Jimmy Thomson
lives here
Biographies, military histories, true crime, crime fiction, children’s books and TV dramas.
Jimmy Thomson
The First Anzacs
How the Australian Combat Engineers (sappers) were written out of history and cheated out of their just rewards (Out on March 31).
Tunnel Rats
How Australian sappers (Army engineers) were the first to discover and explore the underground city at Cu Chi in the Vietnam war.
A Sappers War
How the rest of the sappers fared in Vietnam, following their motto of Facimus et Frangimus -“we make and we break”.
Tunnel Rats Vs The Taliban:
Australian Sappers in Afghanistan, fighting the Taliban, dealing with IEDs and Russian mines and destroying opium factories.
Perfect Criminals
Someone is murdering movie scriptwriters and Danny Clay, and his Vietnamese sidekick Xan, need to find out why before they are targetted.
Tunnel Vision
Danny and Xan fly to Saigon to help an old friend but trip over a people smuggling sex ring delivering young girls to Sydney.
Twisted River
A couple return from holiday to discover their lives have been ‘stolen’. Someone has set out to destroy them and they don’t know why.
Mole Creek
A murder made to look like suicide and a mystery from the Vietnam War lead to a string of killings in present day Tasmania, as a ruthless assassin sets out to protect a potentially world-changing secret.
Snitch
A former side-kick of “King of the Cross” John Ibrahim reveals a little too much about life before the Police Corruption Royal Commission. The book is no longer available for legal reasons.
The Last Snake Man
The amazing life story of renowned snake-catcher and showman John Cann.
Wendell Sailor
The controversial rugby codes dual international tells all
Shane Watson
The Australian all-rounder’s rise and rise and his battles with injuries.
No Need for Heroes
The original Tunnel Rat tells of life in Vietnam, the horrific murders of his daughters, and his life of healing.
Rain Shadow
Two vets in dry-land farming territory grapple with a terrible secret
Crash Palace
Bonking, boozing, British backpackers in Sydney. One of Australian TV’s “lost series” – or is it?
Breakers
The ground-breaking and long-running teen drama set in Bondi Beach, home for so many firsts in this genre.
The Koala Book
Karri the Koala has to deal with being different – when he drops he bounces,
The Koala Sequel
Karri the Koala is back – and he has to deal with abandoned pets taking over the Bush.
Apartment Living
The book that launched the Flat Chat apartment living website and newspaper columns.
Home Service
Before the internet, people obtained advice in print. Contains the “need, want, like” list that would still make it easier to find the home you’re looking for.
The Power of the Word
DECEMBER 2025: Jimmy Thomson is a journalist, and as author of 15 published books, a crime novelist, military historian and biographer. He has also written for TV, and is a frequent guest on radio and TV
On top of that, he is a travel writer and occasional tour guide and edits the travel website mildrover.com, and the apartment living website Flat Chat (flatchat.com.au).
Jimmy has worked as a TV scriptwriter in Australia and Los Angeles, having created or co-created three successful TV drama series. As a comedy writer, he has been nominated three times for the Australian Writers Guild sitcom awards.
He holds an MA in Writing from Swinburne University and teaches Australian Literature: Page to screen at Boston University (USA)’s Study Abroad program in Sydney.
Twisted River, his second novel under the name James Dunbar was published this year by Echo Publishing and he is currently working on a third James Dunbar novel, Blood Moon, a sequel to Mole Creek, his first Dunbar novel, also commissioned by Echo.
Meanwhile he is finalising a military history (co-written as Jimmy Thomson) for publication in March 2026 by Allen & Unwin.
Jimmy is married with an adult son, was born in Scotland and has worked in newspapers there, in London, Kenya, New Zealand and Australia.
