again!

A.B.Patterson

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