A review by whatmorgsreads
Dirt Creek by Hayley Scrivenor

dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

*I received a digital copy of this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

ɪɴ ʜᴀʏʟᴇʏ sᴄʀɪᴠᴇɴᴏʀ's ᴅɪʀᴛ ᴄʀᴇᴇᴋ, ᴀ sᴍᴀʟʟ-ᴛᴏᴡɴ ᴅᴇʙᴜᴛ ᴍʏsᴛᴇʀʏ ᴅᴇsᴄʀɪʙᴇᴅ ᴀs ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʀʏ ᴍᴇᴇᴛs ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ɪ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴛᴏʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ, ᴀ ɢɪʀʟ ɢᴏᴇs ᴍɪssɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ғᴀʟʟs ᴀᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴏᴍᴇs ᴛᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ.

A small town is torn apart when 12 year old Esther disappears in rural Australia. Secrets are exposed and everyone looks guilty, including Esther’s own father. 

This novel is told from multiple perspectives, including a collective ‘We’ perspective of unnamed children from the town. This gave the novel a unique spin. At times though, I felt like it broke up the pace of the story. It was a great perspective to have towards the end, though. It is a slow burn mystery that is heavily character driven. 

My favorite POV is through the eyes of Ronnie, Esther’s best friend. I felt the most attached to her character. My least favorite POV was Detective Sergant Michaels. While her investigative skills were great, I found it hard to like her character personally. 

This novel does mention animal abuse in a few scenes. I really disliked that, but it’s a book. I get it. It’s not real. 

I do wish the story had been a little more fast pace, but the multiple perspectives kept the story flowing. This was not a predictable mystery and I was kind of shocked to discover who actually killed Esther. 

Sophie Lougran was an excellent narrator. 

Overall I think this is a good debut mystery novel that I would recommend to others. 
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