Drewe, one of Australia's best known and most respected novelists, has an unusual past: he lived across the river from a killer, a man who, over the course of five years, terrorized an entire community and killed one of Drewe's own friends. This fine, moving book is both a charming and funny memoir (Drewe's childhood in Perth was filled with adventure and humor and excitement) and an unsettling true-crime story. Eric Cooke, the menacing, murderous monster, is an eerie presence, a kind of shadow that turned the happy, sunny community into a dark, foreboding place. Drewe is a careful, precise writer, and his ability to create vivid pictures with only a handful of words is virtually unmatched. Fans of Drewe's well-respected novels will definitely want to check out this autobiography, and readers of true crime are in for a special treat. --David Pitt