One could never call Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen and his Cabinet colleagues boring: they are the subject of Condon's most entertaining stories, some new, some old. For example, Liberal Deputy Premier Llew Edwards once pushed Bjelke-Petersen to explain why he had been mysteriously absent from Cabinet meetings for several weeks, only to be told that he was taking helicopter flying lessons: 'the only time they can fit me in for lessons is on a Monday morning.' A more familiar story, worth repeating, is Police Minister Bill Gunn's public denial of the existence of  'prostitutes in Brisbane massage parlours, full stop', despite abundant evidence to the contrary. There is an occasional sense of unreality within the psyche of some Queensland politicians of the era which Condon captures well.

The structure and prose of All Fall Down are reminiscent of newspaper stories that might best be described as the 'unfolding saga': a topical issue is explored from a number of angles, solid background information is revealed, and some hearsay and gossip are added to the mix. Various parts of the story are resolved, but not all. The author of this volume appears to have transferred the 'unfolding saga' genre to the pages of a book, an approach that has both strengths and weaknesses. On the one hand, the multiple narratives allow us to better understand corruption in Queensland from a variety of perspectives, from the forgotten police who fought against the system to the men who had the power to change the system for better or for worse. On the other, the author's focus on episodic story-telling means that there is less stress on showcasing the evidence which is most important in understanding the epoch and its legacy.

'Matthew Condon has constructed an entertaining and sometimes moving series of shifting narratives'

The author's emphasis on using details to create atmosphere sometimes leads him to select material that is distracting because of its triviality. For example, the author summarises the former Queensland Police Commissioner Terry Lewis's accounts of his dreams: 'He dreamed of Prince Charles, of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, of a crocodile on a bed with one of his children, of cutting off the heads of murderers with a shovel, spying in Nazi Germany, and of a tiger pulling his body apart.' Striking imagery, yes, but relevant to the narrative being developed? Convicted and jailed for corruption and forgery in the wake of the Fitzgerald Inquiry, Lewis is one of the central figures of All Fall Down. Despite Lewis's cooperation with Condon during the research for the trilogy, interviews with the ex-commissioner are not overly revealing about the nature of police corruption.

Matthew Condon (photograph by Russell Shakespeare)

As a true crime book, All Fall Down ticks the right boxes: there is scandal, danger, conspiracy, villains, and heroes. But is it 'the definitive account of an unforgettable period in Queensland history', as the publisher suggests? It certainly builds on the work of Phil Dickie, Evan Whitton, and other contributors to the history of corruption in Queensland during the Bjelke-Petersen era, and provides fresh details on the events of yesteryear through interviews with politicians, police, and other participants. But the author might have reflected more deeply on how Queensland corruption compared with that present in other states. How unique was the situation in Queensland? Discussion of the significance of the Fitzgerald Report also warranted much more space than it receives, not least because the legacy and outcomes of the Inquiry have been the subject of debate since 1989.

True Crime fans will enjoy reading All Fall Down. Just as Peter Corris's Cliff Hardy novels have given Sydney people the pleasure of seeing their streets and suburbs immortalised in print, Condon has given the people of Brisbane a compelling portrait of the Queensland capital of thirty years ago. Readers should not, however, complacently assume that cronyism and corruption belong to a quaint Queensland past. The present-day 'business can do no wrong' mentality of many governments across the nation is one that is surely open to abuse.