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A review by paulabrandon
The Dry by Jane Harper
4.0
Aaron Falk returns to his hometown of Kiewarra after learning about his childhood friend Luke Hadler, who has apparently shot his wife and son dead, then killed himself. Aaron and his father were driven out of town 20 years earlier due to belief one of them had been involved in the death of Ellie Deacon, although the death was ruled a suicide. Luke provided Aaron with an alibi all those years ago. Aaron unofficially ends up becoming part of the investigation, as evidence starts to suggest the deaths were not the murder-suicide scenario it initially appeared.
This book has received rave reviews and won awards, and it's not hard to see why. This was very well-written! The characters were well developed and the plot was interesting and intricately structured. I really enjoyed reading it! However, I did think it was too slow-paced, and every other chapter would have somebody in town act like an asshole to Aaron, just to remind us that he had been run out of the place decades earlier. That got a little repetitive. My rating would be closer to 3.5 than 4. However, I also liked that this was set in Australia, where I live. It's undoubtedly the best thriller written by an Australian writer that I've ever read! Harper is able to masterfully establish the setting as uniquely Australian, yet I don't think anyone from another country will find it inaccessible. She actually makes it feel like this could be happening anywhere.
This book has received rave reviews and won awards, and it's not hard to see why. This was very well-written! The characters were well developed and the plot was interesting and intricately structured. I really enjoyed reading it! However, I did think it was too slow-paced, and every other chapter would have somebody in town act like an asshole to Aaron, just to remind us that he had been run out of the place decades earlier. That got a little repetitive. My rating would be closer to 3.5 than 4. However, I also liked that this was set in Australia, where I live. It's undoubtedly the best thriller written by an Australian writer that I've ever read! Harper is able to masterfully establish the setting as uniquely Australian, yet I don't think anyone from another country will find it inaccessible. She actually makes it feel like this could be happening anywhere.