Reviews

Dirt Creek by Hayley Scrivenor

Ronnie and Ester, twelve year old girls, are best friends. They are also good friends with Lewis, who has been ostracized by their schoolmates. When Ester goes missing, Ronnie doesn't understand why Lewis doesn't tell the police what he saw. But, as we will find out, everybody in the little down of Durton aka Dirt Town has secrets, even the kids.

Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels and her partner are sent to the town to investigate Ester's disappearance. It's obvious people are hiding something, telling lies, blaming others. But, Ronnie isn't going to let her best friend stay missing, she's going to make sure she is found.

There is a Greek chorus of kids that seems creepy and sinister to me. But then this entire town and it's inhabitants seem creepy and/or repulsive. The story and the story telling is good, but I'm not the right reader for the story. There is animal abuse that is too much for me but luckily I was told where at least one event occurs so I could avoid it. Still, animal abuse (and a slew of other abuses) is a part of this story, and it shut down my enjoyment of the book. Not all stories are right for all folks and this one wasn't right for me.

I read this story with DeAnn, Jayme, Susan, and Mary Beth and I really appreciate getting to discuss the story with them. We had a wide variety of thoughts and opinions and the story led to some really good conversation.

Published August 2nd 2022

Thank you to Macmillan Publishers, Flatiron Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

emily_loves_2_read's review against another edition

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4.0

Dirt Creek
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Thriller
Format: Audiobook
Date Published: 8/2/22
Author: Hayley Scrivenor
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Narrator: Sophie Lougran
Goodreads Rating: 4.06

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: When 12-year-old Esther disappears on the way home from school in a small town in rural Australia, the community is thrown into a maelstrom of suspicion and grief. When schoolfriend Lewis tells Ronnie that he saw Esther with a strange man at the creek the afternoon she went missing, Ronnie feels she is one step closer to finding her. Who else is lying about how much they know about what has happened to Esther?

Punctuated by a Greek chorus, which gives voice to the remaining children of the small, dying town, this novel explores the ties that bind, what we try and leave behind us, and what we can never outrun, while never losing sight of the question of what happened to Esther, and what her loss does to a whole town.

My Thoughts: This story is narrated by various people. At first, it was hard to keep characters straight, as the story progressed, it get easier identify who was narrated and their role. The narrator was amazing and I loved her accent, especially given that this takes place in Australia, it gave authenticity to the characters. The scenes were described so well, you felt like you were there in Australia on this investigation. The characters were well developed, had depth, had history, were mysterious, and creatively written. The author’s writing style was complex, suspenseful, and just amazing. I loved how the characters lives intersected and were interwoven together. How deep does the secrets and betrayal go? Well, to answer that question, I would recommend stopping what you are doing and purchasing a copy of the book today!!!