A review by serendipitysbooks
Dirt Creek by Hayley Scrivenor

dark emotional mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.0

 Dirt Creek is set in a small Australian town and is centred around the disappearance of twelve year old Esther who never makes it home from school one day. It unfolds via multiple points of view including a couple of her friends, her mother, a detective sergeant in charge of the investigation, and a Greek chorus representing the local children. I found this to be a propulsive read with the twists and foreshadowing at the end of chapters enticing me to continue reading, even though I already knew Esther’s fate, since it was revealed in the first chapter. The fact that many local secrets were revealed over the course of the investigation kept my interest high as well. The small town vibe felt very realistic. Socially it reflected my experiences growing up in a small town, and physically I felt transported to rural Australia with the heat, dust and wide empty roads. Not all authors get children right but I felt the depiction of Ronnie and Lewis, their reactions and understanding were spot on. Like Lewis I have an intellectually disabled sibling and that aspect of the book was handled sensitively, yet still felt fully authentic. This was not a faced paced, tense, dramatic, gore-ridden mystery/thriller that will get your heart racing. It was slower paced, focussed very much on character and community and I liked it all the more for that. 
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