Recipe for Murder: The poisonous truth behind Erin Patterson the mushroom murderer of Leongatha

(Paperback)

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THE DEFINITIVE ACCOUNT OF ERIN PATTERSON AND THE MUSHROOM MURDER TRIAL THAT ENTHRALLED THE WORLD

It is the case that has fascinated many.

On 29 July 2023 in Leongatha, a small town in rural Victoria, family and friends of local woman Erin Patterson sit down for Sunday lunch. On the menu, Beef Wellington.

The next day, four of the guests are hospitalised. Doctors suspect death cap mushroom poisoning. Within a week, three of them will be dead.

On 2 November that same year, Erin Patterson is arrested and charged with three counts of murder and five of attempted murder. Held in custody at Dame Phyllis Frost women's prison until her trial began in April 2025, the case captured media attention around the world.

Did Patterson deliberately poison her estranged husband's parents, aunt and uncle

Was the lunch a recipe for murder Patterson insisted no. She was innocent of any crime. Not guilty, she declared to the court.

A jury of her peers have now decided the answer to those two questions. So how did a respected country woman come to find her relationships and behaviour dissected by police and prosecutors

Bestselling author, investigative journalist and former detective, Duncan McNab has sifted through the evidence, spoken to witnesses and attended the nine-week trial.

In this gripping book, McNab expertly explains the sequence of events that left three people dead, a community and family shattered and brought Erin Patterson to stand trial. With forensic detail he reveals why the verdict fell the way it did. GUILTY!

Author Bio

Duncan McNab is a former police detective, private investigator specialising in criminal defence, investigative journalist and media adviser to government and the private sector. He is the author of twelve books, including the phenomenally bestselling Dead Man Running (with Ross Coulthart), Snapshot Killer, Waterfront and Roger Rogerson. Duncan was a producer on the Kennedy and Clarion award-winning Murder Uncovered series (7 Network) in 2017 and creator/series producer of the groundbreaking Australia Behind Bars (9 Network/ITV). In 2017 his book Getting Away with Murder won the Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime. In the same year his bestselling book on disgraced former detective and convicted murderer, Roger Rogerson, was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime. Duncan's forensic eye and engaging style makes him the perfect author to deep dive into the Erin Patterson case. Recipe for Murder will be published in October 2025.