Ripper
By Shelley Burr
The second novel of unputdownable crime from Shelley Burr, following the internationally acclaimed and award-winning success of WAKE
‘Startling, filmic and haunting’ ALLIE REYNOLDS
‘Shelley Burr proves herself a master of the modern Australian crime novel’ ROSE CARLYLE
‘Unveiling one richly layered character after another, RIPPER has plenty of tricks up its sleeve and crackles with tension throughout’ JACK HEATH
‘Gripping, surprising . . . fascinating . . . Ripe for devourers of Sarah Thornton, Jane Harper and Sarah Bailey’ Books+Publishing
‘Shelley Burr’s legion of fans are sure to enjoy the twists and turns of this small-town Australia murder thriller’ SALLY BOTHROYD
Gemma Guillory has lived in Rainier her entire life. She knows the tiny town’s ins and outs like the back of her hand, the people like they are her family, their quirks as if they were her own.
She knows her once-charming town is now remembered for one reason, and one reason only. That three innocent people died. That the last stop on the Rainier Ripper’s trail of death seventeen years ago was her innocuous little teashop. She knows that the consequences of catching the Ripper still haunt her police officer husband and their marriage to this day and that some of her neighbours are desperate – desperate enough to welcome a dark tourism company keen to cash in on Rainier’s reputation as the murder town.
When the tour operator is killed by a Ripper copycat on Gemma’s doorstep, the unease that has lurked quietly in the original killer’s wake turns to foreboding, and she’s drawn into the investigation. Unbeknownst to her, so is a prisoner named Lane Holland. Gemma knows her town. She knows her people. Doesn’t she?
PRAISE FOR SHELLEY BURR’S DEBUT NOVEL, WAKE
‘Politically savvy, cleverly plotted . . . the kind of book that invites the ravenous language of binge reading: compulsive, propulsive, addictive’ NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
‘One of the year’s best debuts. Intriguing and compelling. Shelley Burr is a bright new talent in Australian crime fiction’ CHRIS HAMMER
‘It is hard to believe WAKE is a first novel. Plot, pacing and characterisation are so finely judged that it feels more like the work of a past master’ THE TIMES
‘A yarn that feels so plausible and terrifying, it stays with you’ THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S WEEKLY
‘Outstanding . . . This is both a well-plotted, gripping mystery and a sensitive exploration of the aftermath of trauma’ THE GUARDIAN
‘My crime novel of the year . . . Intense and evocative, it tears at the heart-strings’ DAILY MAIL
About the author:
Shelley Burr grew up on Newcastle’s beaches and her grandparents’ property in Glenrowan, and on the road between the two. When not writing, Shelley is working to establish a small permaculture farm and is studying agriculture at the University of New England, with a focus on soil science. She is an alumnus of the ACT Writers’ Hardcopy program (2018) and a Varuna fellow. WAKE was a Top Five bestseller, won the CWA Debut Dagger Award in 2019, was shortlisted for the Indie Book Awards Debut Novel Award, the Kill Your Darlings Unpublished Manuscript Award and the Bath Novel Award. Shelley also won the ABIA’s 2023 Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year for WAKE.
RIPPER is her second novel.
ISBN: 9780733647857
Publisher: Hachette
Credit: https://www.hachette.com.au/shelley-burr/ripper-from-the-author-of-mega-bestseller-wake
