Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Dirt Creek by Hayley Scrivenor

4 reviews

tessa_talks_books's review

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

3.5

What's it about (in a nutshell):
Dirt Creek is a modern Greek tragedy-style thriller about the dying small towns in the outback of Australia and the case of a missing 12-year-old girl.
Bullet Point Review:
  • This is one of those stories that I more appreciate the incredible talent shown in the storytelling rather than love as a reader, but only because that is how I look at literary works unless they speak to me on a personal level. And I would consider this mystery/thriller literary quality.
  • I found the Greek tragedy angle, complete with the traditional Greek chorus marked by "We" in the chapter headings, to be an interesting take on storytelling in a thriller. It adds more to the emotional and atmospheric aspects but doesn't help the mystery/thriller component.
  • I enjoyed the poetic nature of the Greek chorus chapters. They were some of my favorite chapters except for the one I mentioned below in trigger warnings.
  • I found the mystery incredibly clever and the reveal completely surprising. I didn't even suspect it for one minute, but it is very much in keeping with the story, and I could instantly think back to the clues that were most definitely there.
  • I loved how many secrets the townies harbored too. This town needs a whole-town intervention by mental health workers to help them get everything out and start the healing process. There were that many dire secrets.
  • There are a lot of characters in this story, and they share the spotlight. But if I had to name the main character, I would say Ronnie – the missing girl's best friend. Ronnie is the only character that I liked in the story. She is a free spirit in the making, has a beautiful heart and soul, and is incredibly brave and independent for one so young.
  • The narration by the Greek chorus of the town's kids looking back to 2001, two of Esther's (the missing girl) friends – also 12 years old, the detective investigating the murder, and the friends' mothers provide a complete story for the reader. It's a little confusing, especially telling the difference between the mothers, but I thought the children's perspective was fascinating.
  • The pace is medium at best. The incredible atmosphere slowed it down for me, as I often experience, so it wasn't my favorite part of this story.
  • The story is set in a small agricultural town in the Australian outback. The atmosphere was oppressive and worked exceedingly well for this story.
  • Read if you're in the mood for:
    • A medium-paced atmospheric story
    • A mysterious, dark, emotional, and tense thriller
    • A modern Greek tragedy
  • Trigger Warnings: Child and Domestic Abuse and Child Death, plus there is a chapter with horrible animal cruelty concerning a kitten. The reader can easily skip it, though, since I'm warning you, and it's the only time a kitten is mentioned. (This is one of my triggers, and it caught me off-guard. It still haunts me.)

Ratings: 4 stars





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prittypeaches's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This is a bleak book... if you are here on Storygraph you know, but this is one that you should check the triggers for.

Written like a near-history historical fiction (set in early 2000s small town Australia), it's a very dark thriller - like Southern Noir only it's Outback Noir. It's great if you like to be reminded of Dunkaroos and Nokia 3310s while you read your thriller novel.

This book was long and a bit slow in setting out. I didn't know going in how I'd deal with a child missing/dead but it was hard work. I'm glad I read it but I'm not sure I can recommend it unless people want to read dark and bleak. There are many crimes in this book that keep the bleakness coming throughout, is isn't ONLY a book about a missing girl case.
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captainolyareads's review

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dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

 It's during the hottest spring in decades when 12-year-old Esther vanishes on her way home from school, her disappearance triggering a series of secrets to come floating to the surface. As Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels sifts through fact and fiction to determine what happened, her investigation is hindered by several members of the small community, even the most well-intentioned like Esther's best friend, Ronnie. When she learns that Lewis, a mutual friend of theirs, knows more than he's letting on about Esther's disappearance, she doesn't understand why he's not willing to go to the police. Even children have secrets of their own, and talking about his, will expose more than just his. Narrated by several POV's, this slow burn, small town mystery tackles what it means when a community is both banded and divided by the secrets it keeps.

I've enjoyed mysteries set in Australia because of the atmospheric tension the arid setting often evokes but Dirt Creek didn't do it for me. I found it difficult to stay invested, both from the sluggish pacing and the characters. There were simply too many to keep track of. One of the POV's was dedicated to Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels, and it felt like she spent more time reminiscing on a former break-up and fantasizing about every woman she met as a potential love interest rather than solving Esther's disappearance. A lot of it came down to unnecessary exposition as well. Lastly, there were several references to animal abuse and torture that I thought were irrelevant to the story. 
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kellyung's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

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