There are a fair few mystery stories about historic crimes becoming current when a copycat killer strikes, but this one is set apart by its engaging lead characters: Gemma, the owner of a teashop close to where past and present murders occurred; and Lane, a former private investigator who is brought to the case by an unexpected client.
I was deeply immersed in chapter 8 before I realised this was a sequel to WAKE, my favourite book of last year. When the penny dropped, I liked Murder Town even more. How clever of the author to have her sleuth operating from the most unlikely location ever.
Despite a lot of minor characters to get to grips with, I enjoyed the smooth, well-paced writing. This was a smug read for me because, somehow, I managed to unravel the complex plot in advance of the ending and was delighted to have my suspicions confirmed.
Shelley Burr is a talented writer and I can't wait for book 3.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

Fresh off wining a Ned Kelly Award for her terrific first novel Wake – which meshed true crime obsession with rural noir, and had previously won a CWA Dagger as an unpublished manuscript – Australian author Shelley Burr plunges readers into another twisting small-town mystery with Murder Town (originally published in Australia and New Zealand as "Ripper").

Gemma Guillory is a lifelong resident of Rainier, a tiny rural town that like many across Australia and around the world is now struggling as industries and economies evolve. Seventeen years ago a teenaged Gemma stared down a serial killer, and now a big city business backed by some desperate locals wants to cash in, offering tours of Rainier for true crime fans. Residents are understandably split on resurrecting the town’s past notoriety, but is it the town’s only chance of survival?

When the tour operator is the victim of a copycat-style slaying near Gemma’s store, she must battle fears present and past. Could someone she knows, even loves, have committed murder? While Gemma is drawn into the investigation, so too is Lane Holland, an unusual private eye whose sleuthing must take a different tack, now he’s behind bars (following the events of Wake). Holland is conscripted by a warden with his own agenda to elicit information from the original Rainier Ripper. Could there be a copycat, or did he have a partner? What happened with an unidentified victim?

Burr cements herself as a terrific new voice in Australian, and global, crime writing while avoiding any sophomore slump and proving she’s no one-hit wonder. Murder Town is a terrific second effort that delivers tension and humanity, and deftly blends page-turning crime story with explorations of people, place, and trauma.

[A version of this review was first published in the November 2023 edition of Deadly Pleasures, a US magazine]

No no no. This can’t be the same author that wrote the excellent Wake. The books couldn’t be more different. This is just so poor, I’m at a loss to explain it.

A sort of poor man’s Agatha Christie effort, I was annoyed right off the bat as we are overwhelmed with a cast of characters in the opening chapters with little or no development. I had no idea who was who and it didn’t get any better as the book went on. I struggled to figure out who was who, such was the lack of character development anywhere.

Gemma, our main character and the one who is supposed to carry the story was uninteresting in the extreme and mildly annoying. Married to the local policeman and with their marriage apparently in trouble, the husbands (I can’t even remember his name) character development was non existent!

The story was over complicated and frankly ludicrous. Totally unbelievable with characters who you didn’t know (or care about) I’m sorry to say this was one hot mess.

I’m so incredibly disappointed as I really loved the authors debut Wake. Awful stuff altogether.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

I loved ‘Wake’ and thought it was interesting how Shelley Burr managed to continue Lane Hilton’s story in ‘Murder Town’. I feel like the purpose of this book was to set up the next one, which I'm now dying to read!

Shelley Burr's follow up to the brilliant 'Wake' is also excellent especially if you love twisty small town drama with a serial killer vibe.

A disparate group of characters living in a town with a killer reputation and more death is on the way. The story is beautifully plotted to reveal its secrets slowly over the read and it is extremely addictive.

Really enjoyed it. Looking forward to more from this author.

The first time I have read this Author but I enjoyed the style of writing. A solid four star read. Great premise. Good characters. Page turner. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing Would definitely read the next novel. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Wow what a great gritty murder mystery fast paced and keeps you guessing and a surprising ending.
Would highly recommend.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Fifteen years ago the small town of Rainer, midway between Sydney and Melbourne, became famous for three murders and the capture of the "Rainier Ripper". Gemma Guillory saw the third victim die and it has affected her life ever since.
When a tour guide wants to do a tour that takes in the murders, the town is divided and agree to meet the man.
The day of the walk through of the tour, the man is murdered in similar circumstances to the second original victim.
Once again the town is plunged into a nightmare. Old secrets start to come out and the accusations fly.
A very good read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

After loving Wake I was excited to read more by Shelley Burr. I was expecting a dark thriller that grips me.
While I was gripped in a way. I also found this to be slower than I would have liked. But I also found I didn't care about some of the stories that were connected.
This story felt a little dragging but the actual length isn't too long. I needed something more to keep me invested and care for the reveal.

