(7)The Dry by Jane Harper

Sunday, January 15, 2017


It took a tragedy to get Federal Agent, Aaron Falk to go home.  His childhood best friend killed his wife, son, and then himself.  It was Luke's father who reached out to Aaron and summoned him.  Falk had left his small Austrailian hometown years ago under a swirl of scandal when a friend of theirs was found dead in the river.  But Falk goes home and finds that his hometown has practically dried up.  The drought has taken a hit on the economy and everyone is on edge. Old family feuds are going strong and tensions are running high. Rumor has it that Luke's family farm was taking a hit and he was on the verge of losing it all. After the funeral one of the local authorities approaches Falk.  He isn't entirely sure the case is as cut and dry as it looks.  Falk agrees to stay and help the investigation and it turns out that the Sergeant was right. But who would want to kill Luke and his family?

The Dry has been getting a lot of buzz as being the next hot mystery and I understand why that it is.  Aaron Falk appears to be a good guy.  He leads a pretty quiet, if not solitary life, in Melbourne and a lot of that stems from the trauma of small town living.  And having grown up in a small town, I totally get it.  There is something very appealing about the anonymity of a big city after living in a town where everybody is up in your business.   Falk has only agreed to stay for a week and the urgency is building and the past is catching up with him.  The book has flashbacks back to when Luke and Aaron were kids and Ellie drowned.  Ellie's family have made it very clear that they believe that Aaron is responsible, even though he wasn't.  A lot of people in town also believe it to be true, which has made his visit a little more uncomfortable.   I figured out who the killer was at a very specific moment about halfway through the book.  I even highlighted the passage & thought "this is where I figured it out."   I was right, but it could have gone any other way.  - CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS

Bottom line - even though I had it figured out pretty early, The Dry was still a page turner.  I wanted to see if I was right and even though that I might not be at one point.  I am glad that I stuck it out and look forward to more from Jane Harper in the future.

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