Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Generally speaking, I don’t get excited about thrillers. I can read them, occasionally, even enjoy them, but it’s not something I seek or buy for myself. I’ve been meaning to read The Dry for some time, mostly to see for myself if the hype was deserved.

I was hooked from the very beginning. The writing is terrific, it’s atmospheric, the characters are fully formed, and the plot and the investigative procedures were credible, which is something I always pick on and complain about. And how about those transitions between the present time and the past? They were so well done!

I’m a city girl, through and through, yet, the characters, the setting, the small-town mentalities and issues were familiar and I felt they were captured accurately. We are all aware, especially in Australia, about the many issues faced by farmers. We hear in the media about the escalation of suicide in the farming communities. And the horrendous thing that some men do: kill their family members and then themselves. It’s incomprehensible and it just shakes one to the core. Jane Harper managed, with subtlety and great skill, to show the impact such horrific crimes have on an entire community.

Anyway, there are lots of reviews for this book, so I’ll keep mine short(er).

The Dry is such a well-written mystery/suspense/thriller, it really belongs in the literary fiction category.

NB: AUDIOBOOK � top notch. Steve Shanahan’s narration was exquisite.

This novel also counts towards my goal to read 12+ Australian writers as part of the Aussie Author Challenge on Booklover Book Reviews Blog