The Shark Net : Memories and Murder

by Robert Drewe

Aged six, Robert Drewe moved with his family from Melbourne to Perth, the world's most isolated city - and proud of it. This sun-baked coast was innocently proud, too, of its tranquillity and friendliness. Then a man he knew murdered a boy he also knew. The murderer randomly killed eight strangers - variously shooting, strangling, stabbing, bludgeoning and hacking his victims and running them down with cars - and an innocent Perth was changed forever.In the middle-class waterside suburbs which were the killer's main stalking grounds, the mysterious murders created widespread anxiety and instant local myth. Many people were deeply affected, not least the young Robert Drewe.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Australia, True Crime, Autobiography, Crime

368 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2000

About the author

Robert Drewe is among Australia’s most loved writers – of novels, memoir and short stories. His iconic Australian books include The Shark Net, The Bodysurfers and Our Sunshine. He is also editor of Black Inc.’s Best Australian Stories annual series. Recently, he has revisited the short story himself, with a masterful new collection, The Rip. Jo Case spoke to him for Readings about storytelling.

Reviews

[Callum's Column · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I typically do not enjoy memoirs, this one was surprisingly fun to read. Robert Drewe recounts his boyhood and early adulthood in the 1950s and 1960s Perth, Western Australia. It offers a glimpse into the laid-back and sun-kissed culture of the West Coast, which stands in contrast with the bustling East Coast. As a Perth native, it was particularly nostalgic to read about familiar suburbs and landmarks. The book also examines Drewe's dealings with Eric Edgar Cooke, a serial killer and the last man executed in Western Australia. Drewe's experiences with this case serve as an allegorical coming-of-age story. It reveals how the vicissitudes of life can shatter innocence at both personal and societal levels.

[Dillwynia Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a witty, funny and traumatic memoir of Robert Drewe growing up in Perth in the 1950s & 60s. There are some incredibly funny bon mots and turns of phrase that had me cackling in my seat. It is evocative of an Australia that is not more (actually a world that is no more).

Until the iron ore mining boom, Perth was an isolated oversized town on the edge of the continent. Drewe writes: a city of branch managers for companies with head offices over east. And that would sum up the upper business echelon of Perth; so small fish in a smaller pond.

It is a city of conservative niceness: of worrying about your public face, especially with any scandal such as a police record for public drunkenness or teen pregnancy and marriage, mixed religious marriages and so on. In actuality, this would sum up Menzies' Australia and would equally be at home in any of the larger southern Australian cities. The difference is the open living - the huge time devoted to being at the beach- and to the fact that quickly everyone knows each other, especially if you are middle or wealthy class. Connections made at school will permeate into your adulthood.

And it does in Drewe's case. He knows a serial killer personally; the man used to work as a lower employee for his father: he has been to the house to deliver furniture for a company function. And he has grieved for one of the murdered victims - someone he knew at school and had met in the street a few days before the murder. In such a claustrophobic society as Perth, it is easy for many people to have a personal connection to the violent crimes committed. The killer is good at covering his tracks, and only due to a misunderstanding with his wife (she accepted his womanising & thought he was visiting mistresses) that he managed to escape capture for so long.

The writing is light as we follow the growing pains of Drewe & the transition to adulthood & the inevitable change in relationship with his parents. All is done with wry humour and good writing. My only complaint, and it is a minor one, is the jerky nature of his jumping around 6 months to a 12 year in cases. I listened to this & I suspect it is more jarring than when read.

Surprisingly, Perth still has retaining some aspects recorded by Drewe - in particular the obsession of living near the sea, the healthy sized sub group that stay behind & stay connected, so other peoples affairs are easily gossiped & spread, and their hatred for the eastern states.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't remember very much about this book. I purchased it in a bookstore in Rome, one of the very few books in english they had, and read it while riding trains up through italy, germany, switzerland, and holland.
Outside a coffee shop in venice a young couple from australia saw me reading this and they knew the book. We drank some beers and had a laugh that night and i felt the world a bit smaller and a bit safer and a bit easier to abide.

That being said i remember nothing of the book itself.

[Lyn Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Shark Net won three Australian prizes in the year after it was published and was praised highly in reviews by writers such as Joyce Carol Oates, Peter Carey and Jim Crace. A reviewer in The New York Times compared Drewe's Perth to Camus' North Africa - 'blinding in its brightness'.

Drewe conveys the essence of childhood and adolescence in this hot, isolated city, where most outdoor life is lived by the sea or the wide Swan River. He writes economically and creates vivid images of people and events. The story threads move in scenes; some alive with dialogue, some descriptive, some reflective. In most of them, Drewe and his immediate family and friends are in close focus, but in several chapters the murderer takes the stage.
Many of the events he writes about are highly emotional, both within his family and in his community as eight people are murdered by a serial killer. One childhood friend is a murder victim; two others die. But Drewe keeps the emotional tone of his writing subtle. 'Nuanced', Peter Carey calls it. 'Deft' and 'beautifully structured'. It's also a great read.

I've just picked up a copy of The Body Surfers by Drewe, ashamed that I haven't read him before.

