Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Dry by Jane Harper

36 reviews

wandering_canuck's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5 intense stars!!

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!

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barbarella85's review against another edition

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

4.0


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emfield's review against another edition

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

3.75


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the_tea_collector22's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

Quick pulsed mystery with lots of twists and details along the storylines. I loved how Harper consistently mislead readers throughout the story with careful misdirection, it was so satisfying seeing how things came together. 

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hannahleewhite's review

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

3.75


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madamegeneva's review

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emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

I really, really liked this book. I watched the movie adaptation on a whim a few weeks ago and after realising it was based on a book, I requested it soon after. And boy, I’m so glad I did. 
I assumed that reading the book wouldn’t be super interesting since I’d already seen the movie, but I was surprised at how engrossed I was in text. The book obviously has more space to flesh out characters’ thoughts and motivations (for example, Whitlam’s), and the way the author describes the town/scenery truly makes me feel as if I’m sitting in an small outback town pub. Brilliant. 

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bootsmom3's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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


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lids_84's review against another edition

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

5.0

What an incredible read! I could not put this book down. 
So many twists and turns as the story unfolds. I love that it’s set in the dry Australian outback and is a must read for any murder mystery / thriller lovers. 
Off to the book shop to get Jane Harpers next book. 

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msagerber's review

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

4.0


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mels_reading_log's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is a story set in a drought in a rural Australian town where a double-murder/suicide has just happened. The cops, not being satisfied with that story start up an off-books investigation that unravels all of this small town’s secrets. I really liked the premise and all of the twists and turns, but the pacing was a little slow for me.

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