The Dry
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4.4 • 3.1K Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING ERIC BANA.
The international debut bestseller from the author of Force of Nature and new novel Exiles.
"A breathless pageturner ... A secret on every page" The New York Times
"One of the most stunning debuts I've ever read ... Read it!" David Baldacci
"Makes the Australian Outback come alive and breeds respect for its survivors" Bill Clinton
WHO REALLY KILLED THE HADLER FAMILY?
It hasn't rained in Kiewarra for two years. Tensions in the farming community become unbearable when three members of the Hadler family are discovered shot to death on their property. Everyone assumes Luke Hadler committed suicide after slaughtering his wife and six-year-old son.
Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk returns to his hometown for the funerals and is unwillingly drawn into the investigation. As suspicion spreads through the town, Falk is forced to confront the community that rejected him twenty years earlier. Because Falk and his childhood friend Luke Hadler shared a secret, one which Luke's death threatens to unearth ...
WINNER ABIA BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017
WINNER ABIA GENERAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017
WINNER INDIE BOOK AWARDS DEBUT FICTION 2017
WINNER DAVITT AWARDS ADULT FICTION 2017
WINNER DAVITT AWARDS READERS CHOICE 2017
WINNER NED KELLY AWARD BEST FIRST FICTION 2017
MORE PRAISE FOR THE DRY
"I devoured it in just over 24 hours ... Spellbinding" Ian Rankin
"Devastating debut ... a suspenseful tale of sound and fury" Publishers Weekly, starred review
"A nail-biting thriller ... this fine debut will keep readers on edge and awake long past bedtime." Kirkus, starred review
"Every so often a debut novel arrives that is so tightly woven and compelling it seems the work of a novelist in her prime. That's what Jane Harper has given us with The Dry" John Hart, New York Times bestselling author of Redemption Road
"It's extremely rare and exciting to read a debut that enthralls from the very first page and then absolutely sticks the landing." C.J. Box, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of Off The Grid
"Australian author Harper's debut is a stunner." Booklist
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Exquisitely written and plotted, journalist Jane Harper’s Australian crime novel is a knockout, earning praise from genre heavyweights like Michael Robotham and David Baldacci. It follows a federal police officer who returns to the drought-stricken agricultural town he fled as a teenager to attend the funeral of an old friend suspected of committing a horrific murder/suicide. Reluctantly drawn into investigating the tragedy, he bears witness to a fractured community teetering on the brink.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the start of Australian author Harper's devastating debut, Melbourne-based federal agent Aaron Falk returns to his drought-stricken hometown, Kiewarra, for three funerals those of popular school aid Karen Hadler; her six-year-old son, Billy; and her husband, Luke, Aaron's childhood best friend. Luke apparently murdered Karen and Billy before turning the shotgun on himself. Falk knows better than anyone that his charismatic mate may have had a darker side two decades earlier as teens they gave each other bogus alibis for the afternoon of high school crush Ellie Deacon's suspicious death by drowning. When Luke's brokenhearted parents beg Falk to investigate, he can't refuse. But as Falk begins digging with the help of recently arrived Sgt. Greg Raco, including looking into a possible connection to the earlier tragedy, he swiftly discovers that a badge may not protect him from a town driven to the brink. From the ominous opening paragraphs, all the more chilling for their matter-of-factness, Harper, a journalist who writes for Melbourne's Herald Sun, spins a suspenseful tale of sound and fury as riveting as it is horrific.
Customer Reviews
Great story but...
I really enjoyed this book. Great story and well written but if you're going to write about rural Australia, you need to use the right terminology. Paddocks instead of fields, sheds instead of barns, etc. An idea of space and distance would be good too. You can't and don't, walk between farms in Australia.
A great yarn
This was an excellent debut book and an easy, entertaining read with a neat twist that wasn't too obvious or implausible. I read somewhere that Reece Witherspoon has bought the rights for it to turn into a series à la Big Little Lies, and I'm already waiting in anticipation.
As someone who grew up in a small(ish) town, I agree with some of the previous reviews that some of the lingo wasn't quite right (barns vs sheds, fields vs paddocks, etc). Also, true blue farms with aren't typically within walking distance of each other. They're not details that most readers would notice, or be bothered by, but it did affect the authenticity of it. It's surprisingly they didn't get picked up in the editing process but perhaps it was intentional to give it international appeal. Obviously that worked. I'll certainly follow Ms Harper and her Aaron Falk series with interest.
Page Turner!
It’s been so long since I have found a good book that has drawn me in from the start. The last book I read took me a year and now I have consumed two Jane Harper books in a couple of weeks and I’m hungry for more. I absolutely love the way Jane writes, and the twists and turns are unpredictable and keep you guessing until the end! Highly recommend.