[John Clarke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't be confused by the blurb. This book is not as interesting as it paints itself to be. Although the general writing in the book is quite good, Robert Drewes storytelling skills are not. Drewe would rather focus on his childhood in this memoir rather than the horrific murders Eric Cooke was commiting at the time. His priorities when telling his own story are all out of wack. There are more pages talking about Dunlop shoes then they are about the far more interesting serial killer, Eric Cooke. Drewe's own recount of his childhood just simply isn't interesting enough to write a compelling story about, and because of that reason I have to give this book 2/5 stars.

[Alexis Mantheakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book about the journalist-writer's life in Perth when a friend of his is killed by a person he also knew. A wonderful dissection of the writer's adolescence in what prides itself on being the world's most isolated city. Written with brilliant observations, sharp humour, and great narrative. The book was given to me by a friend who lives in Perth when I visited him last November, my first time in Australia, and I have re-read the book three times already. A really gifted Australian writer...do read it.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were a series of sad moments which flew under my radar reading this. The author narrates tragedy in such an unremarkable way that I almost missed it.
So Australiana, but like a less yassified Tim Winton story with legs that drag rather than run. And so very sad at times, but the sadness of this memoir lies in its effect, rather than the thing itself. Which I still totally respect dude

I guess bc pain and memory are so strong in this recount of life in Perth, but we don’t spend too long on it before the author shifts our attention to something else - usually something boring as fuck hence the 2 stars, but maybe I just don’t understand journalistic pacing??

Felt lousy and empty finishing this, probs wont pick up again but will be thinking about for a little while. I guess I just don’t like books that get me thinking too hard

[Hermien · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great Australian coming of age story with a real crime thrown in. I live in South Perth, work in West Perth and recognised all of the other landmarks.

[Glenys · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great to read on the train. It does reflect 1950s suburbia in Perth and is interesting, and you feel the weather and the sand squeak through your toes.

[Portia · Rating 5 out of 5]

everyone from perth should read this book! so stoked to finish the year in the dunes with blistered lips, exactly how robert paints the west. also did not realise how much i didn’t know about Cooke.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book while living in Perth for just over a year. I loved how it captured the essence of the place, even though it was set many decades in the past. All of the place names were very familiar to me, and much of the story takes place right in the neighborhood that we lived in. Having said that, I do not think this book would have resonated as strongly with me had I not had this personal connection to the setting. The story itself held my interest well enough, but the narrative wasn't really gripping, and the prose was more like reporting.

[Ewa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the first few chapters... then flung the book across the room. That's how good it was.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good!

[Nathaniel Maldonado · Rating 5 out of 5]

sharks are scary

[Rick Yeowart · Rating 4 out of 5]

The memoir of much lived Aussie novelist and writer Robert Drew.
I loved this book, he’s a really brilliant writer. He grew up at a time and place of one of Australia’s most prolific serial killers, a person he knew, a person who killed one of Robert’s friends. So there are some truly terrifying parts to the book about would be killers prowling local back yards, including his own mother and father’s…and what a strange couple of people they happen to be; His Dunlop obsessed dad and his ghost like mum who was scared of brains being boiled by the hot Australian sun.

Robert clearly has a deep love for the ocean and being in it.
It’s fascinating therefore to read about him writing stories for the local paper which sensationalise shark’s downsides.

Even in the 60s, before JAWS which has since become lore that the book and movie is responsible for the entirety of negative press for sharks in the past 50 years, he was using sharks to gain some sort of foothold in his early journalistic career.

His words put you right there with him as he makes his way through early adulthood’s trials and challenges…including the trail of that serial killer he once knew.

[Jaipal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book about a coming of age story at a particular time and place. The time is 1960s Western Australia and while the locations are familiar, everything else has changed from what is written in the book to the reality now.

This book is well written and easily pulled the reader into the story, as if we're living the life of Robert Drewe at that time. It's great as a historical record as well as an autobiography of the author growing up from child to adulthood.

I definitely recommend it, particularly for those who want to know how Western Australia was like for a white person in the 60s.

[Karleah Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a fair amount of Drewe's fiction and I had no idea he had a backstory like this! I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir, and it's a snapshot of a time and place as much as it is the events of his life. The 50s/60th of suburban Perth felt so real on every page. I really enjoyed this.

[Nahtasha Mueller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit boring.. but maybe I don’t enjoy reading about someone’s life

[Kelly Loves Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Very Perth, Western Australia based, this memoir felt like my parents and grandparents sharing a story about "the good old days."

[Josh Bennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another classic Perth true crime story.

Gotta be one of my favourite genres.

[Cyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible read, amazingly written. Not what I was expecting at all, but really glad I picked it up. Highly recommended.

[Laurent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great read about growing up in Perth and it's complications

I can somewhat identify with the author of The Shark Net as I moved to Perth at a young age, grew up there and then moved out as soon as I could (but I came back after some years!).

Robert Drewe has written a beautiful memoir about the positives, negatives and challenges about living in one of the most isolated cities on earth. It was unusual for me to actually recognise street names and locations in a novel, since so few good ones are written about Perth. What was most poignant for me was his analysis of Perth society - it's bitchiness, insularity and conservative nature. Up until about 5 or 6 years ago Perth was still very much like described in the book, very 'clicky'; although it has progressed with leaps and bounds in the past few years (thank god!).

