WITH 15 books already in print, true crime author Robin Bowles wasn’t really looking to write another.
However there was something about the disappearance of Russell Hill and Carol Clay that sparked her interest and amongst nationwide coverage surrounding the fate of the secret lovers, Robin believed space existed to tell the story from the perspective of all those effected and do it justice.
And so would begin a three-year quest - multiple interviews, field trips, six weeks of preliminary hearings along with the trial itself - as Robin sought to uncover what befell the two campers in the Wonnangatta Valley.
Research on the story began with Robin exploring a series of mysterious disappearances in the High Country and historical murders in the Wonnangatta Valley.
So whilst Robin’s most recent book Last Man Standing re-counts the four years since that fateful day when Hill and Clay went missing and follows the trial of pilot Greg Lynn who was convicted of murder, she also delves into the region and its dark history.
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“Since 1917, a total of seven people have disappeared in the mountainous terrain – some have been found, others haven’t - and I wanted to know where are they all disappearing to,” said Robin.
Reaching out to Mansfield’s Keith Leydon, co-author of The Wonnangatta Murders, Robin was given local insight into the case and other disappearances since.
Merrijig legend Bruce McCormack also took Robin in tow, a day spent exploring the High Country, given a first-hand understanding of the countryside and the secrets it held.
It is not the first time, she has been to the shire or explored crimes in the region.
Robin’s very first book Blind Justice (now in its eighth reprint) explored the 1984 death of Bonnie Doon local Jennifer Tanner.
It was 12 years after her death - in 1996 – that Robin chanced upon a newspaper report by journalist Andrew Rule querying Jennifer’s suicide.
“I knew there was a story behind the news,” she said.
Reading the article, Robin turned to her husband Clive and announced she might write a book about the case.
“I had been wanting to write a book for quite a long time,” she said.
“Initially I thought I’d just get hold of the inquest documents and read them over and see what the coroner made of it all.”
It was the beginning of what would become Robin’s driving passion – her raison d’etre.
Closing her PR consultancy business ostensibly for a year to concentrate on writing, one year would turn into 25, and a single book morphed into 16, with Robin’s latest non-fiction now hitting the shelves.
Last Man Standing has consumed over three years of Robin’s life, but in general it takes her between a year and 18 months to get a book from research phase to print.
Dead Centre, Robin’s account of the murder of British tourist Peter Falconio and the escape of his girlfriend Joanne Lees, would take her two and half years to write and multiple miles on the odometer, conducting interviews and research on-location in the Northern Territory.
“My husband Clive and I covered about 30,000 kilometres around Australia for Dead Centre,” Robin said.
Although multiple books have been written about the case, Robin’s is the only one to include in-person interviews with convicted murderer Bradley Murdoch.
Personable and chatty, Robin is adept at securing the interviews when other requests have been denied; building trust and ongoing connections with both the accused and the families and friends of the victim or victims.
She’s also a regular fixture at the Supreme Court.
“As long as I have my lanyard on, I’m allowed to sit in on most cases,” she said.
“They all know me quite well by now, and I’m not really media.”
Robin believes this is in her favour as most people she talks to are reluctant to talk to the press.
“Often when I want to interview somebody in regard to a book I’m writing I just cold call,” she said.
“I don’t let them know I’m coming, and just walk up to their front door and knock.
“I like to turn up at about 10am with a cake in hand, and suggest we go inside and have a cup of tea and a chat.”
This disarming technique has proven remarkably successful.
“To say no would be rude,” she said with a chuckle.
When she visited Greg Lynn’s family for her latest book she didn’t have a cake however.
There were around 30 or 40 members of the press camped out across the road, and though Robin with her straight-forward approach was invited inside the Lynn family home, her ultimate decision was to leave the family alone.
“I feel very sorry for all of the family and friends in this story,” she said.
It is from a place of compassion and understanding that Robin approaches all her stories, giving voice to both the dead and living beyond the salacious details and clickbait headings.
Her book Rough Justice explores what happens when our courts get it wrong, with Robin choosing a case in each state where she questioned the conviction, exploring the evidence and spending time in prison interviewing the accused.
“This book has been republished recently,” Robin said.
“I did a follow-up with all the people who I believed shouldn’t be in prison, and most of them are out now and have actually been pardoned.”
Her second book No Justice would delve into the discovery of the skeletal remains of transgender sex worker Adele Bailey in a disused mineshaft near Bonnie Doon.
“Missing for 17 years, I felt so very sad about Adele’s fate,” she said.
“After touching on the discovery of her remains in my first book and the possible connection to the death of Jennifer Tanner years later, I wanted to revisit Adele’s own story and show her the respect she deserved.”
Each book demands a deep-dive into the subject matter, Robin immersing herself in the pursuit of truth and disclosure through the re-telling of true crime.
Last Man Standing is no exception, with the book providing insights only garnered from such an extensive investigation and the days, weeks and months spent at the drawn out legal proceedings.
And with an appeal already lodged, Robin admits the story may not be finished yet.
It's an 'eat, sleep and breathe' commitment, and as a result her latest book is dedicated to her husband Clive.
“Clive never reads my books,” Robin said, with a laugh.
Recounting all her discoveries from each field trip, Clive has had enough of the story by the time it goes to print.
“He doesn’t need to read it - as far as he’s concerned ‘he’s just lived the bloody thing’.”
