A small town hides big secrets in The Dry, an atmospheric, page-turning debut mystery by award-winning author Jane Harper.After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a … father fled under a cloud of suspicion, saved from prosecution only because of Luke s steadfast claim that the boys had been together at the time of the crime. But now more than one person knows they didn t tell the truth back then, and Luke is dead.
Amid the worst drought in a century, Falk and the local detective question what really happened to Luke. As Falk reluctantly investigates to see if there s more to Luke s death than there seems to be, long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies that have haunted them. And Falk will find that small towns have always hidden big secrets.
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Great book
Really good mystery with some surprises and interesting characters. Frequent flashbacks, but I wasn’t confused by them even on audiobook.
At first, this book is almost pedantic, slow, barely moving. Yet, it builds powerfully in breath-taking tension. Astounding!
I very much enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anybody.
Jane Harper’s books bring the mystery and danger of the Australia Outback to life with dramatic stories and characters that the reader can sympathize with and understand without approving their choices.
Excellent story line with lots of tantalizing bread crumbs dropped here and there to keep you interested. Good development of characters and intra relationships.
Well written whodunit.
i usually enjoy Jane Harper’s books but this was a hard read for me. I just couldn’t get into it.
This mystery has lots of secrets. This mystery has lots of secrets to unravel
I enjoyed it but I realized just a few months later I couldn’t even remember what I read so I re-read it to see why the book was getting such rave reviews.
It was better written than many books being pushed online, but nothing spectacular.
Loved this book!
This book was a real pager turner. Every chapter ended with a sort of cliff hanger and I just wanted to keep reading. I would have read it in one sitting if I could have. I enjoyed the characters. There are were 2 stories, one in the present and one in the past, both dealing with the main character. I usually figure out a mystery, but I didn’t with this book. I was surprised by the ending and it was a good ending.
A rural farmer apparently kills his wife and child before committing suicide. His boyhood friend – now a Melbourne policeman- returns for his funeral to the small town in drought stricken southern Australia. The dead man’s parents prevail on the policeman to stay a few days and investigate this seemly straightforward case. Harper skilfully introduces scenes from a previous unexplained death when the two men were teenagers and we begin to learn how the two incidents might be connected.
A very well written and gripping novel, which I thoroughly recommend.
I was shocked during the entire book. It has a clever plot that just seems to go on and on with more excitement. It is hard to keep track of what is going on but you will discover so much evil that has taken place. It has a great twist at the end too! I was entertained!!
Wow…..I meant to read this months ago. Beautifully written, atmospheric, dead on perfect characters and the plot was one of the most interesting I’ve read in a while.
Very few authors can mix the past and present without losing the plot or the reader but Jane Harper succeeds.
And the plot, to look at a crime from just one point of view, did he or didn’t he, without ever asking other important questions….this plot shows how everyone can look at evidence and proceed to assume guilt or death by unknown person without considering the other option…the one stated in several ways and I assume I am not the only one who missed the vital clues.
And the desolate atmosphere, the sense of loss, resignation and the heat all add to the place and time. Add in the past and recollections of good times and one bad time and how that has now colored the town. A dead girl, Ellie, years ago and yet still holding the town hostage to the past. Falk lived near Ellie and his best friend Luke and Gretchen were the four…till Ellie died and Falk was blamed. Falk is back to attend Luke’s funeral and the tragedy around his death….how well did he know Luke or Gretchen?? The past is still haunting everyone.
Raco is trying to keep the town from exploding with hate and fear and is a very good cop. He is alone and relies on Falk to help get the truth no matter what. All the people are three dimensional and have a depth that rises above and keeps you turning the pages. I won’t forget anybody in this book. A 5 star plus read that was so worth the wait!
4 1/2 stars. Great read.
I actually listened to the audio version and the narrator has an Australian accent so it really added to the whole story. A man comes back to his hometown in Australia because his friend has died. People say he committed suicide but things don’t sit right. He sets out to figure out what’s happening and in the meantime he remembers another tragic death from when he lived there. It can be slow and a little frustrating because I wanted some action going on but it has some twists and turns and when you get to the end it’s a satisfying read.
This was a great read. Fabulous setting, intriguing characters, good writing.
A good murder mystery. It keeps you going back and forth between which characters you think are responsible.
Good characters, good story, interesting setting (rural Australia), good writing. If the book description sounds at all to your taste I think you’ll really enjoy it. If you do, Harper has produced two more novels that are (at least almost) as good.