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The Cop Who Fell to Earth (Craig Semple, Echo)

The title of Craig Semple’s memoir, The Cop Who Fell to Earth, suggests flight and ambition, but it could also be reframed as an earthbound slog through a dark maze to understanding. As a 19-year-old graduate in 1988, Semple had little idea of the toll his decades in the police force would take. He describes the unshakeable bonds with colleagues, cemented by shared exposure to violence and depravity, but also repressive attitudes about mental health. Semple was an angry man for almost the entirety of his time in the force, whether it was at the failings of a workplace culture ensnarled in red tape and underfunding or due to the constant exposure to the worst of human behaviour. A key moment comes when the detective sits opposite the criminal counterpart he put in prison after an 18-month-long investigation, and the hardened bikie tells him how old he looks. ‘This job of yours is killing you. Too much stress. You honestly look like shit.’ He is the first person to notice and point it out. There are fascinating accounts of big cases to satisfy readers wanting to know how an investigation works, but the heart of the book is Semple’s struggle to overcome his profound shame and grief about the psychological injury which ended his career. If it sometimes reads like a gruelling brief of evidence, this only speaks to its narrative authenticity. If you like police procedurals, true crime in the vein of the Underbelly series, and rural noir by the likes of Chris Hammer and Jane Harper, you’ll enjoy the real-life version too!

Books+Publishing reviewer: Anne Barnetson is a bookseller and illustrator working on unceded Whadjuk Noongar country. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

 

Category: Reviews