‘The Dry’ by Jane Harper

Set in the drought-ridden landscape of a small town in Australia, this debut novel, a crime-thriller, proved popular with most readers of the Giffordtown Reading Group. 

Aaron Falk returns to his hometown to attend the funeral of a childhood friend, Luke, who died violently, along with his wife and young son, in gruesome and unexplained circumstances.  Gradually, Aaron, a Federal Agent, is reluctantly drawn into probing the death of the Hadler family, revealing long-held secrets and old animosities. All this is set against the tensions of a farming community struggling to make a living in harsh, arid conditions.

For those who like their murders bloody, this does not disappoint and there are sufficient plot twists, though some stretching credibility, to keep readers turning the pages.  The characters were believable and narrative time changes were easy to follow, while the use of colloquial language made it an easy read.  Criticisms were that the ending was a bit hurried, if not superficial, and for some it was hard to believe in the motivation for the perpetrator of the crime.  However,  for crime-thriller enthusiasts, The Dry will not disappoint.

The next book in line for the Giffordtown Reading Group discussion is John Buchan's The Thirty-nine Steps. Could this be a great excuse to watch the Hitchcock film, in time for an exchange of views on Thursday 7 May 2020?

Monique