Having greatly enjoyed Jane Harper’s novels, I am now ready for an emergence of ‘Aussie noir’ as a thriller subgenre. One novel that qualifies for this category is Shelley Burr’s debut novel. The setting is the remote New South Wales town of Nannie. It is here that private investigator Lane Holland arrives to look into the cold case of missing nine-year old Evelyn McCreery. Although the child disappeared from her bedroom almost twenty years ago, the locals sternly maintain their silence and it takes Holland a long time even to get Evelyn’s twin sister Mina, who still lives on the family ranch, to talk to him. But what if it is not only Mina who has been traumatised by previous events but Holland as well? This tightly-plotted novel interweaves so many lies and untruths that the final denouement arrives as an extraordinary surprise. A highly recommended read. Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for the free ARC that allowed me to read this extraordinary debut and to produce this book review that is honest and unbiased.

A very unusual story of a cold case being researched by a young detective who has a back story of his own. Tying the two together takes him on a journey around his old home town. He meets people involved in the case, but he has to be careful of how much information he discloses, otherwise he could be in deep trouble.
A good read.

This was everything you need for a thriller and crime story. It is not as black and white as you first think and like most typical thrillers, is full of twists. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

This one brilliant debut novel. A slow paced crime read set in an atmospheric fictitious town in NSW known as Nannine. It’s a town where everyone knows everyone, as well as knowing most of their business, or thinking they do. It’s almost twenty years since twin Evelyn McCreery went missing in the middle of the night leaving her twin Mina behind. How had she disappeared? There were no fingerprints, no forced entry, no tyre tracks. Evelyn had shared a bedroom with her twin Mina how had she not heard anything?

Beverley McCreery had spent the rest of her life, writing and updating a book about her daughters disappearance, doing media anything to keep the public interested. But that meant from the age of 6 Mina had just been the one left behind, she had struggled to make friends. Her life now was on the family property. You really feel for Mina, it was like her twin had been the better looking of the two, the most talented. At times you wonder if Mina felt that it would have been better if she had gone missing.

A well written story which is hard to believe is a debut novel. The style is sophisticated and the tension and timing excellent.
I was so close to giving this a five star rating because of how impressive a first book it is but I have to be honest and admit the ending was just a little bit of a let down.
Great book though and I loved it.

Gritty Australian outback thriller. Lane is a private investigator who comes to a remote Outback town to try and solve why a twin disappeared one night. There are many conspiracy theories but who is right.
Mina, owner of an outback farms is Evelyn,, the missing girl's twin. Her whole life has been shadowed by the mystery of where her twin went. As the story unfolds it seems that nothing is as it seems.
I found the first third fairly hard together into but as more was revealed, I cared enough about Mina and Lane to read to the end.

Superb debut thriller, very well written, there is a sense of unease and menace lurking in the background right from the start, and you become drawn in right from the First page, really good!

This one brilliant debut novel. A slow paced crime read set in an atmospheric fictitious town in NSW known as Nannine. It’s a town where everyone knows everyone, as well as knowing most of their business, or thinking they do. It’s almost twenty years since twin Evelyn McCreery went missing in the middle of the night leaving her twin Mina behind. How had she disappeared? There were no fingerprints, no forced entry, no tyre tracks. Evelyn had shared a bedroom with her twin Mina how had she not heard anything?

Beverley McCreery had spent the rest of her life, writing and updating a book about her daughters disappearance, doing media anything to keep the public interested. But that meant from the age of 6 Mina had just been the one left behind, she had struggled to make friends. Her life now was on the family property. You really feel for Mina, it was like her twin had been the better looking of the two, the most talented. At times you wonder if Mina felt that it would have been better if she had gone missing.

PI Lane Holland has arrived in Nannine, to work on the cold case of the missing Evelyn McCreery, but no one in the town will speak to him. Lane needs the reward, he has spent years raising his sister after their mother had been tragically killed. She is now attending university and Lane doesn’t want her to have to worry about money. He has spent years working on cold cases he has become quite good at it. But is there something more going on with this case? What does Lane know or suspect?

Interspersed throughout there are snippets from an Internet forum known as MyMurder Forum where cold cases are discussed by people interested in being armchair detectives, they discuss Evelyn’s case, some believe Mina killed Evelyn, some think the mother did it and buried her on the land. Others are just interested in following he case.

This is a well written crime story, with characters you can really empathise with not just Mina but Lane as well, he has not had life easy, and he really wants to solve the Evelyn case not just for the money, which would obviously help a lot. But he has other suspicions as to what happened that night. Can he solve it?

