Reviews

Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor

rachhenderson's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

One hot Friday in a remote Australian town, Esther doesn't make it home from school, sparking a massive search and the uncovering of many secrets.

I'm not quite sure why the author chose to start the book with a prologue about the finding of Esther's body five days after she went missing. It seems a weird spoiler that messes with the suspense. Other than this, it's a solid Australian mystery. 

ninafroms's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

emilysareader's review against another edition

3.0

Love a good ole Aussie based mystery & found it easy to visualise the town/locals. I will say though that Sarahs storyline was wayyyy to information heavy regarding her personal life & any time you flashed back to thinking of her ex I rolled my eyes  plus she low key came off like a perv. The best povs were definitely the kids as I found them the most interesting, overall decent book

isabelsophiex's review

emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

retiredlibrarylady's review against another edition

2.0

Too many unknown Australian terms. Too much back and forth in time (for me!). Too much unnecessary information about the detective's private life, which had NO bearing on the mystery of Esther's disappearance and death.

joannalouise's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault and Injury/Injury detail

lisahall's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

hknox's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I didn’t realize the author was Australian until a few chapters in, which then made more sense considering the vocabulary used.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Rape, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

romarie4's review against another edition

2.0

It was just ok
I had a real hard time connecting to and caring about the characters
The last 15% I speed read just to get it over with

rhondafuller's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25