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The Dry (Aaron Falk, #1)

Jane Harper

Start date: July 24, 2022

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Jan 10, 2019 Ashley Glovasky rated it really liked it

In a nutshell: Aaron Falk, a financial investigator, returns to his hometown to attend the funeral of his childhood best friend, Luke, who allegedly killed his wife, son, and then himself. But is it all what it seems?

Recommendation: If you're looking for a good 'whodunnit'? I suggest you read this one. I couldn't stop reading.

I kept seeing the second book in the series for sale and was interested, but I thought I'd better start with the first one. I wasn't sure what to expect, as to me it seeme In a nutshell: Aaron Falk, a financial investigator, returns to his hometown to attend the funeral of his childhood best friend, Luke, who allegedly killed his wife, son, and then himself. But is it all what it seems?

Recommendation: If you're looking for a good 'whodunnit'? I suggest you read this one. I couldn't stop reading.

I kept seeing the second book in the series for sale and was interested, but I thought I'd better start with the first one. I wasn't sure what to expect, as to me it seemed like the Corman Strike series. But it unexpectantly became one of the most enthralling mystery books I've ever read!

“Above the three coffins, a family of four stared down from a blown-up photograph. Their static smiles were overlarge and pixelated. Falk recognised the picture from the news. It had been used a lot. Beneath, the names of the dead were spelled out in native flowers. Luke. Karen. Billy.”

Aaron Falk left Kiewarra as a teenager due to he and his father being accused of being involved in the death of Ellie, one of Aaron's friends. Aaron is called back 20 years later for the funeral of his old best friend, Luke. But this is no ordinary funeral. It is a horrifying tragedy that the small farming town is reeling from. Luke appears to have killed himself after slaughtering his wife and young son. The residents of the town are shocked, but most understand that times have been dire, as they have been suffering from an awful drought that is killing off all their crops. Circumstances lead Aaron to investigate the case further... did his friend commit this heinous crime? While Aaron seeks to uncover the truth, he faces demons from his past as he is accused by the townsfolk again for what happened to Ellie. This thriller set in a small farming town will keep you guessing.

Usually when I start a book, I can kind of predict how I'll feel by the end of it, especially with a mystery/thriller/whodunnit like this. Is it predictable like The Girl on the Train? Or is it TOO far-fetched like The Woman in Cabin 10? I usually don't know until I read the book. With this one, I was impressed by it all!

I was really into the characters. Usually, protagonists in these types of books are questionable. But Aaron was interesting to me and very likable. I wanted to know more about the townspeople. They were all very colourful and I felt like I really was reading about characters in a small town.

When I found out who the murderer was, it wasn't predictable, or too far-fetched, or anything. I genuinely enjoyed it. I plan to read more of the Aaron Falk series, as well as Jane Harper's new book out this year!
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May 23, 2018 The Library Ladies rated it liked it

(originally reviewed at thelibraryladies.com )

I don’t know how I missed “The Dry” by Jane Harper when it first came out. Actually, okay, that’s a lie; I missed it because the title and cover didn’t compel me. Sure, the hype and praise that surrounded it was on my radar, as well as the fact that copies at the library were always on request and being requested by patrons who came to see me at the desk. But I stubbornly and steadfastly stayed away, until I read the plot description of its sequel (originally reviewed at thelibraryladies.com )

I don’t know how I missed “The Dry” by Jane Harper when it first came out. Actually, okay, that’s a lie; I missed it because the title and cover didn’t compel me. Sure, the hype and praise that surrounded it was on my radar, as well as the fact that copies at the library were always on request and being requested by patrons who came to see me at the desk. But I stubbornly and steadfastly stayed away, until I read the plot description of its sequel “Force of Nature”. Given that the plot of that sounds awesome (suspicious misadventures in nature!), and that it was part of series, I was finally convinced to go back and read “The Dry”, so as to fully experience Aaron Falk and his storyline. But given that I am always looking for new mystery series to follow with interesting detective protagonists, I am happy that I finally gave in and decided to give it a chance, stubbornness aside.

While a lot of the mystery series settings I follow are set in America or England, “The Dry” set itself apart immediately by taking place in Australia. Given that I am still desperately missing New Zealand (not that I think they’re interchangeable, mind you, please don’t hurt me, Australia and New Zealand), I was happy to have a story set in Oceania. Australia’s sprawling divide between metropolis vs small town plays a huge part in the story, and set up for a well done ‘small town with secrets’ kind of plot line. Aaron Falk was a fine protagonist to explore this, given that this involves a homecoming to a place that thinks that he’s a murderer. It’s an interesting tweak to the big town detective trying to maneuver in small town politics and society, as Falk knows how it works, and knows that he’s going to be doubly scrutinized with his background. When his old friend Luke’s apparent family annihilation/suicide brings Aaron back for the funeral, the murder of their mutual friend Ellie still lingers, as does the fact that Aaron and Luke were each other’s alibis. So this story has two mysteries: did Luke actually kill his wife, son, and himself, and who actually killed Ellie? The narrative shifts between the present timeline with a third person perspective through Falk’s eyes, and past perspectives through a vaguer third person narration. If that makes sense. It’s not something I’ve seen very often in fiction, and it was interesting getting more information than Falk was getting and seeing how he interpreted the information as it’s fed to him. It makes for a questionable reliability in the storytelling, and I liked being kept on my toes. But while I was kept on my toes, I wasn’t terribly invested in either mystery that was presented. The problem with Ellie’s was that given some of the sad realities of statistics and violence towards women and girls, I didn’t have a hard time guessing the ultimate solution to her fate, and therefore didn’t feel connected to it. And with Luke’s storyline, I wasn’t invested enough in Luke to want to see his name cleared, so while that one did keep me guessing, I didn’t really care too much one way or the other.

Falk himself was just fine as a protagonist, but I think that for me the difference between this series and, say, the Tempe Brennan Series (working as my go to for a series with a re-occurring detective type) is that Falk hasn’t really established himself as a unique main character I’m interested in just yet. Tempe Brennan is complex and effervescent and snarky, whereas Falk hasn’t been much outside of a falsely accused outsider looking to redeem a friend (and in some ways himself), and brooding accordingly. I do realize that Tempe has had nineteen books to solidify her personality, and that Falk is really just beginning, so I am not holding any of this as-of-now simplicity against him. There are definitely glimmers of promise within him and where he could go, and I want to see how he’s going to grow in future books now that, theoretically, it won’t be as personal for him going forward. I was happy with the supporting cast that Falk got to play off of. I liked his old friend Gretchen, and her loyalty to him even when others thought that he didn’t deserve it. I liked Raco, a local detective who joins up with Falk on an official investigation against the town’s judgmental gaze. But I’m not sure as of now that they are going to remain large parts of the series, as they are still back in the town that Falk is visiting temporarily. Again, comparing it to Tempe Brennan there are familiar faces that work as foils and give Tempe’s life and character uniqueness and interesting interactions. If it’s just Falk going forward with a revolving door of characters,, it could be a missed opportunity for a strong cast of supporting and familiar faces. We’ll just have to see. “Force of Nature” will give me a better idea of what to expect in this way. And lord knows it’s going to be awhile before my number comes up on the request list.

So all in all while “The Dry” didn’t blow me away in the fashion that it did to many others, there is a lot of promise going forward. Aaron Falk may not be Temperance Brennan yet, but I have a feeling that he has the potential to join her as a detective in a unique series that I will follow as it moves forward. ...more

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