If you like a slow paced well written atmospheric crime story then grab a copy of this, you will definitely not be disappointed. I look forward to see what the author comes up with next.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #Hodder&Stoughton for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

The tiny outback town of Nannine lies in the harsh red interior of Australia. Once a thriving center of stockyards and sheep stations, years of punishing drought have petrified the land and Nannine has been whittled down to no more than a stoplight, a couple bars, and a police station. And it has another, more sinister claim to fame: the still-unsolved disappearance of young Evelyn McCreery nineteen years ago.
Mina McCreery’s life has been defined by the intense public interest in her sister’s case—which is still a hot topic in true-crime chat rooms and on social media. Now an anxious and reclusive adult, Mina lives alone on her family’s sunbaked destocked sheep farm.
Enter Lane Holland, a young private investigator who dropped out of the police academy to earn a living cracking cold cases. Before she died, Mina’s mother funded a million-dollar reward for anyone who could explain how Evelyn vanished from her bed in the family’s farmhouse. The lure of cash has only increased public obsession with Evelyn and Mina—but yielded no answers.
Lane wins Mina’s trust when some of his more unconventional methods show promise. But Lane also has darker motivations, and his obsession with the search will ultimately risk both their lives—and yield shocking results.
This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

Excellent story about Mina McCreery and her sister Evelyn McCreery who was taken and presumed dead. Lane Holland, is a young private investigator who is interested in the cold case and after eventually earning Mina's trust starts his own investigation. Loved the characters and the twists and turns I could not put it down and was eager to finish it to find out what happened to Evelyn McCreery.
Brilliant debut novel look forward to reading more books by Shelley Burr. Would highly recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley & Hodder & Stoughton for a advanced copy.

New author alert!!!!! Wake by Shelley Burr was an excellent book especially as this is Shelley's first novel, This novel is set in New South Wales and the small town of Nannine. which lies in the harsh red interior of Australia.
Nannine was once a thriving centre of stockyards and sheep stations sadly through the years drought had cause Nannine to whittle down to nothing and it has just became a stop off for visitors on their travels. All it has now are a few bars and a Police station. There was more sinister claim to fame: and is still an unsolved disappearance of young Evelyn McCreery nineteen years ago.

Evelyn McCreery was Mina McCreery's sister and her life, has been defined by the intense public interest on what happened to her all those years ago. There are still true crime chat rooms on the social media discussing on what happened to her. But, no one knows!
Now an anxious and reclusive adult, Mina lives alone on her family's sunbaked de-stocked sheep farm.

Lane Holland, is a young private investigator who has dropped out of the police academy who has to earn a living cracking cold cases. Before Evelyn died, Mina's mother funded a million-dollar reward for anyone who could explain how Evelyn vanished from her bed in the family's farmhouse nineteen years ago. However, the lure of cash has only increased public obsession with Evelyn and Mina sadly no answers have been found on what happened to her.

Lane wins Mina's trust when some of his more unconventional methods show promise. But Lane also has darker motivations, and his obsession with the search will ultimately risk both their lives and yield shocking results..

Why is he obsessed about Evelyn disappearance? Does he know something and is hiding it from the family and the local Police?

WoW this book is amazing and full of great twists and turns that will have you sitting on the edge of your chair. I was hooked from the very first few pages till the end.

I highly recommend this book.

Top notch Aussie noir and a superb debut! I thoroughly enjoyed 'WAKE' and read it in a day. I look forward to reading more from Shelley Burr. Her characterisation and sense of place is flawless. I haven't felt this excited about an author since I first read Candice Fox. Highly recommend!

Wake by Shelley Burr

Received via NetGallery for review!

5 stars

Wonderful debut novel! Gripping from the very start! Story covers a cold case investigation into an unsolved mystery about a missing girl!

Absolutely unsurprised that this debut novel from new Australian author was awarded the CWA Debut Dagger in 2019.

The main characters are the missing girl’s twin sister Mina and Lane, a Private Investigator.

Mina has struggled since her sister disappeared 19 years before. Already the quiet twin, she had developed into an anxious and abrupt recluse with few contacts and ecome even more insular and her anxiety has given her a hard shell and her abrupt manner has stopped her making friends.

Lane is also an interesting character with secrets of his own.

A must read! 5 stars!

Australian crime fiction is very strong at the moment with the likes of Jane Harper and Chris Hammer proving very popular, and Shelley Burr is a welcome addition to the group. This exciting debut is set in New South Wales and the sense of place is very powerful. The story centres on a journalist seeking to solve the disappearance of two young women; the families of the missing are well portrayed and there are many surprising revelations before the mysteries are solved. I look forward to more from Ms Burr.

Mina's twin sister disappeared 19 years ago and no-one knows what happened. Mina's life has since been on hold as she lives in the same childhood home.
Then Lane Holland (A PI) turns up offering to help. What isn't obvious is the motivation behind the offer of help. Is it the reward, or, something else?

This is a well written debut novel, especially when describing the isolation and heat of Central New South Wales. It's an atmospheric, well constructed drama, that is slow to build but with an ending worth the wait.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to preview this excellent debut novel.

What a great read. I love Australia and I love crime fiction so put the two together and I am one happy reader! The atmosphere created in this book by the remote desolate location is brilliant and sets the scene perfectly for a slow burner of a crime thriller. The story is very well written and has many perfectly timed twists and turns along the way which are delivered in such a matter of fact and understated way which suits the mournful style of writing brilliantly.

