Book Review: The Dry by Jane Harper

Don’t you just love books where a protagonist has to return to their hometown for some reason or other, and they end up staying longer than intended because there’s just SOMETHING they need to get to the bottom of? A very specific trope that I’m a fan of.

"It wasn’t as though the farm hadn’t seen death before, and the blowflies didn’t discriminate. To them there was little difference between a carcass and a corpse.”

In The Dry, Aaron returns to his hometown to attend the funeral of his childhood friend, Luke, who had been found dead along with his wife and child. The police think it’s a case of murder/suicide, but Aaron, who is a Federal Police investigator, is persuaded by Luke’s parents to get to the bottom of the murders.

There’s effectively two mysteries to be solved in this book, the other focuses on Aaron and Luke’s childhood and the death of their friend. Harper efficiently handles the two storylines, tying the narratives together via seamless transitions. A minor gripe is that italics are used for these “past” sections. Whilst I appreciate knowing right away where we are in the story, I hate reading large chunks of italicised text.

The Dry is a very atmospheric read, you can just FEEL the oppressive heat that hangs over this small Australian town that is in the midst of a drought. Harper is a damn good writer. Combine that with her ability to create interesting, believable characters as well as a story full of twists and turns, and you have a certifiable page-turner!

I would certainly recommend if you’re looking for a well-written crime fiction book that is pretty dark and unpredictable (it was for me, anyway!) 4 stars.

Johann