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Celia's Reviews > The Dry
The Dry (Aaron Falk, #1)
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Celia's review
bookshelves: elyse, book-club, kindle-list, 2018-read, ten-year-challenge, australian-fiction, recommended-read
Jul 30, 2018
bookshelves: elyse, book-club, kindle-list, 2018-read, ten-year-challenge, australian-fiction, recommended-read
I had heard about The Dry when it came out. Described as a thriller, which is not my usual genre, I decided to put it on my TBR, especially because a good reading buddy had read and liked it.
I did enjoy the book and it did keep me turning the pages. Some readers have described it as slow moving with lots of ‘red herring�. I agree with both analyses. That ended up being somewhat of a turn-off for me. Just how many blind alleys did Harper want us to traverse before revealing the real situation?
The book commences in the fictional town of Kiewarra, a parched town which had not seen rain in two years. The reader is invited to the funeral of the Hadlers: Luke, Karen and Billy. Luke has been accused of killing two of three of his family and then turning the gun on himself. Only Charlotte, too young to tell tales, has survived the slaughter. Aaron Falk, a childhood friend of Luke’s and now a federal agent in Melbourne, has been asked by Luke’s mother to do further investigation. Luke was known as a wild one, but she still does not believe Luke killed his family. Falk and the local sergeant, Greg Raco, start an unofficial investigation.
There are many secrets hidden in this small town. Falk and Raco uncover most of them as the story progresses. Twenty years ago, another friend, Ellie Deacon, was found dead and drowned, presumably a murder which Falk is still suspected of. Well, we know THAT isn’t true, so more than one mystery must be solved.
The title of this book is very appropriate. It is almost like the weather, temperature and lack of water is another character in the book. This town does have more than its share of domestic violence, probably even in good weather. But the weather has driven everyone half-mad, so we wait patiently for full insanity to kick in.
By the last page of the book, all mysteries are solved. I especially liked the last line. “As he (Falk) walked back to Kiewarra, a cool breeze blew.� Mysteries solved; weather breaking.
For an excellent description of the book’s backstory, drought in Australia, see the following from Book Browse:
4 stars
I did enjoy the book and it did keep me turning the pages. Some readers have described it as slow moving with lots of ‘red herring�. I agree with both analyses. That ended up being somewhat of a turn-off for me. Just how many blind alleys did Harper want us to traverse before revealing the real situation?
The book commences in the fictional town of Kiewarra, a parched town which had not seen rain in two years. The reader is invited to the funeral of the Hadlers: Luke, Karen and Billy. Luke has been accused of killing two of three of his family and then turning the gun on himself. Only Charlotte, too young to tell tales, has survived the slaughter. Aaron Falk, a childhood friend of Luke’s and now a federal agent in Melbourne, has been asked by Luke’s mother to do further investigation. Luke was known as a wild one, but she still does not believe Luke killed his family. Falk and the local sergeant, Greg Raco, start an unofficial investigation.
There are many secrets hidden in this small town. Falk and Raco uncover most of them as the story progresses. Twenty years ago, another friend, Ellie Deacon, was found dead and drowned, presumably a murder which Falk is still suspected of. Well, we know THAT isn’t true, so more than one mystery must be solved.
The title of this book is very appropriate. It is almost like the weather, temperature and lack of water is another character in the book. This town does have more than its share of domestic violence, probably even in good weather. But the weather has driven everyone half-mad, so we wait patiently for full insanity to kick in.
By the last page of the book, all mysteries are solved. I especially liked the last line. “As he (Falk) walked back to Kiewarra, a cool breeze blew.� Mysteries solved; weather breaking.
For an excellent description of the book’s backstory, drought in Australia, see the following from Book Browse:
4 stars
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Reading Progress
November 11, 2017
– Shelved
November 11, 2017
– Shelved as:
to-read
November 11, 2017
– Shelved as:
elyse
February 16, 2018
– Shelved as:
book-club
May 20, 2018
– Shelved as:
kindle-list
July 23, 2018
–
Started Reading
July 28, 2018
–
Finished Reading
July 30, 2018
– Shelved as:
2018-read
July 30, 2018
– Shelved as:
ten-year-challenge
November 17, 2020
– Shelved as:
australian-fiction
June 15, 2024
– Shelved as:
recommended-read
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Christina
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rated it 3 stars
Jul 30, 2018 01:24PM
Excellent review Celia! Love how you describe the weather as an additional character :) I agree it was a bit slow moving and the red herrings were a little tiring but glad this was still a 4 star read for you!
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Love your review! This book features one of my all time leading men - Aaron Falk!!
Super review, Celia - especially because this isn't your 'usual' genre! :)
Great review. I smile at your comments about this not being your usual genre and the many red herrings - I think those of us who are big crime thriller fans need red herrings, or many of our books would be only 80 pages long!
Marina wrote: "Great review. I smile at your comments about this not being your usual genre and the many red herrings - I think those of us who are big crime thriller fans need red herrings, or many of our books ..."Thanks Marina and smile from me too!!
