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Highway Thirteen Kindle Edition

3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 45 ratings

'Clever and engrossing'
MAIL ON SUNDAY

'This Möbius strip of linked stories bends and twists the crime genre until it is barely recognisable . . . The result is a riveting study of human nature'
GERALDINE BROOKS, author of Horse

'Addictively engaging, profoundly serious fiction from an underappreciated master'
KIRKUS, starred review

'A standout meditation on a community's legacy of violence'
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

In 1998, an apparently ordinary Australian man is arrested and charged for a series of brutal murders. The news shocks the nation, bringing both horror and resolution to the victims' families, but its impact travels even further: into the past, as the murders rewrite personal histories, and into the future, as true crime podcasts and biopics tell the story of the crimes.

From the killer's childhood town to Texas, Rome and beyond, from the mid-twentieth century to the near-future, Highway Thirteen asks how do communities make sense of such atrocities? How does the mourning of families sit alongside the public fascination with terrible crimes? And can we tell true crime stories without centring the killers?


PRAISE FOR FIONA MCFARLANE'S THE SUN WALKS DOWN

'Steinbeckian Majesty'
SUNDAY TIMES

'Moving and masterful'
DAILY MAIL

'Brilliant, fresh and compulsively readable'
ANN PATCHETT


From the Publisher

HighwayThirteen
HighwayThirteen
HighwayThirteen
HighwayThirteen
Highway Thirteen
TheSunWalksDown
The Sun Walks Down
TheHighPlaces
The High Places
TheNightGuest
The Night Guest
Books by Fiona McFarlane The brand new short story collection Shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize Winner of the International Dylan Thomas Prize 2017 Shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award

Product description

Review

McFarlane is a ventriloquist in these brilliant stories, voicing our fear and fascination around atrocity, the shocking ordinariness of its perpetrators -- Kristina Olsson, author of SHELL

Addictively engaging, profoundly serious fiction from an underappreciated master -- Starred review ― Kirkus

A
standout meditation on a community's legacy of violence ― Publishers Weekly

McFarlane expands our understanding, illuminating what it is to be human . . .
compulsory reading for anyone who's ever read (or written) a tale of murder -- Hayley Scrivenor, author of DIRT TOWN

In Fiona McFarlane's gifted hands, this Mobius strip of linked stories bends and twists the crime genre until it is barely recognisable . . . The result is
a riveting study of human nature -- Geraldine Brooks, author of HORSE

These sublime stories have the poise and clarity of classics. As Fiona McFarlane's characters edge towards revelation or disaster, her artistry shines on every page -- Michelle de Kretser, author of SCARY MONSTERS

McFarlane serves up a slantwise approach to crime writing in this crisp suite of tales . . .
clever and engrossingMail on Sunday

PRAISE FOR FIONA MCFARLANE'S THE SUN WALKS DOWN

'Steinbeckian Majesty'
SUNDAY TIMES

'Moving and masterful'
DAILY MAIL

'Brilliant, fresh and compulsively readable'
ANN PATCHETT

'I can't think of another writer working today who I admire more'
KEVIN POWERS

About the Author

Fiona McFarlane's first novel, The Night Guest, won several prizes including the Voss Literary Prize and New South Wales Premier's Award, and was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction and Miles Franklin Literary Award, among others. She is also the author of the short story collection The High Places, which won the International Dylan Thomas Prize, and The Sun Walks Down, which was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize. Her stories have appeared in the New Yorker, Zoetrope: All-Story, and Best Australian Stories. McFarlane grew up in Sydney and now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she teaches at the University of California, Berkeley.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CW268ZBM
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sceptre (25 July 2024)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 6.1 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 273 pages
  • Customer reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 45 ratings

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Fiona McFarlane
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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
45 global ratings

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 October 2024
    A collection of short stories that is somewhat different to many others, in that each and every one of them is as good as the next, which I rarely find in collections. There are always one or two duds, or one or two that don’t work as well, or perhaps simply don’t appeal. But here I found each story convincing and compelling in its own right, although each is very different from the next and narrated in various styles – for example, one story is in the form of a popular podcast – and from different points of view. They are linked by 12 murders committed by an Australian man, who is finally apprehended, as we learn in the first story. The emphasis throughout is on the repercussions of these murders rather than the crimes themselves, and refreshingly there is no graphic or gratuitous violence depicted, just the psychological effect on the people affected, sometimes quite tangentially. Each story is expertly crafted and paced, and they are all woven together satisfactorily and satisfyingly.
  • Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 November 2024
    True crime, or even fiction based on true crime, is a genre that often feels overwritten and tone deaf. However, Highway Thirteen does not feel like this. Carefully intertwining several different lives that have been touched by one serial killer, this book explores the conversations around true crime and the appetite we seem to have for it.

    McFarlane writes with so much depth and intensity that every single chapter felt planned out and beautifully executed. Even as the book carried on, and it was clear that every single story had a connection to the murders, I never once found myself bored or able to predict the end of the chapter. The different timelines, ambiguous endings and characters only added to the raw emotions of this story. It left me wondering about how we, as a society, view true crime and often romanticise and fictionalise it, without any regard for the victims or the lives impacted. What a haunting and thought provoking novel.
  • Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 September 2024
    I enjoyed how each chapter focused on the individual impact of one crime over a number of years. This book is extremely well written and I found it difficult to put down.
  • Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 July 2024
    'Highway Thriller' is essentially a thriller although it is written in a different and unique way. This has been billed to say each chapter is a small story with links to others. I am not sure this is strictly true, each chapter is different and focuses around different characters and time periods however they do all link together and this is essentially a thriller.
    I did enjoy this read and it is a different style to what you usually find with thriller and it made for refreshing reading. The plot is fast paced and I enjoyed seeing how everything ties together and there is still a lot of suspense and intrigue throughout the read.
    Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Paul Fitzgerald
    1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible
    Reviewed in the United States on 27 August 2024
    Just read this book and the stories go nowhere. I do not understand why people are raving about this book.
    None of the stories leave you with suspense. Definitely not a page turner. All stories are boring with no direct connection to the serial killer. I kept getting to the end of a story expecting something to happen and it never did.
    Got this on Kindle. If I could return it, I would.

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