The Dry

Harper, Jane. The Dry. New York: Flatiron. 2016. Print.

First Sentences:

It wasn't as though the farm hadn't seen death here, and the blowflies didn't discriminate.

To them there was little difference between a carcass and a corpse.

Description:

Luke lied. You lied. Be at the funeral,

When you receive a note like this from the father of your childhood friend, you definitely are shaken. Thus begins Jane Harper's brilliant debut novel and murder mystery, The Dry.

Aaron Falk, Federal Police Agent in Melbourne, Australia, received this letter. He is even more shaken when he learns that Luke Hadler, his childhood friend from twenty years ago, along with his wife and young son have been found dead, victims of an apparent murder/suicide in the tiny farming community of Canberra. 

Was Luke a desperate man who finally gave into the financial worry of living in the punishing drought that had ruined other farms? Or was there something else that is hinted in that note from Luke's father? Falk decides he must return to his birthplace and the funeral for Luke and his family if for nothing more than to pay his respects and find out more about the implications in that note.

But once there, Aaron is faced by a hostile community which remembers old wounds. Twenty years earlier a teenage girl had drowned in the local river. Townspeople at the time felt Aaron had somehow been responsible. Luke (remember, the man who is now dead along with his family) had provided an alibi for himself and Aaron, but few believed it. Drawing their own conclusions, the community shunned Aaron and his father and drove them out of town. Aaron had not returned to his hometown since.

Aaron is ready to leave town after the funeral when Luke's father reveals how he knows the boys' alibi from that death is false. He now has the leverage to make Aaron at least look into Luke's death. How can Aaron, a federal police agent albeit from far away Melbourne, say "No"? 

So he begins asking, poking, wandering around, and reliving his memories both good and painful. But the town has not forgotten or forgiven, and they make their distrust and anger against Aaron known. What Aaron finds is a tangled web of secrets, of anger, friendship, and fear from almost every person. 

Strong, clean writing perfectly depicts the bleakness and hostility of this drought-stricken land and the people trying to scratch a living from it. You can feel the heat and tension of Canberra from page one. Each person has a history, including Aaron, that twists and turns as questions reveal answers that have been carefully protected for decades. 

It is impossible to predict the new revelations and next pathway revealed on each page, so it is the best of mysteries. Can't wait for her next book. 

Happy reading. 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Baldacci, David. The Last Mile

When convicted murderer Melvin Mars is freed only minutes before his execution (another man confessed), Amos Decker wants to find out why. Both Mars and Decker had been accused of murdering their families and both found innocent under questionable conditions. Twisty-turning investigation of people holding secrets pulls readers along to the very last page.  (previously reviewed here)