'It's funny how quick it happens and without you really noticing. Anton said once that it's like walking out into the sea, and you think everything's fine and the water's warm, but when you turn back you're suddenly miles from shore. I've never been much of a swimmer, but I get what he means. Like, being caught in a current or something. A rip.'
'A young woman living on the street has to keep her wits about her. Or her friends. But when the drugs kick in that can be hard. Anton has been looking out for her. She was safe with him. But then Steve came along. He had something over Anton. Must have. But he had a flat they could crash in. And gear in his pocket. And she can't stop thinking about it. A good hit makes everything all right. But the flat smells weird. There's a lock on Steve's bedroom door. And the guy is intense. The problem is, sometimes you just don't know you are in too deep, until you are drowning.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
'Mark Brandi’s 2017 novel Wimmera was one of the most impressive debut Australian crime novels of recent years. A tautly constructed exploration of the corrosive effects of masculinity, it won the British Crime Writers Association’s Debut Dagger, was named the best debut at the Australian Indie Book Awards, and was shortlisted for several other accolades.' (Introduction)
'In Mark Brandi’s new novel The Rip, a homeless, young, female drug addict says to the reader: “I don’t think I could ever make you understand what it’s like for me, unless you could be me for a minute.” Of course, this is precisely the kind of sympathetic identification the novel encourages. It invites the reader to witness this character’s life for the duration of its story, using first-person point of view and a direct form of address that cleverly intensifies the illusion of conspiratorial intimacy.' (Introduction)
'Mark Brandi’s 2017 novel Wimmera was one of the most impressive debut Australian crime novels of recent years. A tautly constructed exploration of the corrosive effects of masculinity, it won the British Crime Writers Association’s Debut Dagger, was named the best debut at the Australian Indie Book Awards, and was shortlisted for several other accolades.' (Introduction)
'In Mark Brandi’s new novel The Rip, a homeless, young, female drug addict says to the reader: “I don’t think I could ever make you understand what it’s like for me, unless you could be me for a minute.” Of course, this is precisely the kind of sympathetic identification the novel encourages. It invites the reader to witness this character’s life for the duration of its story, using first-person point of view and a direct form of address that cleverly intensifies the illusion of conspiratorial intimacy.' (Introduction)
