Rather ridiculously, I read this for book club but didn't get enough of it read in time to justify going along to the meeting and yet have read it anyway... if that makes any sense to anyone! Whether you understand that introduction or not, the essential point is that I am very glad that I read this book and I would wholeheartedly recommend it.

'Dry Season' is the sort of book that demonstrates why I joined a book club. The fact of the matter is that I am precisely the type to judge a book by its More...

A debut novel from local author Dan Brown, though marketed as a thriller to me Dry Season is much more a story of relationships, of hope and redemption, the characters every bit as important as the plot.

OK so there was a thriller-ish element to the book but, very slow burning, in my opinion it was very much secondary to the rest of the story, the 'star' of which for me was undoubtedly the atmosphere created by Dan Smith, his portrayal of man's inhumanity/humanity towards man.

Set in the mid-ninet More...

Unexpectedly, this was one of the most thought provoking & strangely emotional books I have read in some while.

I was drawn in from page one & could FEEL the dust & heat. Moreover there was a palpable atmosphere of oddly ‘loose’ tension, which built throughout the book. There was a extra ‘edginess’ to this, which meant the reader never knew quite what to expect; especially due to the accepted lawlessness of the situation & the level of ever-present brutality, also building with th More...

Amazing story - loved it and I don't normally read this kind of book! Great read!

Brazil

I was surprised by this novel. From the cover notes, I was expecting a dark thriller, but it is so much more than that. Set in the untamed and lawless heart of Brazil, this is a tale full of good and evil - standard thriller fare - but it is also a very uplifting story of friendship, love, loss, hope and redemption.

The central character is a Catholic priest, Sam, who has lost his faith and has moved to a backwater "wild west" Brazilian town to forget his pain, by drinking to excess, by not carin More...

A first person narrative that reads more like a memoir than a book of fiction.

Failed priest Sam is hiding from a dreadful past yet inevitably his humanity thrusts him into situations with other people – situations that have the potential to be fatal. At risk is not only his life, but the lives of his friends – and the entire Brazilian township of Sao Tiago.

The characterisation of Sam, Paulo and Ana is superb. The mysterious and formidable Caterina Da Silva is a chilling creation, too. I felt f More...

Dry Season is set in Brazil, a wild and violent place unlike anywhere I have ever been and yet I found the descriptive writing to create a real sense of the place and the people populating it. The writing is atmospheric, it's been -8 here but I could amost feel the heat and dust of Sao Tiago!

The book grabs your attention from the outset, it is exciting and frightening in equal part and the tension is palpable throughout - you never quite relax. The book works as a thriller - the threat of bandit More...

Ooo this book has a bit of a kick to it. We start off in a quiet little town on the banks of a Brazilian river where life is quietly flowing along with no great drama until a card game turns bad and all the power plays begin to pull at each other. Eventually something snaps, all hell breaks loose and the innocent get caught in the crossfire. The story is a little slow to start but it is worth perservering as you learn more about the characters, their backstories and their motivations you just do More...

When I started this book, I was very doubtful I could like it. Dry Season is absolutely not my usual reading material, and had I not received this book as a gift, I would have never ever found or read it.

So, to my own great surprise I really enjoyed reading the book, though I did not enjoy the story at all times. It started out a bit b-o-r-i-n-g for an action-lover like me, but once I got into the book's rythm, I was carried away. But, as it is, I was rewarded for staying with the book till the More...

This book has almost everything. Love, lust, murder, betrayal, redemption, loss, and finally fall. Mix all of that with a bit of South American politics and you have a really heady brew.

sounds interesting. love the cover!

What a good book, great character in Sam, a lapsed priest. In fact all the characters were realistic and well developed, and some were truly nasty. The violence is pretty brutal, but not out of place. The writing style is very descriptive, but unlike many books, it doesn't slow down the pace of the plot and really enhances the book. Definitely an author I would seek out again.

really enjoyed this dark and brutal thriller based in the jungle areas of brazil and where human life is so cheap but the author makes the story feel and seem real with the characters, looking froward to reading the next one by this author

Amazing book. I also thoroughly recommend Dark Horizons by this author. Reading these books has opened my eyes to a whole new genre that I previously thought I wouldn't enjoy!