R.W.R McDonald - Author of 'The Nancys'

‘A delight – moving and hilarious. I loved every minute I spent with these characters.’

Paddy O'Reilly

‘How does The Nancys manage to be both sharp and blackly funny, but also uplifting and sweet?’

Toni Jordan

‘Funny, dark and above all, heart-warming, The Nancys is a murder mystery set in small town New Zealand. Eleven year old Tippy Chan investigates and, in typical Nancy Drew fashion, tries to work out, who did it. But it’s not only murder she must grapple with; Tippy must also come to terms with the death of her father.

‘The Nancys is a celebration of what’s important in life – which is family, friendship and also: makeovers. R.W.R. McDonald’s novel is face-paced, clever and full of wit and repartee. McDonald pays homage to the novel’s namesake Nancy Drew, but adds elements of RuPaul and Shirley Barrett’s The Bus on Thursday. The result is a work of fiction that is smart, darkly comic and, in the very best of ways, completely bizarre.”

Katherine Collette, author of The Helpline

“… a riotous, delightful mess of a case, with beauty pageants, cranky child witnesses and bitter minor celebrities … Cheerfully scattered, this glittering, occasionally grisly and highly original novel … stands proudly on its own.”

Books+Publishing

“Written with verve, humour and heart, [The Nancys] is a stunning debut, one of those very special books that enthrals from its opening, and leaves you with pangs of regret, desperate to spend more time with its characters.”

Simon McDonald, Writtenbysime.com

“A gleeful crime fiction debut with a satisfying balance of campy warmth and murdery darkness…”

Kate Adams, @kaddadams

Highly Commended in the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards for an Unpublished Manuscript