Lane Holland

Evelyn simply vanished.

The small town of Nannine lies in the harsh red interior of New South Wales. Once a thriving outback centre, years of punishing drought have whittled it down to no more than a couple of pubs and a police station. And its one sinister claim to fame: the still-unsolved disappearance of Evelyn McCreery nineteen years ago from the bedroom she shared with her twin sister.

Mina McCreery's life has been defined by the intense and ongoing public interest in her sister's case. Now an anxious and reclusive adult, Mina lives alone on her family's sunbaked destocked sheep farm. The million-dollar reward her mother established to solve the disappearance has never been paid out.

Enter Lane Holland, a private investigator who dropped out of the police academy to earn a living cracking cold cases. Lane has his eye on the unclaimed money, but he also has darker motivations for wanting to solve the case.

Compulsively readable, with an unforgettable setting and cast of characters, WAKE is a powerful, unsparing story of how trauma ripples outward when people's private tragedies become public property, and how it's never too late for the truth to set things right.

'There is a complexity and depth to the characters that offer readers something more than merely a page-turning rush, although there is plenty of that to be found too . . . A cracker of a story and some surprising twists to the tale. WAKE will appeal to fans of Jane Harper, Christian White and Chris Hammer.' BOOKS+PUBLISHING

'One of the year's best debuts. Intriguing and compelling. Shelley Burr is a bright new talent in Australian crime fiction.' CHRIS HAMMER

'A nerve-jangling thriller with a brilliantly twisty plot, WAKE is also a haunting exploration of trauma in the age of celebrity victimhood. Shelley Burr's true-to-life characters, beautifully evoked landscapes and breakneck pacing make for compulsive reading.' ROSE CARLYLE

'An effortlessly accomplished, astonishing debut set against the heat and isolation of the Australian outback.' DINUKA MCKENZIE

'If you love Jane Harper's books, you will love this even more.' KAYTE NUNN

'This is Australian crime fiction at its very best.' MARK BRANDI

'WAKE is an incredible read: a hugely compelling mystery with a vivid rural Australia setting and fascinatingly damaged characters.' ALLIE REYNOLDS

'The hottest read for winter 2022.' HER CANBERRA