I really enjoyed WAKE and hoped for more of the same, especially as a main character returned in this sort of sequel.
But whereas WAKE felt quite sparse and tense, this novel was a bit too messy and unfocussed for me I'm afraid.
The set up was confusing and the investigation/reveal even more so. The parts set in the town were quite hard to read, with too many characters, too many odd or irrelevant meetings/details/conversations etc. The parts set in the prison with Lane were much more interesting, again I think because I liked that character, but also because less going on so we could focus on the actual story.
I just got a little frustrated and annoyed with this I'm afraid, and believe the author works better with a simpler narrative, less characters and a barer landscape.

Having read another book by this author I was happy to receive this one and I am glad I got the opportunity to read it as it is a great book and read.
It is an intense read and very suspenseful and thrilling which pulls you into the story making it hard to put the book down. It didn't take me long to read as I was so into it I just couldn't stop.

Wonderful writing and interesting characters make this a book you need to read.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Shelley Burr's "Murder Town" is a gripping and atmospheric thriller that delves deep into the dark undercurrents of a small town haunted by a long-unsolved crime. The story follows a determined protagonist who returns to her hometown, driven by a personal connection to a decades-old disappearance that has overshadowed the community's history.

Burr's writing is sharp and evocative, effectively capturing the claustrophobic and tense atmosphere of a town where everyone has secrets. As the investigation unfolds, past and present collide, revealing layer upon layer of deception and betrayal. "Murder Town" is a masterfully crafted mystery, perfect for readers who thrive on intense, character-driven narratives that keep you guessing until the very end.

This is the first book that I have read by Shelley Burr. I did keep going until the end but I did find the storyline a bit slow and there were a lot of characters that weren't fully explained. If someone lends you this book, give it a read but it isn't a book that I'd be recommending to my family or friends. Thank you to Shelley Burr and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

After reading Shelley Burr’s earlier novel, I was excited to see this one on Net Galley as a pre release. Fans of Jane Harper’s The Dry will enjoy this Aussie Noir novel.

Off the beaten track, Rainier is struggling in challenging economic times. Could the fact is was the site of a grisly crime put it back on the tourist trail? It’s no surprise that this is a controversial idea, and it’s not long before it causes conflict of the worst kind. Is the killer back, or is this a copycat bringing back the horror and violence of the original crime back to the town?

I enjoyed this novel - it was gripping and had me reading on. Some of the characters did feel a little two dimensional or stereotypical - but in all honesty, I think this adds somewhat to the nostalgic, small town feel of the genre.

I did not find this book to be a terribly interesting read. There seemed to be a lot of characters that were not really fully explained so I was a bit lost as to who was who.
It was not a particularly gripping story. sorry

Loved, loved loved this serial killer mystery!
Shelley Burr is the queen of unique story plots and the ability to shock you over and over again.
I can’t wait for the next instalment!

This is the first book I have ready by Shelley Burr

This book is set in an Australian town where there had previously been some gruesome murder and a tour company want to run tours though the town..
We see good characters and how what happened has effected them.
I enjoyed the book it was quite a slow read but still enjoyable

Even more gripping than her previous, Wake. I was rapidly drawn in by Burr's decision to focus on a town that's become defined by past trauma, showing how the residents' lives (and their businesses) have been affected. I read quickly, eager to find out about the killer and motive.

Apologies this book just wasn't for me. I found it incredibly slow and I just couldn't get into the storyline. Sorry. Others I'm sure will love it.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for ARC.

The small country town of Rainier is notorious within Australia for a series of murders. A man known as the Rainier Ripper is incarcerated for the crimes.
When a tour company proposes to run ghoulish tours through the town, local cafe owner Gema Guillory has mixed feelings about it. They could do with the tourism, but....
Another death follows, suggesting that someone is keen to avoid spotlighting the old murders.
Meantime, PI Lane Holland is contacted under odd circumstances to investigate both the original and the recent deaths.
This started out feeling like a 'cosy' crime, with a relatively small set of characters, in an isolated setting, but rapidly became something else, which I found much more emotionally and intellectually satisfying. When I started reading, I had not realised the connection to Burr's fantastic debut Wake, and this doesn't need any knowledge of that episode in Holland's life.
This is a good read from a very good writer. I didn't love it as much as Wake, but it was a hard act to follow.

