Gentle Satan: My Life with Abe Saffron (2008) by Alan Saffron is a memoir about growing up as the son of one of Australia’s most notorious crime figures. Abe Saffron, known as the “King of Kings Cross,” built an empire through nightclubs, strip joints, and property deals, but his name was long linked with organized crime, corruption, and vice.
Alan’s book strips away the myth of his father as merely a flamboyant nightclub identity and shows the darker side of life inside the family. He writes about Abe’s ruthlessness, his manipulation, and the way he maintained control through fear, while also presenting the contradiction of a man who could be both charismatic and cold. The title reflects that duality—Abe as a “gentle” father figure at times, but also a “Satan” whose legacy left scars on those closest to him.
The memoir doesn’t just dwell on Abe’s public infamy; it’s also Alan’s attempt to reconcile his own life under the shadow of a man who wielded power in both Sydney’s underworld and its elite circles. It’s part personal reckoning, part inside look at the mechanics of Australian organized crime during the second half of the 20th century.
