“The insistence Scott had jumped because of depression or desperation seemed to involve an assumption that gay men scarcely have reason to live. Who else but a gay man would have so thin a hold on life despite every reason for living?”

An incredibly moving account of Steve Johnson’s decades-long pursuit of justice for his brother. The level of not only police incompetence, but active resistance to investigating Scott’s death (aka doing their goddamn jobs) was truly disgusting. I really admired Steve’s determination in the face of rampant police corruption - Not everyone has the resources and resolve to fight what, at times, appeared to be a losing battle for 30 years, and it upsets me to think of the families in similar positions that will never get an answer.

**Book Review: _A Thousand Miles From Care_ by Steve Johnson**

_Steve Johnson’s_ _A Thousand Miles From Care_ is an evocative journey into the untouched beauty of remote landscapes. Johnson masterfully captures the essence of venturing far from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, inviting readers to immerse themselves in the serenity of nature. His vivid descriptions and keen observations transport you to places of breathtaking solitude, offering a refreshing escape and a reminder of the world’s quieter corners.

The book's charm lies in its blend of adventure and introspection, highlighting the transformative power of being miles away from the familiar. _A Thousand Miles From Care_ is a captivating read for those who long to explore the wild and reconnect with the peace it brings.

I feel weird leaving a star rating on a book focused on one of the worst miscarriages of justice I have ever read about in my life so I won’t but I will say I feel incredibly moved, disheartened, angry & hopeful following reading this.

It is INSANE to me that it took so long to even consider hate crimes as motive for murder & I’m appalled at the state of the policing system which desperately needs reform. Reading this made me so unbelievably angry and hurt for Scott’s family & I’m just thankful for the outcome. A heartbreaking piece of work.

Thank you to netgalley & the publisher.

On the very important level, this book is a tender story of brotherly love, family and acceptance.
On another layer, we have the detailed true crime story, and Johnson’s fight for justice and his meticulous, persistent investigation and requests for investigation.
And the other layer is the inclusivity and social responsibilities.
Equally heart wrenching and inspiring.

A Thousand Miles from Care by Steve Johnson is a compelling and emotional exploration of a brother's unyielding quest for justice. The book delves into the 1988 death of Steve’s younger brother, Scott, who fell from North Head’s cliffs into the Pacific. Initially ruled a suicide, Steve’s 32-year battle to uncover the truth is both harrowing and inspiring.

The book stands out for its meticulous research, drawing on a vast array of exclusive materials—including sealed court transcripts, police records, and interviews with suspects. Johnson's close relationship with New South Wales officials adds depth to the investigation.

What struck me most about this book was the profound dedication Steve Johnson showed throughout his fight for answers. The story not only details the complex web of obstacles he faced—such as a hostile police force, unreliable informants, and police-connected drug rings—but also highlights the emotional toll of his relentless pursuit.

A Thousand Miles from Care is more than just a true crime narrative; it’s a heartfelt tribute to the bond between brothers and the broader struggle for truth and justice. The narrative is both gripping and deeply personal, making it a powerful read for anyone interested in real-life mysteries and the human spirit’s resilience.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

This is an incredibly moving memoir about Steve Johnson and his younger brother Scott. Scott moved to Australia in his 20s and he never went home - his body was discovered at the bottom of a cliff and authorities quickly ruled it a suicide. This was shocking to Steve and his family, it just didn't make sense. What follows is the story of Steve's thirty year fight to uncover what really happened to his brother and to try and get justice for him. This was such a hard read in places - the corruption within the police and the attitudes to gay men in that time is beyond appalling. Overwhelmingly what comes through in this book is the love between brothers and the determination to uncover the truth. It's a not always an easy read but the book is well written and it's one that will stay with me.

You know the saying "truth is stranger than fiction"? This book epitomises that. It tells the emotional, upsetting and completely gripping story of Steve Johnson and his 30+ year journey to find out what really happened to his brother Scott who the family were told died by suicide after falling from a cliff in 1988.
There's a lot going on in the book as Steve searches for the truth, meeting so many people and going through various agencies etc and it's incredibly detailed so not always an easy read but such a fabulous book and a story that needs to be told. Highly recommend.
Thanks to Steve Johnson, William Collins and NetGalley for the ARC.

I couldn't put this book down as I needed to know the ending even though I knew it was going to be sad whatever the ending was. This is a true story written by Steve Johnson about the death of his brother, Scott, in Sydney, Australia in December 1988.

