In a hotel room on a sleepy pacific island, Judy Novak waits. And worries.
It isn’t the first time 29-year-old problem child Paulina has kept her mother waiting. But Judy can’t ignore the island’s jagged cliffs and towering pines — or the dread that Paulina has finally acted on her threats to take her own life.
When Paulina’s body is discovered, Judy’s worst fears seem confirmed. Only, Paulina didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.
So begins a thorny investigation, wherein every man on the island is a suspect yet none are as maligned as Paulina: the captivating newcomer known for her hard drinking, disastrous relationships, and habit of walking alone.
But, above all, Paulina is her mother’s daughter. And death won’t stop Judy Novak from fighting for Paulina’s life.
Praise for The Newcomer
“fearless, incisive, and darkly poetic.”
DAVID WHISH-WILSON
“Woollett’s storytelling is dexterous—she has a keen sense of place and dialogue, evoking a Kath & Kim-esque fish-out-of-water story as she illustrates the relationships between Fairfolk Island’s many locals and Paulina, a ‘mainie’ who is as strange to them as they are to her.”
BOOKS+PUBLISHING
“Woollett manipulates the structure of the crime novel, the suspense of the whodunnit, to destabilise the idea that there is ever one perpetrator of a crime. She cleverly intertwines before and after timelines to highlight all the ways that Paulina is a victim of violence against women before she becomes one in a way that actually warrants legal attention. The question that Woollett asks here – that she suggests we should all be asking – is what makes a system so broken that it requires the bodies of women in order to take any action?”
THE GUARDIAN
“With a fast-paced narrative and a complex central character, this is a searing exploration of sexual violence and victimhood”
CATHERINE NOSKE
“Politics and fiction haven’t always been an easy combination, but they are here.”
AUSTRALIAN BOOK REVIEW
“Intriguing and touching, The Newcomer is a new kind of crime novel.”
MIRANDI RIWOE
“Paulina is difficult, moody and reckless much of the time. She seeks solace in the things…that hurt her. But as Woollett’s clever storytelling and research shows, none of this should lead to a killing in the wilderness.”
THE SATURDAY PAPER
“Laura Elizabeth Woollett has done it again. The Newcomer pulls you in from its eerie opening and drags you along with intriguing characters and beautifully wrought prose. As the mystery deepens, you begin to realise things are never clear-cut, and everybody is guilty of something. A cautionary tale inspired by true events by one of my favourite authors. Read this book now.”
J.P. POMARE
“Unlike many crime novels, the victim sits at the heart of The Newcomer. Woollett shows deep empathy for her characters, while delivering an immersive, utterly gripping story.”
MARK BRANDI
“Haunting. Raw. Compulsive. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
ANNA SNOEKSTRA
“Intensely chilling and sucker-punch powerful.”
ANNA DOWNES
“This novel is part of a growing (and welcome) trend in recent fiction to explicitly interrogate the idea of “dead girl” mysteries, and make its victim whole and nuanced.”
IN DAILY