Ripper

Lane Books Customer Review

Outback Noir is having it's time in the sun. This time in the blistering  Australian sun of the remote town of Rainer. Shelly Burr has hit her strides here after the phenomenal success of the Wake with this magnificent second book.

Ripper conceives an interesting premise where "Dark Tourism" cashing in on a historic crime scene sees the tour operator become the next victim of a copycat murder. The Outback landscape is a perfect enigmatic backdrop. Its inhospitable isolation is an opportune environment for sketchy oddballs to thrive and the unseen to occur. Page turning and utterly compulsive.

Publishers Reviews

'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 characterization 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