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A solid mystery! Really enjoyed the small town atmosphere, very accurate of rural Australia.
I appreciate that the police work was mostly just collecting the information through questioning. The barrier to get people talking was excellently conveyed, but the solving of the case felt achievable once all the information was acquired. This seemed like a very accurate representation of how cases with limited resources could be resolved albeit doesn't provide the reader with an overly satisfying revelation.
I did find that Falk was a very average protagonist. He seemed to not have any motivations, nor large personality flaws, and was overall a bit underwhelming. The secondary characters were also a bit basic, but maybe were written to be reserved to add to the tension within the novel in regards to the drought, financial struggles and the distrust of the protagonist.
This was quite a slow paced read, but the duel timeline mystery of Falk's past was very interesting and kept me hooked.
Excited to read the next installments! Hopefully we learn a bit more about Falk and he becomes more developed.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Violence, Alcohol
Minor: Addiction
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Infidelity
Graphic: Gore, Violence
I read this in one sitting. I was captivated from the opening sentence to the last word. I picked up this book only because it was a prompt for a reading challenge and I expect it to make my top 10 of 2024.
Exceptional writing. Harper builds a vivid landscape, where the
This is how a mystery-thriller should be written. The story was well fleshed out. Harper avoids the pitfalls of convenience and coincidence to make the story fit the outcome. Two whodunits within one novel, and both told in a way that left you guessing until the end. Though there are no loose ends left to be tied up, I never once felt I was being led by the hand. Her writing kept me engaged and I happily buckled in to ride out the story until the very end.
This book was simply brilliant and would make a great book club read. I'll definitely pick up another of her novels. She has me hooked!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Dementia
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Child abuse
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Dementia, Death of parent, Outing
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Vomit
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide
Minor: Addiction
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Vomit