Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Dirt Creek by Hayley Scrivenor

3 reviews

prittypeaches's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

orinposner's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 An incredible novel, beautifully and carefully written. It tells the story of a girl’s disappearance and its investigation, but really the story of a small town with all the people in it, and their complicated, gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, very real lives.

This book made me cry and cry, and for many different reasons. I felt sad, scared, confused and frozen along with these characters. There are 5 different POVs: the detective, two (extremely loveable) children of the town, the mother of the missing girl, and a fascinatingly strange first-person plural (“we”). The writing is astoundingly good, and by that I mean not just beautiful prose, but the detailed language of people’s minds – how they think, what they pay attention to, what they remember.

I was also hooked on the mystery, anxious for the detective (another great character) to gather more information, and flipping back pages to re-read and re-consider earlier scenes once I figured something out. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

evemee's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...