Friday, November 24, 2017

The Dry by Jane Harper


Title: The Dry 
Series: Aaron Falk #1
Author:  Jane Harper
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: January 10, 2017




WHO REALLY KILLED THE HADLER FAMILY?

I just can't understand how someone like him could do something like that.

Amid the worst drought to ravage Australia in a century, it hasn't rained in small country town Kiewarra for two years. Tensions in the community become unbearable when three members of the Hadler family are brutally murdered. Everyone thinks Luke Hadler, who committed suicide after slaughtering his wife and six-year-old son, is guilty.

Policeman Aaron Falk returns to the town of his youth for the funeral of his childhood best friend, and is unwillingly drawn into the investigation. As questions mount and suspicion spreads through the town, Falk is forced to confront the community that rejected him twenty years earlier. Because Falk and Luke Hadler shared a secret, one which Luke's death threatens to unearth. And as Falk probes deeper into the killings, secrets from his past and why he left home bubble to the surface as he questions the truth of his friend's crime.









“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. "

With so many glowing reviews, I couldn't wait to start The Dry. After reading it, I'll need to disclose that I thought The Dry was just like its name....DRY.   This year, I've read other thrillers which I enjoyed much more.

The Dry begins when Aaron Falk returns to his hometown. Although, I shouldn't really call it that since he and his dad left town in a hurry when he was a young man. Aaron doesn't have many good memories of Kiewarra. The only reason he's back in town is that his childhood best friend Luke Hadler has died. Apparently, he killed his wife, his young son and himself leaving his baby daughter  Charlotte alive. 

Luke's mother doesn't believe this is true. She wants Aaron to look into it since he's a federal agent. Yet, the last thing Luke wants is to stay in this town too long.  The town has no lost love for him. They made it clear two decades ago he was persona non grata when Ellie's body was found in the water with a letter with his last name Falk. As teenagers, Aaron, Ellie, Luke, and Gretchen did everything together until Ellie's death. 

The Dry is a slow paced novel. At times, it was painful to continue reading it. The twists were placed at the right time but some were easy to guess. I never got the WOW feeling I was expecting. If anything, I thought it was lacking. There was nothing spectacular. Believe me, no one is sadder than me that I didn't love it.

My understanding is that this is becoming a series. I'm not sure I want to continue. For anyone reading this review, I hope you enjoy it more than I did. 

Cliffhanger: No

3/5 Fangs


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