The Dry

Goodreads Description

Luke Hadler turns a gun on his wife and child, then himself. The farming community of Kiewarra is facing life and death choices daily. If one of their own broke under the strain, well... When Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk returns to Kiewarra for the funerals, he is loath to confront the people who rejected him twenty years earlier. But when his investigative skills are called on, the facts of the Hadler case start to make him doubt this murder-suicide charge. And as Falk probes deeper into the killings, old wounds start bleeding into fresh ones. For Falk and his childhood friend Luke shared a secret... A secret Falk thought long-buried... A secret which Luke's death starts to bring to the surface...

My Review

Bookworms, it's happened. I've just read my favourite book of 2017! I know that we aren't even halfway through the year yet, but I have no doubt that by the end of the year, this one will either have been my top read, or if not, then one of my top reads. All I can say about this one is that it's fan-flipping-tastic! From the very opening chapter, I knew that I was going to love it. And love it I did.

The story opens with the prologue which was so well written and so different that it grabbed my attention straight away. And I only have one word to sum up that opening chapter...flies. You'll see for yourself. It's very catchy.

This story is basically a murder mystery, involving two mysteries, one in the present day and one in the past. So, what makes this story so amazing? Lots of things. The quality of the writing is excellent. Every scene, every action, every event was portrayed so realistically that things were perfectly clear in my mind. The story came to life. The dialogue was absolutely spot on and I found myself transported to rural Australia, meeting each and every character. I felt like I knew them personally. I also really loved the lead character, Falk. I felt sorry for him and I didn't doubt for one second why he found it necessary to leave the small town in which he had grown up. There are lots of other characters to love, and a few to seriously dislike. Each character has such a clear and distinct personality and the fact that the author managed to do this so well is a feat in itself. And lastly, the plot. It was totally engaging. And it wasn't quite clear how things would pan out. Even three quarters of the way through the book I was stumped. I had no idea what had happened in the past or how it linked to the current day events.

To sum up my love for this book is to say, quite simply, that I didn't want to put it down. I was so drawn to it that I just wanted to read and read and read. To me, that is the sign of a great book. This is pure quality writing. And by that, I don't mean the descriptive, poetic and often boring writing of Booker Prize winners (no offense intended to previous winners of this prestigious award, but I often find those books notoriously too long winded and they very seldom grab me). I mean quality writing for readers who are looking for a great book to be totally engrossed by, to curl up on a chilly winter evening with, the type of book that keeps you up late. And by the way, this book has been an award winner, winning Australia's 2017 Indie Book Award.

You need to rush out and buy this great debut today. It's currently published in South Africa as a hard copy and I can see this one being a big book club hit. I strongly recommend it. And please let me know your thoughts. I want to know if you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Absolutely loved this one.

My Rating: * * * * *

Publication Date: March 2017 (South Africa)

Genre: Murder Mystery

Format: Hardcover

Source: My own purchased copy.