"An engrossing ride" - review of THE SHARK

THE SHARK by Emma Styles (Sphere, March 2026)

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson

At the height of Australian summer, a serial killer dubbed The Shark stalks a beachside suburb, targeting young female swimmers whose bodies are later found on the shoreline.

Disempowered and angry at the failures of the police to protect them, two young women are hell-bent on revenge. Raych has lost someone and will go to any length to discover what happened to her, while Carmen suspects her own disturbing connection to the killer.

Together they form an uneasy alliance and, in a moment that changes the trajectory of their lives, Carmen and Raych abduct and imprison the prime suspect. Do they think they can save the day, or are there intentions darker? Can they trust one another's agenda? And when another young woman goes missing, what stops them from going to the police?

Almost four years ago, British-Australian author Emma Styles burst onto the crime (writing) scene with the fresh and fantastic [book:No Country for Girls|165812428], a riveting tale of two young women thrust together in Western Australia, at the wheel of a dead man’s twin-cab ute with a bag of stolen gold bars under the seat, with little idea where they were heading, or how they’d survive.

That helter-skelter thriller saw Styles hand-picked, alongside Māori storyteller [author:Michael  Bennett|17854263], by modern-day Queen of Crime Val McDermid as one of the most exciting new voices in global crime fiction, getting featured on the ‘New Blood’ panel at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, UK. No Country for Girls went on to be shortlisted for several awards, and win the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize.

What next? Second-time around Styles returns to Western Australia, where she grew up, with another duo of troubled young women who find themselves in deadly circumstances. 

The Shark is a serial killer thriller, with a difference. A hot Australian summer. A year ago, self-confessed ‘gutless wonder’ Raych’s best friend Piper vanished, taking with her Raych’s hopes for ‘more than friends’. Unlike some other young women who’ve gone missing, Piper’s body hasn’t been found, but Raych is sure she was taken by the same local serial killer that has been terrorising Perth’s coastal suburbs. The police have a suspect, but don’t seem to be getting anywhere. 

Meanwhile, high schooler Carmen wonders about a disturbing connection to the killer. Raych and Carmen met on the psych ward, but now they’re out, and end up forming an unlikely (and untrusting) alliance. They both desperately need answers, and desperate times call for desperate measures.

A man cable-tied to a chair. An abandoned garage. A bag of tools. 

But what if they’ve got the wrong man? 

Alternating between Raych and Carmen’s unreliable narratives, Styles takes readers on an engrossing ride where the real villains are unclear, all building to a harrowing finale. 

The Shark is a strong sophomore effort from a rising star in the crime thriller genre. 

This review was first written for publication in the New Zealand Listener magazine

Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.