Overview
- Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein built the book from recorded discussions taken during trips to the Erin Patterson trial, after abandoning a podcast idea.
- The transcript format exposes their working process, capturing sifting, speculation and shifting perceptions as court days unfolded.
- The trio probes the ethics of participating in a booming true-crime market, weighing discomfort with voyeurism against arguments for empathy and bearing witness.
- The review highlights the scale of coverage, citing a court media list of 252 outlets with 15 international organizations, underscoring the case’s public spectacle.
- Set against Patterson’s conviction and life sentence with a 33-year non-parole period, the authors offer cautious, humanizing impressions that resist simple monster narratives.