Anyways, I loved the sparse writing and Drewe's ability to convey the emotions and feeling of both himself as a youth and also the feeling and atmosphere of the city. The intense sense of fear, and loss of innocence of the city through the real-life Eric Edgar Cooke is well described and makes for fascinating, if somewhat grim reading.

As a relatively 'laissez-faire' liberalist, some of the attitudes of the book are pretty eye-opening and make me appreciate how far society has opened up and embraced non-conformity. The most poignant one was the fact that Robert's dad barely acknowledged the birth of his first grandson; contrasted with Roberts' neighbors in Watermans who were happy for him and invited him in for a drink. In fact, Roberts' parents attitude to the whole unplanned pregnancy was pretty shocking but then I guess that is going back a long time.

Anyway, enough of my ranting. I thoroughly enjoyed The Shark Net and highly recommend it - it's probably a 4.5 star book really. If you liked this book, you should also try Cloud Street by Tim Winton which is a classic of Australian literature and also very enjoyable.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this is a surprise packet of a book. I found it on my bookshelf and can't remember buying it, but I clearly did. It is an autobiographical account of Drewe's growing up in Perth 'the most isolated city in the world' during a period in which a serial killer was on the loose for over 5 years. Eight people were killed and others injured over this period, using many different methods including a gun, an axe and running someone down with a car. The killings were in a close geographical area to Drewe's house and included in the number killed was a friend of his. When the killer was finally caught he was an acquaintance of Drewe's, a former employee of his father's. Two innocent men had been convicted by WA police for 2 of the murders, using enforced confessions, before the real culprit was caught. This grisly story is interwoven with Drewe's family life, a middle-class autobiography running in tandem with a murder mystery. Top stuff.

[Rahul Dickstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

This bildungsroman eclipses Drewe's loss of innocence during his childhood in the world's most isolated city; Perth, full of tranquility and friendliness. The first few chapters are very sluggish and slow-moving however soon enough this vibrant and haunting memoir reaches beyond the dark recesses of murder and chaos and can easily spark interest and capture your attention. Juxtaposing to the ordinary suburban backdrop of an innocent Perth, Drewe contrasts the murder grounds of the killer, going on to depict 8 horrendous murders in great detail and his connections to each one at a very personal level. Each chapter focuses on specific influences in the author's life while several of them follow the murderer's point of view instead, positioning the reader to feel more connected to the murderer and have a greater understanding of the events which occur. All in all, not my type of book however many readers should find this book a unique and fresh read.

[Kallie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Shark Net is a cultural study as well as a memoir, with all the suspense and color of a novel. Drewe's voice expresses unusually complex qualities: detachment and ironic humor, love of people and place, empathy. The portraits of his company man father, his mother whose talents have been laid aside, and even the serial murderer who brings such dark contrast to a sunny but very strange, provisional landscape, are the highlights of this story. Drewe makes little of himself, recounting his own adolescent foolishness and humiliations with sympathetic yet unsparing humor. I just read this book for the second time and found it every bit as suspenseful and fresh as during my first reading. The voice and writing are exceptional. This memoir would make a great indie film.

[Saskia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Drewe's humour above all else in The Shark Net. I often found myself laughing out loud to myself and when reading it aloud in class. The casual, non-linear style added to my enjoyment of the book, and the underlying serial murders offer a great insight into the community where Drewe grew up in the 1960s. The Shark Net has hidden layers, just as does the beautifully painted 1960s Perth, offering not only an entertaining, witty read, but also a serious literary text on the death of innocence in a community amidst a false sense of security and immortality. The Shark Net is a must for all Australians.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've known of this books existance for many years, but had never got around to reading it until now.

A great book, based in my home town, it is intresting to read of events in the time that my mother would have been hearing of them and living them.

I love that the author knew people involved in the crimes, and the insight to the way people thought at the time (a child born out of wedlock, is more shocking than a couple commiting audultry??) is facinating.

Love the book, anyone from Perth West Australia should read this.

[Jonathan Greenwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Shark Net, Robert Drewe nostalgically reflects on what was then both a time of innocence and a time of lost innocence. The novel retells the story of Eric Edgar Cooke, or "The Night Caller", who terrorised Perth during the early 1960s with gruesome and random murders. One of the victims was a personal friend of Drewe's. At times hilarious and poignant, the novel celebrates an Australia of a time that has long gone by.
Drewe's writing so brilliantly evokes the Australian character and an almost wistful longing for the halcyon days of early 1960s' Perth.
A masterpiece of memoir. 5/5

[Ralphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decided a long time ago that I would search for ‘The Great Australian Novel’. This one goes close. The ocean, the coming of age, the first love, all entwined with a murder mystery. And the evocative depiction of Perth, Western Australia as it evolves as a remote and unique city. Number 2 for me in a constantly evolving list. 😎👍📚✅

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engagingly written and insightful snapshot of Perth in the 50's and 60's. Finally found a WA book actually about Perth and not set in the country somewhere!