Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Grace Tobin, Ebury Press, $34.99.
The heartache suffered by Mark and Faye Leveson over the death of their son, Matthew, is profound. The 10-year search has been excruciating.
The book opens with a map of the areas searched by the anguished parents between 2007-17. For the decade after Matthew’s disappearance in September 2007, they tirelessly searched bushland for his body and determinedly pursued the man they believed responsible, Michael Atkins. Matt’s older boyfriend had denied involvement with their son’s disappearance, despite the compelling evidence stacked against him.
This story is a first-hand account of the Levesons’ ordeal, from the harrowing decision to grant Atkins immunity to the extraordinary search for Matt’s body in Sydney’s Royal National Park.
It’s written by Walkley Award winning journalist, Tobin, was closest to the Leveson family throughout the four-year police investigation.
We learn that Atkins was, in fact, a serial liar. For nine years Atkins denied knowing the whereabouts of Matthew. A jury acquitted Atkins of murder and when questioned at an inquest he said he had no idea what had happened to him. However, in a sensational turn of events, he led police to bushland, south of Sydney.
In late 2016, Mark and Faye Leveson agreed to make a deal with the devil to expose Atkins’ deceit and achieve their main objective, to find Matt’s body. In an unprecedented move, Atkins received immunity from prosecution in exchange for revealing where he had buried Matt. Atkins, however, claimed that Matt had died of a drug overdose and wasn’t murdered.
There is also an unnerving insight into Atkins’ past. Paramount, however, is a portrait of a loving family, and of two parents bound by their public quest to achieve justice for their son.
