The much-anticipated sequel to the bestselling Three Crooked Kings In Three Crooked Kings we read about the shocking true story of Queensland and how a society was shaped by almost half a century of corruption. In Jacks and Jokers, the story continues as Terry Lewis becomes police commissioner and the era of corruption at the highest levels of the police and government continues. As the Queensland police become more connected with their colleagues in Sydney, the rise of heavy drugs and crime escalates. Tony Murphy and Glen Hallahan, two of the original 'crooked kings', become more enmeshed with 'The Joke' which is run by bagman Jack Herbert. Jacks and Jokers introduces new characters, more extraordinary behaviour outside the law by the law, and along the way charts the meteoric rise of police commissioner Terry Lewis, documenting events up until the Fitzgerald Inquiry in the late 1980s. Once again, award-winning journalist and novelist Matthew Condon has drawn from unprecedented access to Terry Lewis, as well as hundreds of interviews with key players and conspirators to craft the definitive account of the rise - and spectacular fall - of one man, an entire state and over a generation of corruption. About the Author Matthew Condon is a prize-winning Australian novelist and journalist. He is currently on staff with the Courier-Mail's Qweekend magazine. He began his journalism career with the Gold Coast Bulletin in 1982 and subsequently worked for leading newspapers and journals including the Sydney Morning Herald, the Daily Telegraph and Melbourne's Sunday Age. He is also the author of ten books of fiction, most recently The Trout Opera (Random House, 2008) and the non-fiction book Brisbane, (New South Books, 2010).

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'The message was powerfully clear. If you threatened the harmony of the Joke, you didn't last long.' Continuing on from the bestselling Three Crooked Kings, Jacks and Jokers opens in 1976. Terry Lewis, exiled in western Queensland, is soon to be controversially appointed Police Commissioner. As for the other two original Crooked Kings, Tony Murphy is set to ruthlessly take control of the workings of 'The Joke', while Glen Hallahan, retired from the force, begins to show a keen interest in the emerging illicit drug trade. Meanwhile, ex-cop and 'Bagman' Jack Herbert collects the payments and efficiently takes police graft to a whole new level. The Joke heralds an era of hard drugs, illegal gambling and prostitution, and leaves in its wake a string of unsolved murders and a trail of dirty money. With the highest levels of police and government turning a blind eye, the careers of honest police officers and the lives of innocent civilians are threatened and often lost as corruption escalates out of control. Revealing more incredible facts and previously untold stories, award-winning journalist and novelist Matthew Condon once again exposes the shocking behaviour outside the law by the law. Jacks and Jokers is the gripping second instalment of the rise - and spectacular fall - of one man, an entire state and generations of corruption.