Our pick: “Crooks Like Use" by Peter Doyle

If you’ve ever wondered what the criminal underworld of 1920s Sydney looked like, Crooks Like Us delivers a mesmerizing and unexpected answer. This true crime book takes readers on a fascinating journey through a lost archive of police mugshots that resurfaced decades later, giving us a rare window into the lives—and wardrobes—of Sydney’s most notorious criminals.

Far from the stereotypical image of dishevelled fugitives, the rogues captured in these photographs were surprisingly well-dressed career criminals. Each image tells a story, not just of crime and consequence but also of style and self-presentation. These gangsters, posing in pinstripe suits with waistcoats and fedoras, exhibited a flair for fashion that puts today’s gangsters to shame. They were almost universally clad in dapper three-piece suits topped with jaunty fedoras, embodying a designer look that is both surprising and captivating.

The series of police mugshots featured in Crooks Like Us reveals much more than just criminal profiles; it paints a vivid portrait of a bygone era where even fugitives cared about how they presented themselves. It’s a sharp contrast to our modern perceptions of criminality and adds an unexpected layer of glamour to the gritty world of 1920s Sydney crime.

Beyond the striking visuals, this true crime book digs into the lives of these “light-fingered, fleet-footed, silver-tongued rogues,” exploring their stories of theft, forgery, and evasion. The pages breathe life into the fugitive souls captured in these images, inviting readers to wonder about the motivations, dreams, and downfalls of people who lived on the wrong side of the law.

The historical backdrop of the book adds another layer of intrigue. Set in a time when Sydney’s streets were teeming with opportunity, poverty, and vice, the stories in Crooks Like Us offer a glimpse into a society grappling with rapid change. The police photographs, lost to history until the 1980s, stand as a haunting yet beautiful reminder of an era where crime and class intertwined in unexpected ways.

Crooks Like Us is a true crime book like no other. It’s equal parts history, fashion catalog, and crime anthology. Whether you’re fascinated by Sydney’s criminal past, intrigued by human stories of desperation and cunning, or simply drawn to the iconic style of the 1920s, this book will keep you hooked from cover to cover. It’s not just a story of crime—it’s a story of character, charisma, and the enduring allure of the well-dressed outlaws