The Five Mile Press has issued an urgent recall of the title Killer in the Family by true crime author Lindy Cameron.

The book explores 19 criminal cases including that of Robert Farquharson, who was last year found guilty of murdering his three sons by driving the car in which they were travelling into a dam.

The Five Mile Press decided to recall the book after legal representation for Farquharson contacted the publisher claiming the title could prejudice Farquharson's appeal against his conviction.

‘We got a second legal opinion and we decided it would be best [to recall the title],' Five Mile Press publisher Janet Rowe told WBN. ‘We are not in the business of creating problems.'

Rowe said that the title contained only information that was in the public domain.  He said the Press would wait to see how events developed and would consider publishing the title in future, but that Five Mile Press had acted quickly in responding to the concerns of Farquharson's legal representative.

‘We're doing the right thing,' said Rowe, adding that a legal assessment of the title before publication could not have foreseen the developments that have unfolded in the case.

This article from Thorpe Bowker's Weekly Book Newsletter and Media Extra is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker