At 6 years old, Robert Drewe moved with his family from Melbourne to the West Australian coast, to grow up in the sea and sand dunes around Perth. An isolated city, it was innocently proud of its tranquillity and friendliness. Then a man he knew murdered a boy he also knew. The murderer randomly killed 8 strangers in variously horrific ways and innocent Perth was changed forever. In the middle-class suburbs which were the killer's main stalking grounds, the murders created widespread anxiety and instant local myth. Many people were deeply affected, not least the young Robert Drewe. To make sense of this time and place, and of his own childhood and adolescence, he was drawn to write about it. The result is a vibrant and haunting memoir that reaches far beyond the dark recesses of murder and chaos to encompass their ordinary suburban backdrop. In Robert Drewe's hands, a whole time and region come to vivid life. Moving, surprisingly humorous and beautifully observed, this book shows one of Australia's most acclaimed writers charting new and exciting territory.
