Wake

Set in the fictional community of Nannine in outback New South Wales, WAKE by Shelley Burr is another title in the growing number of  excellent Australian crime books.

Private investigator Lane Holland arrives in the area hoping to investigate the case of Evelyn McCreery who disappeared nineteen years earlier. For several years his mission has been to investigate cold cases involving the disappearance of young girls. However he is presented with a case involving the disappearance of Crista Rennold who had also lived in the area. As Lane carries out his investigations the reader learns about events that have occurred in Lane's past that impact on his interest in these cold cases.

There are many twists and turns and dead ends throughout the novel until Lane is able to prove his theory about what happened to the missing girls.

According to a community forum, MyMurder, quoted throughout the novel WAKE stands for Wednesday Adams Killed Evie. To discover the significance you will have to read the book.

Review:

Murder in the brain-broiling heat and red dust of the outback - New York Times, 21 July 2022.