Although a bit bit of slow burner, it is well worth sticking with this book. Beautifully written and truly a masterpiece

3.5*.
I read ‘Wake’ a while ago and did not initially realise that this book linked to it, via the character of Lane Holland.
18 years ago, three gruesome murders leave a small, isolated Australian town reeling.
Now events lead to the past being raked up, and another murder occurs.
A local resident, her life deeply affected by the first series of murders, starts questioning what happened.
It’s a well written story sprinkled with clues and hints Agatha Christie-like, and held my interest but the plot becomes incredibly complex and convoluted towards the end.
One of the characters paraphrases Occam’s Razor with ‘If you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras’. For me, though, the ending is a stampede of zebras. Still a good read, though.

Murder Town/Ripper provided an excellent start to 2024 in the form of a gripping, thoughtful, multifaceted Aussie crime thriller. If you were lucky enough to have read Wake, you will already be familiar with Lane Holland who finds his freedom curtailed after the previous novel. All other characters in this novel are new to the reader. So, while Wake isn't a hard and fast prerequisite, reading it first will put the facts of Lane's backstory in better light.

Shelley Burr is a cracking great writer and I happily add her to my 'must read' Aussie authors list alongside Chris Hammer and Jane Harper, to name a couple. She's a dab hand at the onion-effect of a mystery within a mystery and peoples her novels with well constructed characters the reader can engage with. I found the population of Rainier, and the past events that make the town newsworthy, wholly plausible. It is a town with a painful past trying to find relevance, and a revenue stream, going forward with conflicting views how best to achieve that. A murder in the town changes everything, though, and refreshes long buried tensions and trauma. The parallel plot lines of happening in Rainier and Lane's intersect rather well fuelling some intriguing drama. I highly recommend this novel and the escape it affords into a warmer climate during this chilly British winter. Enjoy!

I loved Shelley Burr’s first novel Wake, and was delighted to be able to review Murder Town, her second.
Rainer used to be a lovely little town, but unfortunately a series of murders has given it the sort of notoriety that has left it struggling to survive. Gemma Guillory was only young when the last victim banged on the door of her family tea shop and died in front of her.
Almost 20 years later her desperate neighbours have invited a tourist company to run a Ranier Ripper tour to revive the town’s fortunes. When the guide is murdered after the first meeting about the tour, panic quickly sets in. The Ranier Ripper is supposedly incarcerated, so who murdered the guide?
Gemma finds herself dragged into the investigation, while Lane Holland, who we met in Wake, is in prison with the Ripper and is persuaded to gain his trust and find out what he knows.
I really enjoyed this novel, Shelley Burr again demonstrates her great ability to use surroundings to aid her characterisation and help our understanding of their motives. You absolutely feel the isolation and insularity of the small town and how it affects the characters. The story is clever and I certainly had no idea what had really happened back then and now until the last few chapters. My only issue is the are far more characters in this book than the first, they are mostly all introduced in a rush at the beginning and I struggled to differentiate them for quite some time. Some of them become very important later on and yet didn’t feel fully fleshed out.
I didn’t feel that the history of Gemma and Hugh’s marriage was fully explored either.
Overall, it’s a very strong novel and I would certainly recommend it.

This was a gripping and intriguing thriller set in a small town in the Australian Outback. I'd never read any thrillers set in the outback before and it was both gripping and intriguing. The setting and characters drew me in and had me hooked until the very last page.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review

Australia noir murder mystery. The small town of Rainier is notorious for a serial killer about 15 years ago. Gemma runs the local shop and café and was personally affected by the crimes. She is now married to the local police officer.
Lane Holland, the private detective from the previous book is in prison with Jan, the convicted killer.
An outsider turns up promoting his idea for murder tours to generate some income for the town, to the disgust of some of the inhabitants. Another murder takes place after the introductory meeting.
Gemma and Lane investigate the current murder and revisit the previous crimes, and a lot of old secrets are revealed.
Really suspenseful, with lots of history and animosity between the various families in the town. Highly recommended.

I chose to read a free eARC of Murder Town but that has in no way influenced my review.