Do you ever get that way that you remember how much you loved a book but really struggle to remember the story or why you loved it so much?

That was me with Burr's first novel, Wake. I genuinely remember enjoying it and being surprised it was a debut novel but I really struggled to remember any details from it.

Which is why it took me a bit of time to actually realise this was a follow up book with Lane Holland.

To be fair, this is partly due to the fact that there are quite a lot of characters in this book, initially and Lane doesn't come into the book right away (well thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it).

Anyway, this was another excellent novel by Burr and she is fast becoming an author who will always creep to the top of my (ever expanding) TBR pile.

Burr does a great job in terms of location and really has the reader in the middle of the book. The story was complex, again mainly due to the number of characters, but once you get them straight in your head the book powers through to a brilliant conclusion.

And the ending sets up the next book in the series perfectly... Let's hope when the time comes, I'm able to remember this one!

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Gemma Guillory has lived in the small town of Rainier for all of her life. he runs the tea room which has the claim to fame as the last stop of the Rainier Ripper before he was caught.
Then there is another Ripper type murder and Gemma finds herself involved in the investigation.

At first glance, Rainier isn't anything special. It's a charming town conveniently situated smack bang in between Sydney and Melbourne. The kind of place where you stop for gas, or a wee, and go right back on your way to wherever it is you're going. Nobody would really give this place a second look under normal circumstances.

However, once upon a time seventeen years ago, Rainier was the location of three brutal murders. And in this day and age of true crime obsession, suddenly there is renewed interest. A tour operator would like to put Rainier and its bloody past back on the map. Some residents approve, albeit it for financial reasons. Others do not. So when the tour operator is found dead, who is responsible and why? Is it someone who wants to scare people off? Or the opposite, thinking that a fresh murder will bring in more bookings? Is this death in any way connected to the original ones?

This story is mainly told via Gemma, the owner of the local teashop, who was unfortunate enough to witness the death of victim number three all those years ago. Those events still haunt her to this day. But she's not the only one. Those murders affected a lot of the town residents, and to this day many questions remain unanswered. One thing is for sure, the death of the tour operator can't be attributed to the original killer since he's in prison.

And that's where former private investigator Lane Holland comes in. If you read Burr's excellent debut 'Wake', then you will be familiar with Lane and you'll also know why he's in prison. If not, not to worry, there's enough there to fill you in. But obviously you should most definitely read 'Wake' anyway, because it's really, really good. Anywho, Lane is in the perfect position to make contact with the Ripper and maybe help the investigation into the current murder along that way. All is not what it seems, though.

There's something about small town mysteries that will always lure me in. Of course, there are secrets lurking around every corner of Rainier. There were some I was able to work out, even if I initially thought my theories were way out there. Others were not so straightforward and Burr kept me guessing until the reveal. Rainier offers quite a list of potential suspects. Especially because many of the residents are rather unlikeable, except for the teenagers. But 'Murder Town' isn't entirely about solving these riddles. It's also about family, loss and grief, the impact others' lies or secrets can have on us, and the choices or decisions we make in our lives.

'Murder Town' is a compelling and addictive page-turner with that dreaded "one more chapter" vibe that makes you stay up way past your bedtime because you just have to know how things end. So maybe Lane's part in this story won't exactly be winning him any awards, but it does lead to the perfect set-up for a follow-up book. Naturally I can't tell you anything about that because that would spoil it, but I can't wait to find out more. If you're a crime fiction fan, I definitely recommend this series and Shelley Burr has easily grabbed herself a place on my go-to list.

Thought I'd have an early night with my book, catch up with some rest.
Instead, I stayed up way too late until I'd finished it.
As the second in the series, I think there's possibly not enough Lane, but he's there, on the side, keeping himself busy.
The main part of the story set in a small town involves murder, old and new.
There are a lot of characters, I couldn't keep track on them to begin with, and they're all connected.
A cracking story, with lots of twists along the way. Some I didn't even pick up a hint at.
It's a great follow up to Wake, and it's left me wanting more.