Clarke

‘With a propulsive triple-mystery and characters you'll care about, Clarke is a book you'll read in one sitting, and still be thinking about weeks later.’ – ABC Arts

‘I loved this book. Throsby is a natural born storyteller. 5 stars.’ – Better Reading Magazine

‘Clarke is illuminated with such wonderful, vivid characters. Rarely have I felt so deeply invested in a story – I loved this book so much. Throsby is a supremely gifted storyteller, and Clarke truly is a wonder.’ – Mark Brandi (author of Wimmera and The Rip)

‘Clarke is a glorious slow-burn mystery, but it is also much more. It is a time capsule of a period in Australia’s history, a slow release of sadness and guilt, and a story of two people who can’t see what everybody else can – and who may hold the answers to more questions than they realise.” – Readings (Crime book of the month)

‘A wonderful page turner…Throsby’s skilled narrative voice holds you all the way through. You’re IN this world, the setting of the 90s is (again) never pastiche but so authentically niche that it instantly transports you back to a real feeling of the time. And the characters are so beautifully drawn, they feel like neighbours.’ – Zan Rowe

‘A charming and affecting novel embed with vivid and sensitive characterisation, authentic observations of relationships and regional life, and a good deal of wry humour.’ – The West Australian

‘If you assumed that by writing three novels in the evocative-smallish-Australian-town-mystery genre would make Holly Throsby some kind of master on the subject, then you'd be absolutely correct. Clarke is the latest from the musician and writer and we were wholly invested from the very first page…Come for the '90s references and slow-burn mystery, stay for the vivid characters Throsby has created to deftly explore themes of pain, compassion and humanity… Spoiler alert: Holly Throsby just gets better and better’ – Well Read

‘Throsby is a gifted writer who captures the essence of small towns in NSW, the idiosyncratic personalities who live in them and have their seemingly insular existence punctured by mysteries that’ll have you unable to stop turning the page.’ – InStyle

‘Clarke, which is the name of a regional town, is a breath of fresh air in the slew of bush noir titles on Australia’s crime shelves. 4 stars.’ – Arts Hub

‘This is not a murder mystery, as such. Rather, it is an examination of the lives of ordinary people who have found themselves at the centre of a tragedy… Through the stories of Leonie and Barney in particular, Throsby builds a picture of a community that is healing even as the deepening destruction in Barney’s backyard stands as a reminder of the literal and metaphorical depths to which it is possible – through no fault of one’s own – to fall.’ – Newtown Review of Books

‘The story of those on the periphery of a violent crime: the neighbours, the innocents, the collateral damage, the connections and concentric circles that radiate from it… With Throsby’s knowing, laconic humour, she likes a lot of light with her dark. Her characters and their foibles are acutely observed. – Sydney Morning Herald

‘Humanist and compassionate’ – The Blurb

‘Clarke is not necessarily a whodunnit. But the questions that gently unfold over kitchen tables, back yard fences and landlines (all of Throsby’s novels take place in the pre-internet 1990s) prove compelling, tragic and human in their own way. Clarke doesn’t gild its notes of parochialism, domestic violence, and racism. But Throsby’s writing once again foregrounds the warmth and humour also present in regional communities; it is more Northern Exposure than Wake in Fright.’ – The Guardian

‘Holly Throsby knows a thing or two about crafting a story… [Clarke] is kind and generous and wise… Nonetheless, it does pack a mighty punch and deals brilliantly with the dark face of domestic violence and coercive control. A winning slow-burn read, perfect for any audience to curl up with.’ – Great Escape Books

‘Read this novel because Holly Throsby has something to say about living with integrity and kindness while keeping the reader on the hop. This is a perfect Australian summer read.’ – Readings newsletter

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