The Dry (Aaron Falk, #1) in Aussie Readers

Feb 14, 2020 Tien rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: australia, crime, own, australian-author

Red herrings right for the very beginning! They coloured the characters' perspectives and therefore, the readers'. I absolutely could not pick out who until it all became very obvious. The Dry is an immersive crime novel set in outback Australia. The drought was killing off the environment, animals, and businesses but was it such that it factors in this horrific murder-suicide?

Aaron Falk, a Federal Agent, ran away from this town 20 years ago under a cloud of suspicion from the death of a friend. ...more

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Mar 23, 2019 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-author

Credited with sparking new interest in Australian rural crime novels, The Dry was published in 2016 to international acclaim, winning multiple awards, with the movie adaptation, to star Eric Bana, currently in production.

After a twenty year absence, Aaron Falk reluctantly returns to his hometown, the small drought stricken community of Kiewarra, to attend the funeral of his childhood best friend, Luke Hadler, accused of slaughtering his wife and daughter, before turning the gun on himself. Falk Credited with sparking new interest in Australian rural crime novels, The Dry was published in 2016 to international acclaim, winning multiple awards, with the movie adaptation, to star Eric Bana, currently in production.

After a twenty year absence, Aaron Falk reluctantly returns to his hometown, the small drought stricken community of Kiewarra, to attend the funeral of his childhood best friend, Luke Hadler, accused of slaughtering his wife and daughter, before turning the gun on himself. Falk is now with the Federal Police, investigating financial crime, and at the request of Luke’s parents, who are desperate to find an alternative answer to such a heinous crime, agrees to go over the farm’s business records. While the accounts prove to be fairly straightforward, it is inconsistencies in the details of the crime that bother Falk.

The Dry is an atmospheric novel, evoking the dusty desperation of small farming towns struggling with drought and the myriad of consequences it has both economically and socially. Tempers are short, attitudes are anxious, and secrets fester In the heat.

The mystery at the heart of The Dry is well plotted, and revealed at an even pace. Harper effectively builds and maintains tension, even where the past and present intersect. I admit to being a little piqued by one thread of the story that was resolved but felt unfinished.

Guilt is is a major motivation for Falk’s investigation. His real reluctance to return to Kiewarra stems from the tragic drowning of another childhood friend, in whose death Aaron, and his father, were unfairly implicated. Driven out of town by the victim’s father, a vindictive bully and drunk, the community is no more welcoming on his return. It makes for an interesting character, struggling with both interior and exterior conflicts.
The supporting characters are well drawn, though perhaps not terribly nuanced. It’s actually the absent characters, Luke and Ellie, that are the most dynamic.

An impressive debut, I found The Dry to be an evocative and compelling crime novel. I am looking forward to reading the second book featuring Falk, Force of Nature.
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May 12, 2018 Charles rated it really liked it

A most satisfying read. Characters well drawn. I could almost smell and taste to dust.

Highly recommend.

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Oct 09, 2018 Dzintra aka Ingrid rated it it was amazing

This book had me guessing right to the very end! Congratulations Jane on your debut novel!

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Mar 29, 2017 Tango rated it liked it

Having heard good things about this book I have to say I was a little underwhelmed. The setting and characters had a distinctly Australian feel, along with some of the issues dealt with, but the story itself was nothing out of the ordinary, in terms of this genre, and I found the final reveal to be hard to believe. I quite liked the protagonist but he was not as distinctly drawn as, say, Cormoran Strike, Phrynne Fisher or Joseph O'Loughlin. Will I read her next one? Maybe, but I doubt that I'll ...more

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Mar 19, 2019 Sarah rated it it was amazing

A can't put down read from a debut author set in Australia. The hero is a big city cop who's come home for the funeral of his best friend in high school. The friend is accused of killing his family and then himself, but the hero is persuaded that there's a reason to believe someone else is responsible. ...more

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