“I’m innocent of murder, I haven’t behaved well, I’ve made some poor decisions. But murder, as I understand it, I’m innocent of” - Greg Lynn

A camping trip brought Russell Hill and Carol Clay to a remote pocket of Victoria, but the pair would never emerge from the Wonnangatta Valley alive and what followed was an investigation as the author put it ‘the investigation was like assembling a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle without having the box lid to show you what the picture was.’

In the Dead of the Night by Greg Haddrick is the second book that has been published on the Russell Hill and Carol Clay murders. It is a case that I have had an interest in since the start when I first saw the photos of the burnt out campsite.

The book started off ok, and I was thinking maybe I would get new information about the case that I haven’t heard of before. But there was a point in the book, where the author tried to describe Dargo and the location of the bodies that I started to question his source of information. Had he bothered to drive out to Dargo and Union Spur track just past the ghost town that was once Grant?

I believe a good true crime writer remains partial while presenting the facts. This book, IMO, failed to do that. At times I felt like the author was pushing the narrative that Greg was a serial killer….

This is not an old case, where people have died and moved on. In fact this case is still pending appeals. The ability to interview people is still there. So there was no reason to write it using a creative method. For example the police interviews… the constant need to assume what Greg and the police were thinking and saying during these moments… I had to ask if I was reading a fiction book.

And the information about the court case didn’t flow. I think if you are not Australian and didn’t follow the case, you risk getting lost in this book.

This book lacked source information and at the end the author does declare he took a creative method to taking later recollections and casting them into words that might have actually been said at that time. To me doing that recreates an unreliable narrative and has no place in true crime books.

I followed this crime alot when it was in the news. To say I was shocked with the outcome is an understatement. Great information was released that I hadnt heard before.

A good insight into the true case of the missing campers in Victoria and the extensive Police investigation that led to the arrest and trial of the killer. Some of the information regarding how Police used the media to their advantage was totally new to me.

In the Dead of the Night surrounds the mysterious disappearance of Russell Hill and Carol Clay in the remote Wonnangatta Valley. We follow the police investigation, through the different departments from Missing Persons to Homicide to the final capturing of the suspect, Greg Lynn, a Jetstar Captain.

This is a gripping retelling of how the police were able to put the disjointed clues together, interviewing suspects and finally focusing on Greg as the key suspect in the disappearance. We also get a good look into how the police were able to charge him without the bodies, what clues and information were left in the area.

This is a well written recount of the events into the disappearance of Hill and Clay and the inside workings of the police and judicial system. It also shows the importance of community involvement from something so simple as a few seconds on your home CCTV, dash cam footage or any information that they could provide into the sighting of Hill and/or Clay.

We get front row seats into the court hearing, the evidence, and the eventual outcome of the case. The interviews with family, friends, and people in the community and with Lynn was very insightful. The author (Greg Haddrick) has done an amazing job to keep the information factual and entertaining.

The cat and mouse game with the police and Greg Lynn was a prolonged event that showed the extent that the Police would go to get their man, from setting up surveillance, watching Greg and his wife, getting to know his routine, habits and friends, the police were able to get a good understanding of this man.

This is a must read if you are into true crime and Australian True crime stories and love to see how the police worked from start to finish of a case. In the Dead of the Night is a gripping nonfiction into the mind of our policing system and the minds of the detectives who are assigned to this case.

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In the dead of night by Greg Haddock is the gripping story and the twists and turns of the police investigation into the disappearance of Russel Hill and Carol Clay in the remote Wonnangatta Valley. Russel and Carol were secret lovers and had gone away for a few days to be together. When they did not return family and friends of Russel and Carol reported them missing. When the people around the world heard of the disappearance in the outback of Australia people speculated that they had run away together even though Russel was married, and they were both in their 70's.
As time went on and there was no activity from there cell phones or credit cards the police began to think that they were the victims of foul play. They found a burnt-out campsite and the police began to have a few suspects. There main suspect is a successful professional pilot, but could he be involved with their murder and if so why. The case becomes complex as there are no bodies and the police are also caught up as Covid hits and they are stuck as they cannot do anything as the county and world grinds to a halt.
This is an excellent book and the inside story of how the police eventually close in and catch up with Greg Lynn who was married, had children and a successful career but was hiding a dark secret. A well-researched book and One of the best books I have read this year. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I had always been so curious about this case, from the outset it was odd when I was reading about it online. Not your usual victims, and not what you would expect in such a remote location.

From the moment I started reading the writing style had me hooked in. True crime can sometimes be dry but that wasn't the case here. The way the story was pulled together was amazing. When they were putting the surveillance in, I was on the edge of my seat. The questioning was like something out of a great mystery novel trying to unsettle this guy. The backdrop of Covid lockdowns in victoria made for an interesting side character in this too.

My day job is in Corporate HR and it made me think about how many sociopaths are hiding in plain sight. Great read and will be recommending to everyone. I am still thinking about

The 19th of March 2020: Just prior to the Covid pandemic Russell Hill and Carol Clay disappear from the remote Wonnangatta Valley in Victoria’s High Country. They were having a secret affair, the couple were reported missing by Russell’s wife and Carol’s sister and Russell an ex logger knew the area well and it's only accessible by four wheel drive.

The police have to look at all the possibilities, one being did they fake their own deaths and to start a new life together? It didn’t take long for them to rule this out, the police were sure they were victims of foul play, but they had no bodies and the only evidence a burnt campsite and a damaged white Toyota Land Cruiser.

The investigation begins, involved are the Missing Persons Squad and a team of detectives from Victoria Police Force and Inspector Andrew Stamper was present from the beginning and later Brett Florence and Dan Passingham. They had to locate anyone who had stayed at the Bucks Camp around the time, any cars that were seen in the location, then thoroughly check everyone's stories and alibis and a hermit who frequented the area. Over a year had passed, they had one main suspect a Jetstar captain Greg Lynn, a married man and father and who liked to spend his down time camping and hunting.

I won’t spoil what the lengths the investigating team went to and did to get enough proof to take Greg Lynn in for questioning and formally charge him and for the case to go to trial and the complexities of the Victorian legal system and the time frame.

I received a copy of In the Death of Night from NetGalley and Allen & Unwin in exchange for an honest review. Greg Haddrick looks at one of the most puzzling and odd crimes committed in Australia, the police investigation is full of setbacks, twist and turns and remember it started when Covid hit and Victoria was placed into lock-down and they had to abide by these rules.

Using details that haven’t been revealed before, Mr. Haddrick writes an unbiased and informative account of what happened to Russell Hill and Carol Clay in March 2020 and while being very respectful of the feelings of their families, especially Russell’s widow Robyn and his daughters.

This is told mainly from the detective’s points of view, these men did a remarkable job of joining the dots to find a lying, controlling, narcissistic predator and the court case was long and complicated and if you like reading about true crime I highly recommend In the Death of Night and five stars from me.

Could not put it down. In the Dead of Night had me hooked from the very first page. A fascinating true crime story written in the most compelling way. I felt like I was walking alongside the detectives, feeling their anxiety, frustration, elation and emotion every step of the way.

Impeccably written and so compelling. Well done, Greg.