Murder Town

A Novel

By: Shelley Burr

Narrated by: Jacquie Brennan

For fans of Jane Harper and true crime, a dark and gripping thriller set in a small town in the Australian Outback, by the author of the international bestseller WAKE.

Gemma Guillory has lived in the Australian Outback enclave of Rainier her entire life. She knows the tiny, red-dust town’s ins and outs by heart, knows the people like they are her family, their quirks as if they were her own.

She also knows her once charming town is now remembered for one reason and one reason only: three innocent people died there at the hands of a serial killer. The last stop on the Rainier Ripper’s trail of deaths fifteen years ago was her picturesque little tea shop. She knows that the consequences of catching the Ripper still haunt her policeman husband and their marriage to this day, and some of her neighbors are desperate enough to welcome a dark tourism company keen to cash in on Rainier’s notoriety as the “Murder Town.”

When the tour guide is killed by a Ripper copycat on Gemma’s doorstep, the unease that has lurked quietly in the original killer’s wake explodes into the light, and Gemma is drawn into the investigation. Unbeknownst to her, so is a prisoner named Lane Holland, a former private investigator who earned a living cracking cold cases before he ran afoul of the law.

Gemma knows her town. She knows her people. Doesn't she?

©2024 Shelley Burr (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

A true crime junkies crime novel

Loved the twists and turns, loved the way the police’s choices affect the town and the townspeople. Well crafted.

meh

This was just OK. I did t enjoy it as much as the author's previous book. It was a bit convoluted and hard to keep the characters straight. Also there wasn't much depth to the characters.