Scott died after falling from a massive cliff framing the north side of Sydney Harbour. The Australian police were quick to declare it was a death by suicide and stuck to this line for decades despite Steve and many others being convinced someone else was involved and that is was a hate crime against Scott as he was gay. There was (and sadly still is) a huge amount of prejudice against the LGBTQIA+ community in this part of the world.

Scott and Steve are both high achievers and despite a difficult childhood both entered academia and had amazing success. Both had scholarships to top universities in the USA and UK with Scott having spent some time at the University of Cambridge in England. Steve was writing image compression code in the early 90s as the dot.com boom was gathering pace and he became very rich when AOL (America Online) bought his compression technology for $100 million in 1996. This wealth enabled him to pursue justice and truth about Scott's death which he doggedly did for over three decades.

The book is very detailed about all the many people involved over the years from the gay community in Australia, the 'beaters' who attacked the gay community in organised crime, the police force who turned out to be shockingly corrupt and the many journalists, lawyers, etc who have helped Steve and his family to uncover the truth about Scott's death.

It is a very gripping, compelling, shocking and sad read. Somewhat too detailed for me on occasion as I was losing track of all the different people and organisations involved over the years. Full marks to Steve for his persistence in getting justice for Steve and hopefully improving life into the future for the LGBTQIA+ people in Australia which still seems alarmingly behind other countries in it's attitude towards people in this community.

With thanks to NetGalley and 4th Estate and William Collins for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a change from my normal genres but the story really moved me and I needed to read this story desperately. What lengths a brother will go to to find out what happened to his brother.
This made me cry and smile in equal measures, as Steve tells stories of his shared childhood with Scott, and the close relationship between them. He then relives the day that the world came crashing down around him, and he was told his happy, shy brother was dead. Suicide? Never! This then prompted him to start his own investigation to find out the truth anbout how Scott fell to his death on a rocky cliff edge near Sydney Harbour in Australia. He wasn’t prepared for what he uncovered. He battled for thirty two years to uncover the truth for Scott.
Many thanks to 4th Estate and William Collins for the opportunity to read this arc copy via Netgalley. My opinion is my own.
#Netgalley, #WMCollinsBooks, #SteveJohnson.

A great non fiction book but a little long winded in places. I was amazed to learn of the Australians and the police corruption. Man Knows now bounds of greed and bigotry. We need more people like the author to stand up and be like a dog with a bone. I look forward to the movie.

Wow, just wow! I rarely read non fiction but something about this obviously caught my eye. I was gripped from the beginning.

The lives of the young Tessa, Steve and Scott Johnson were not easy but their love for each other and their wish to go as far as they could held them in good stead. Both Steve and Scott ended up with scholarships to great schools because of their brilliance particularly Steve’s musical prowess and Scott’s mathematical mind. This led them both to end up in different continents but still with a strong, albeit invisible, tether to each other. Steve then got a phone call to say that Scott had died!

What follows is the story of Steve and his family trying to get justice for Scott whose cause of death was written as suicide, which was practically unbelievable. This took the Johnson family into the murky depths of the LGBTIQ movement in the 80’s onwards and also in to the seemingly impenetrable police force in New South Wales, Australia. For years they were fobbed off, belittled and almost laughed at.

What is incredibly sad is that had it not been for the brilliance of Steve Johnson and him making an absolute fortune in anyone’s eyes, without the funding behind him it would not have been possible to get justice for Scott.

This is a book that will stay with me for a long time and shows that the phrase “never give up” is worth its weight in gold.

A Thousand Miles From Care is the story of the death of a young man in Sydney Australia in 1988 that was barely a blip on the media radar at the time but had a seismic affect on the whole country some 30 years later.
American brothers Steve and Scott Johnson were gifted young men achieving amazing things in their chosen fields. When Scott fell to his death from cliffs at the entrance to Sydney Harbour his family were told it was a tragic accident. Disturbed by the strange reaction of Scott's partner Steve decides to investigate himself,little-knowing that his task would take 3 decades and expose things that would cause public outrage, end up at Government level in Australia and have his efforts continually thwarted by a police force that put more effort into trying to thwart him than investigate a potential homicide.

This is an amazing tale,more reminiscent of a Scott Turow novel than a true,and extremely disturbing,story. The sobering thing is that a big part of Steve Johnson being able to get justice for Scott was that he had the money,resources and contacts to be able to launch a complex investigation and negotiate with police and government authorities. The average family wouldn't have even got off of square one.

An amazing read,not least as Steve Johnson insisted on not using a ghostwriter and telling the story himself,which he does in a coherent and gripping manner.