In 1999 Evelyn McCreery went missing, her mum has since died and her sister runs the ‘farm’. When Lane Holland, a private investigator turns up to help Mina, will she get answers.
I’m not sure how I felt about this book, it was a good read but it didn’t grip me 100%.
Thank You to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

A debut book for Shelley Burr and I am looking forward to some more books by her.

A great read. 9 year old Evelyn went missing 20 years ago and her twin sister Mina now lives alone almost as a recluse.
Lane, a private investigator arrives and wants to get to the bottom of the disappearence all those years ago.

I haven't read much set in Australia so it was good to read something set somewhere new also.

Mina McCreery's nine-year-old sister Evelyn went missing in the middle of the night, from their home on a remote sheep farm near Nannine, Central New South Wales. Her disappearance was never explained, and the case remains unsolved. Nineteen years later, Mina lives as a recluse on the now destocked farm, her life forever altered by the loss of her twin sister and the resulting media storm that made Evie's disappearance a nationwide fascination. Everyone thinks they know Mina, and has a theory about what happened to Evie.

Private investigator Lane Holland has a talent for solving cold cases about missing girls. When he turns up in Nannine offering his services to Mina, she is far from convinced that he is not just another creep attracted by a morbid interest in Evie's case, and the hefty reward that is still on offer. However, when his unconventional methods show promise, Mina is persuaded to let her guard down.

What Mina doesn't know is that Lane has his own very private reason for needing to solve this case, and his secret will put them both in danger...

First and foremost, Wake is a wonderfully atmospheric, tightly plotted crime mystery that draws you in as it weaves its compelling threads around the case of a missing girl whose disappearance has her family, the police, and the public mystified. And what a mystery it is! It's full of taut suspense and perfectly timed reveals that carry you along through first class twists and turns, until multiple truths that have been tantalisingly just out of reach come into focus with shocking clarity. 

At the centre of the story we have Mina and the tentative relationship that develops between her and Lane - both of them needing to get to the truth about what happened to Evie, but hiding secrets they cannot fully acknowledge to each other for almost the entire story, which builds in the most delicious slow-burn tension. Burr writes them both with oodles of deftly wrought emotion, exploring the turmoil that roils beneath the calm exteriors they have been forced to cultivate, and delving into really complex themes of fear, responsibility, resentment, guilt, and isolation.

The story unfurls against a setting that is rich in all the scorching Outback elements I look for - complicated small town dynamics, difficult economic times, and a vividly described backdrop being top of the list - and Burr also incorporates some intriguing fresh aspects. I really enjoyed how she brings in land management and conservation issues that she clearly draws from her own family background in sheep farming, and her experience working in the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. I don't think I've ever looked at rural Australia in quite the manner Burr conjures up through Mina's eyes, with a palpable feelings of tenderness and duty vying against bone-weary exhaustion and a desire to break free. It really gets under your skin.

The way that Burr examines how crimes of this kind become public property, with ripples running through time that affect those left behind, is particularly striking too. She does not shy away from the reality of the terrifying reach and cutting cruelty of social media, especially disturbing crime obsessed chat-rooms, and the way in which people bandy about their vicious theories without a thought for the families concerned. She also leaves you with a lot to think about around the reasons why some cases capture the attention of the public at the expense of equally worthy, but less high-profile ones.

This really is a classy debut novel, and I cannot wait to see how Shelley Burr's career develops, because this is exactly the kind of quality Aussie crime story I need more of in my life. Move over Jane Harper, there's a new kid on the Outback block...

The story:
Nearly twenty years ago, nine-year-old Evelyn McCreery disappeared without a trace, leaving behind twin sister Mina. Now grown up, Mina lives a reclusive life on the family’s remote farm in the Australian outback, pushing away an outside world that sees her as nothing more than a character in the most famous cold case in the country.

Lane Holland is a private detective determined to get to the bottom of the Evie McCreery mystery, and earn the reward money that will support his younger sister at university into the bargain. But as the case progresses and Lane battles to win Mina’s trust, the shadows of his own past threaten to overturn everything…

My thoughts:
“WAKE”, by Shelley Burr is a debut novel, but I would never have guessed that from reading it. The plot grabbed me from the start, and I was drawn to the flawed, abrasive, but also vulnerable and somehow likeable character of Mina.

Private investigator Lane is also interesting and endearing; his seemingly straightforward aim to solve the case and claim the reward money becomes more complex as we learn more about his own story and motivations.

Although there isn’t a huge cast of characters, I was still left guessing who was responsible for what happened to Evelyn, and changed my mind several times as the plot progressed! The conclusion is shocking and satisfying, and I raced through the final third of the book in one go to find out what really happened on that fateful night in 1999! I would recommend this to fans of authors such as Jane Harper and Wendy James, and anyone who loves a good mystery/thriller (and, like me, the odd true crime podcast too!).