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Razorhurst

Razorhurst 2

by Justine Larbalestier
Paperback
Publication Date: 25/06/2014
4/5 Rating 2 Reviews

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The setting: 1932, Razorhurst. Two competing mob bosses - Gloriana Nelson and Mr Davidson - have reached a fragile peace.

Kelpie knows the dangers of the Sydney streets. Ghosts have kept her alive, steering her to food and safety, but they are also her torment.

Dymphna is Gloriana Nelson's 'best girl'. She knows the highs and lows of life, but she doesn't know what this day has in store for her.

When Dymphna meets Kelpie over the corpse of Jimmy Palmer, Dymphna's latest boyfriend, she pronounces herself Kelpie's new protector. But Dymphna's life is in danger too and she needs an ally. And while Jimmy's ghost wants to help, the dead cannot protect the living.

Gloriana Nelson's kingdom is crumbling and Mr Davidson is determined to have all of Razorhurst - including Dymphna. As loyalties shift and betrayal threatens at every turn, Dymphna and Kelpie are determined to survive what is becoming a day with a high body count.

'Vivid and bloody and bold and fast; I feel like Razorhurst is in my bones now.' Elizabeth Gilbert
ISBN:
9781743319437
9781743319437
Category:
Horror & ghost stories
Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
25-06-2014
Publisher:
A&U Children's
Country of origin:
Australia
Pages:
384
Dimensions (mm):
208x135mm
Weight:
0.47kg

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2 Reviews

Historical thrillers and the supernatural collide in this gritty and engaging novel written by CBCA-shortlisted author Justine Larbalestier. Set in 1932 the book forms a genuine sense of the time and place, creating a realistic and engaging experience.

The story follows two contrasting characters; Kelpie and Dymphna, as they try and survive the harsh streets after finding the dead body of Dymphnas latest boyfriend. With two mob bosses fighting to take control of Razorhurst things quickly get out of hand and the two young women are thrust into a world of danger and torment. But razor gangs arent the only danger as both girls have the ability to see ghosts and talk to the dead, but they are not always there to help

By fluently intertwining two characters points of view with interesting information on the lore of Razorhurst Larbalestier is able to establish an eerily realistic setting which quickly grabs hold of the audience. The setting is not Larbalestiers biggest triumph though as the plot is driven by the two contrasting characters of Kelpie and Dympnha and their dynamic as they attempt to traverse their treacherous situation. Although the story does slow down in stages the action and danger is still readily apparent throughout and forms an engaging and expertly crafted story.

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Razorhurst is a historical crime novel written for the YA crowd. Set in 1932 Sydney, it follows two protagonists who have the ability to see ghosts. Kelpie is a young street urchin who was enticed to enter a house in Surry Hills by a ghost, who had promised she would find apples to eat. What she found was lots and lots of red but no apples. Kelpie instead stumbles upon Gloriana Glory Nelsons number one razorman with his throat slashed and blood splattered all over the walls. And standing beside him in shock was the infamous Dymphna Campbell, Glorys best girl.

Dymphna is the other protagonist in the novel, and knows of Kelpies ability to talk to spirits as she shares the same curse. Known as the Angel of Death, every one of Dymphnas men ends up dead within a few months or less and the same goes for Jimmy Palmer, her most recent squeeze. At the opening of the novel, Dymphna clutches a card from Glorys rival, Mr Davidson, suggesting Jimmy Palmer was assassinated. She begins to fear for her life as Jimmy and her were planning to take over Razorhurst, and killing Mr Davidson themselves. As the coppers approach and not knowing what to do, Dymphna makes the split decision to run, taking Kelpie with her.

Its hard to believe that all 363 pages of this novel revolves around that one singular day, a day that Dymphna deems as one of the worst days of her life. While it wasnt surprising that her boyfriends all ended up dead, it was different this time because she and Jimmy had expected to succeed in their takeover. With him dead, she had no way to know whether Glory and Mr Davidson knew of their scheming. The whole situation is made worse as Jimmy comes back as a ghost and decides to haunt Dymphna.

Razorhurst is a very fascinating story based on real life events in the 1930s. Situated in Surry Hills or Sorrow Hills the way Larbalestier describes everything from that period shows the extent of research she did when writing this book. You truly feel immersed in the environment. At the end of each chapter is also a short snippet of some historical background information on the characters and settings mentioned in the novel. At first, I found it distracting as I wanted to get straight back to the story, but as the novel progressed, this snippets were extremely helpful in painting a stronger image and personality of all the characters.

I loved reading from both Kelpie and Dymphnas perspectives, and thought they each had very strong and distinctive voices. Kelpie, having lived on the streets since her foster mum passed, acted like a child although she was the same age as Dymphna. Dymphna on the other hand behaved much older due to the profession she was in. To put it bluntly, she was Glory Nelsons best whore.

The main link between the two girls was their ability to see ghosts. Dymphna had always been meaning to speak to Kelpie before the death of Jimmy, and wanted to teach her how to ignore all the spirits and thus prevent herself from going insane. Ironically, she never managed to talk to Kelpie until they were suddenly thrown together that day.

What I enjoyed most about Dymphnas character was her smart mind. She self-taught herself how to ignore the ghosts surrounding her, even though their touch sends her stomach reeling. Shes also able to connect many of the dots, and makes logical decisions at every turn. Even when there is no positive outcome, Dymphna chooses the path that would less likely get her and Kelpie killed.

Kelpie is also a very loveable character. While not as smart as Dymphna, shes a survivor just for having stayed alive by herself for so long. She often spends years at a time avoiding human contact, speaking only to ghosts who sometimes lead her to food and shelter. Kelpie is smart in her own way she knows that she should avoid conflict, knows that she shouldnt trust people easily, and to never tell others about the ghosts. The fact that shes avoided child welfare for so long is just a testimony to her common sense as well.

Razorhurst is definitely similar to a YA version of Underbelly. Its filled with intrigue, crime and gangs of razor-wielding men. I went into the book with no expectations, and left feeling extremely satisfied. While I had hoped there would be more bloody action and gore, I was still happy with the way the story went. The only flaw I would pick on is the timeline. There was SO much packed into this one day, it was sometimes a little hard to believe. There just seemed to be endless hours. I understand the urgency would probably be affected if the story occurred over a few days, so its not a flaw that affected any part of the story. Just my own personal nit-pick.

Overall, Razorhurst was an amazing read. If youre looking for a YA inspired Underbelly read situated in 1930s Sydney, then this is definitely the book for you. Even if youre not into these types of stories, do give it a go. I was never a fan either, but Razorhurst has me yearning for more!

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