I seem to say this at the start of every other review at the moment (which can only be a good thing, IMHO) but I LOVE Australian crime fiction. If you're a regular here on damppebbles then you are probably already aware of this. Mainly because I feature a lot of Aussie crime but also because I keep telling you 😂 (every other review, right?!). Anyhoo, back in 2022 I read Shelley Burr's debut, WAKE, and I fell head over heels for it. WAKE was my 2022 book of the year. It's an absolute 'must read' for any crime fiction fans and I've been eagerly awaiting the release of Burr's second book for what feels like a very, very long time. Murder Town, book two in the PI Lane Holland series, was published in between Christmas and New Year so if it was vying for a spot on my top books of 2023 list then it was cutting it fine! But make it it did. Squeaking in at the last moment, Murder Town is one of the best books I read in 2023.

Seventeen years ago the Rainier Ripper put the small, close-knit town of Rainier on the map for all the wrong reasons. With a body count of three, the Ripper was finally caught and sentenced to life in prison. But the town could not distance itself from the devastation caused, particularly those who were up close and personal with the killer's victims. Gemma, then a nineteen-year-old working alone late at night in her Grandmother's Teashop, was one of the last people to see Dean Shadwell alive as he banged on the door, crying for help.  Now, seventeen years later, a dark tourism company wants to organise a Rainier Ripper tour, calling at the shops and locations where the Ripper's victims were found. Many in the town aren't keen but businesses are failing, footfall in the town is at an all-time low. On the eve of a meeting to discuss the proposal, a grisly discovery is made. The tour organiser is found dead in the fountain outside Gemma's teashop. He's been killed to look exactly like one of the Ripper's victims. Is this a copycat or does the Ripper's influence reach further than anyone ever thought....?

Murder Town is a riveting, fully engrossing, perfectly plotted murder mystery and I loved it. This is the second book in the PI Lane Holland series but if you haven't read the first book, WAKE, then there's no need to worry (although it's sublime and absolutely worth picking up). Murder Town is a book I've been wanting to get my hands on for a while now so as soon as it arrived, I got stuck in. I didn't even waste time with reading the blurb. Which is why I didn't realise initially that it features Lane Holland. Lane does absolutely play a part in this story, and references are made to his previous case (the previous book), but they're only in passing. I don't think any in-depth knowledge is needed. But I will say again, it is worth picking up a copy of WAKE, just because both books are so very good and definitely worth your time. Back to the point I was making; even though Lane does feature, he's not the main character in this one. He's participating from afar, miles away from Rainier on the end of a phone. For me, this book was all about Gemma Guillory and the residents of Rainier. I thoroughly liked Gemma who is doing the best she can as a wife, mother and business owner in a town that is tarnished with a dark past. There is a large cast of characters in Murder Town but Gemma stood out above them all. Rainier is a place where everyone seems to know your business and this intrusiveness, the claustrophobia of such an environment is handled beautifully by the author.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. I loved everything about Murder Town. The characters are believable, disparate and diverse, and all seemed to fit perfectly in Rainier. The setting is vivid to the reader. You really get a strong feeling of a what Rainier was, compared to what it is now, post-Ripper. The inability of the townspeople and the businesses to shake their association with a serial killer was a little heart-breaking. So why not just go with the flow and use what they have to their advantage? I could see the town's reasons for considering the proposal. The murder mystery aspect of the book is handled well with plenty of intrigue and suspense. The reveal came as a shock to me. I wasn't able to guess the outcome but that only added to my overall enjoyment of the novel. With the large cast of characters there are many suspects to pick from. Really clever, immersive plotting which I loved. All in all, Murder Town is superb. It's a well-written, fully-engaging murder mystery with a different feel compared to others in the same genre. Utterly compelling, very addictive and a real highlight of my reading year. Highly recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of Murder Town. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

#Ripper aka #MurderTown by #ShelleyBurr takes readers into the weird interconnectivity of small town life. Some know everything, while others are excluded. Everyone has dated everyone and married someone else. This is a very claustrophobic story, and is one you don't put down and step away from easily. Burr is now on my list of autoreads and I look forward to her next book.

This read reasonably well as a stand alone (I had not realised there was a previous book) but was slow moving in places.
There was plenty of information given about the previous murders and the capture of the suspected serial killer but the characters the story centers around (the survivors and residents of the town) were a little wooden for me and the situation that arises was a little bit too contrived.
Certainly eminently readable but not the best example of the genre.