The Last Escape

by John Killick

Career criminal John Killick was involved in the most audacious prison break in Australian history when he escaped from Sydney’s Silverwater prison after his partner in crime Lucy Dudko commandeered a scenic helicopter flight at gunpoint.

Australia’s ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ spent 45 days on the run before being caught… Killick was sentenced to 23 years jail; Dudko to ten. After his release, the pair meet up again but are they the same people? Is the magic still there?

This is John Killick’s story – raw, confronting and redemptive.

This is his story of self-discovery, of a wasted life of years in prison, and one which he hopes will stop other young offenders from making similar mistakes.

Genres: True Crime

304 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2017

Reviews

[Diane in Australia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars = Middle of the road .. didn't hate it, didn't love it.

This type of book is not really my cup of tea. To me it is just someone recklessly barrelling through his life, screwing up time after time after time, inflicting trauma on innocent strangers, and his loved ones. Then at the grand ol' age of 75 he has 'seen the light' and wants to be a good guy now. Not impressed.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading true crime memoirs written by people you have to think of as career criminals can be a sobering undertaking. John Killick came to fame mostly because of the helicopter escape from Sydney's Silverwater prison aided by his then partner Lucy Dudko, but over many years Killick was well known to law enforcement agencies. He was a bank robber, a scam artist, a petty criminal, a bloody pest who became a violent offender. He's also a father, and a man who now openly admits he made some stupid mistakes in his life. Working now with young offenders in the criminal justice system, he's trying to provide the sort of intervention that, as a young boy, he's sure would have stopped him from choosing the path that he did.

This memoir takes you back through Killick's childhood - a much loved mother, a violent and difficult father, Killick fell of the rails pretty quickly after his mother died, way too young, and way too quickly. He certainly was an inventive crim over the years, with elaborately set up cigarette stealing stints, raffle selling scams and other assorted thieving and criminal activity. That escalated to armed bank robberies, to many failed relationships, and ultimately a significant part of his life spent in various jails in various states of Australia.

THE LAST ESCAPE reads like an honest portrayal of a life. There's a lot of detailed recollection of crimes and personal relationships. There's a litany of personal relationships hammered to death by Killick's choices in life. It seems there have been a lot of women who have had encounters with him, and interestingly he seems to remember most of them - albeit a bit too often from their physical point of view. Despite that you can't help but think that Killick's a bit of a charmer. A rogue, a crim with a shocking trail of robbery, intimidation, theft and illegal activities - but a bit of a charmer nonetheless. The fact that he's turned that charm to trying to make a difference in the lives of young offenders, this memoir being a part of telling his story, makes you want to give him a lot of points. He never once plays the "I was badly treated / it wasn't me" card. He was what he was, and he is now what he's made himself.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spoke a couple of times with John Killick as I wrote my book about the history of Long Bay Correctional Centre and this is where I learned about his book The Last Escape. As I make clear in my book I, like many, have an aversion to ‘celebrity’ former criminals being able to profit from their past (and I am not saying John Killick is a celebrity former criminal). But as I read this book I thought there was a clear message in it to ‘up-and-coming’ criminals that crime does not pay. In fact on the last page John writes: ‘Crime doesn’t pay. The ripple effect of crime is immense. It is better to be poor and to be in gaol. And gaol is all but inevitable for criminals. It is the great destroyer of relationships, families and self-respect. Gaol is where you can be brutalised…’
The other strong message John leaves us with is that gambling does not pay. It was tremendous to hear the challenges John had with gambling and how he worked hard to beat this drain on his finances.
I found The Last Escape to be an excellent book. It was extremely well written, with very little swearing, and quite frankly I found it very difficult to put the book down. I have been inside Long Bay (as the author of LONG BAY) where John spent a lot of time. It is a frightening and harrowing place. If you read his book with the thought in the back of your mind that this is a story of a wasted life but one with (hopefully) a happy ending you will not be disappointed! Brilliant!

[Anna Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting read. I particularly enjoyed the references to what was happening in Australia and the world at the times of John’s life events - very good way of providing context in society for the events. Not always the best literary writing, but I also admire the fact that John has written this himself and not with someone else. The book was easy to read and easy to follow - I would certainly recommend it.

[Nathan Parnham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the read.

Couldn’t help but feel it was a life of mistake after mistake. But then again I don’t think John ever tries to deny that, and even acknowledges it. Which makes it an even more worthier read. I also really enjoyed as I live/grew up around a lot of the sydney suburbs detailed in the book. Which gives a cool historical standpoint of what went on during these times. For John to write this book and others is exceptional and should be applauded. A definite must read for anyone interested in their true crime.

[Oliver Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok. Did not love it or hate it. Was ok and would probably not recommend