Three of Australia’s greatest literary journalists walk into a court. It almost sounds like a lead-in to a joke except that these three women are award-winners, and no strangers to the true crime genre. They want to make a podcast but settle on writing a book. The result is something that offers insight into what was a media-saturated murder trial, the book may also leave some readers hungry for more details.
There was deep public interest around the Erin Patterson murder trial. She faced three counts of murder for the deaths of her in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson as well as Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson. Patterson also faced an attempted murder charge for Wilkinson’s spouse Ian Wilkinson. This all followed a family lunch in Leongatha where the four were served beef wellingtons that were laced with death cap mushrooms. Over an eleven-week trial a lot of evidence was discussed and some of that is covered in this release. Patterson is currently appealing the guilty verdicts as she serves a non-parole period of 33 years.
Helen Garner has previously covered murder trials in her books, Joe Cinque’s Consolation and This House of Grief. Chloe Hooper has previously written The Arsonist about the man responsible for the Black Saturday bushfires; whilst Sarah Krasnostein is a lawyer who wrote The Trauma Cleaner about a woman who specialised in crime scene clean-ups. So it’s fair to say all three are well versed in the legal & justice system; and accomplished at what they do.
The Mushroom Tapes is primarily made up of transcriptions of conversations the trio had at their hotel or on their drives to and from the court house. So, unsurprisingly, there are lots of moments where they sit, contemplate and discuss various elements of the trial. These moments, at their best, are often fascinating. However, there are other times where this all feels rushed. There were moments where I felt, taking more time for some more extensive analysis would have made the book more deeply satisfying.
Within the book, each of the three writers grapple with the case, and their motivations for wanting to cover the high profile case. But, they also turn their attention to the genre more broadly too, including questioning why women are often so absorbed by true crime stories. It opens up an interesting ethical discussion, with the authors’ worrying about their own complicity in fuelling further interest in the case.
As someone who followed this trial, I did discover some new pieces of information that I was previously unaware about – including a ghost case that was excluded from the evidence as it would have been highly prejudicial to the jury. In The Mushroom Tapes you do get a good sense of the location and some more insight into aspects of the wider Patterson family. Ultimately, though this a very difficult subject given they are all real people and it seems hard to understand Erin Patterson’s motivations. I think we can all agree that we have no idea around why she would do such a thing.
The Mushroom Tapes is one of several releases following the conclusion of the trial. This is on top of the multiple podcasts and documentaries also released or in production. All of these explore the case’s different themes, like domesticity, marriage, money, and class, and how this was all the stage for an unthinkable crime. Where the work of Garner, Hooper and Krasnostein differs from the rest is that they deliver it with a deft sensitivity for the subject matter while also being forthcoming about their own perspectives.
The Mushroom Tapes offers some insights into the mammoth Mushroom Murder trial. While it attempts to describe the inexplicable and offer some speculation, it feels like it will be just one of many books that will ultimately cover this heinous crime. It is yet another book and perspective on a case which has left us all – including these three clever women – utterly bewildered by what occurred.
THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Mushroom Tapes by Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper, and Sarah Krasnostein is available through Text Publishing. Grab yourself a copy from your local bookstore HERE.
