The Arsonist

Written by Chloe Hooper

Narrated by Sybilla Budd

On the scorching February day in 2009 that became known as Black Saturday, a man lit two fires in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, then sat on the roof of his house to watch the inferno. In the Valley, where the rates of crime were the highest in the state, more than thirty people were known to police as firebugs. But the detectives soon found themselves on the trail of a man they didn’t know. 

The Arsonist takes readers on the hunt for this man, and inside the strange puzzle of his mind. It is also the story of fire in Australia, and of a community that owed its existence to that very element. The command of fire has defined and sustained us as a species – understanding its abuse will define our future. 

A powerful real-life thriller written with Hooper’s trademark lyric detail and nuance, The Arsonist is a reminder that in an age of fire, all of us are gatekeepers.

Praise for other titles by Chloe Hooper
'Life springs from every page of this enthralling book.' - Helen Garner
'A gripping, heart-stopping piece of true-crime reportage . . . Deserves the widest possible audience.' - Sunday Times
'It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this book.' - Peter Carey 
'A sad, beautiful, frightening account of one man's pointless death . . . Every character is explored for their contradictions, every situation observed for its nuances, every easy judgement suspended . . . Hooper finds the common humanity in the accused and the accuser, the police officer and the street drinker, the living and the dead.' - Mark Dapin, Good Weekend, Sydney Morning Herald

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio UK
• Release date: May 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9781471186462

Chloe Hooper

Chloe Hooper's most recent book is the bestselling The Arsonist: A Mind on Fire. The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island won the Victorian, New South Wales, West Australian and Queensland Premiers’ Literary Awards, as well as the John Button Prize for Political Writing, and a Ned Kelly Award for crime writing. She is also the author of two acclaimed novels, A Child’s Book of True Crime and The Engagement. She lives in Melbourne with her partner and her two sons.

Reviews for The Arsonist

[Anna Morris · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The first part with first-hand descriptions of what happened to people caught in the fires is beautifully written, heartbreaking and absorbing. The rest of the book which concentrates on the man who caused the fire is not anywhere near as interesting. Maybe, if he had been purely evil, it would have been, but he has a mental illness and it is not really clearcut that he intentionally set the fires and knew what would happen when he did. Therefore, the remainder of the book feels a bit muddy and confused.

[Heather Trow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In this book Chloe Hooper examines the details of the Black Saturday tragedy and the impacts on everyone involved. The author writes with such impressive compassion for the victims of the fire and the surviving residents, for the firefighters and investigators, for everyone involved in the court case, and even for the perpetrator and his family. It was such a shocking read. I cycled through many emotions whilst reading this, especially in those first few chapters. I'm going to be thinking about this for a while.

[c Kops · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely heartbreaking for all involved; victims, attorneys, family, detectives, and perpetrator. Chloe Hooper has written a beautiful, fully detailed account of that devastating day ~ Saturday, February 7, 2009 and its aftermath. I wasn’t familiar with the accused’s mental, intellectual and limited capacity before listening to this audiobook. The Black Saturday Bush Fires were horrific in nature and destruction and yet I’m not sure if justice was really served.