Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Dry by Jane Harper

44 reviews

timmytunter's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death and Fire/Fire injury

bones_jackson's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Uma história muito bem escrita e que prende muito a atenção, até a última página. Não tive a mínima ideia de quem era culpado e a revelação foi bombástica, me surpreendi

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Torture

arkwen452's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The Dry brings reader into Falk's childhood and, the in a way, the broken part of him that's never gotten over the death of his childhood friend or the their home town.

Aaron Falk faulted under the scrutiny and knowful eyes of the town after being drawn back for the horrible death of another childhood friend and his family. Suddenly, Falk isn't a detective anymore, but the timid, unsure and awkward teenager they all seemed to remember.

As Falk and the local police scowler over details of the case, readers have glimpses of the past leading up to the untimely death of Ellie.

Haunted more by the unanswered questions surrounding her death more so than the current case that pulled him back, Falk buggys from one detail to the next. Are the crimes/deaths related?

Was his close childhood friend's family death connected to their past? All these questions encompasses Falk, threatening to drive a wedge further between the town and Falk. 

But Falk is relentless; digging through the secrets of Kiewarra readers and Falk eventually get to the bottom of both cases, but at what cost to the community and Falk himself?

The Dry is the first Jane Harper novel I've read. I found the plot and story interesting enough. Can't say I like or dislike Falk much. This fact is important as this is a crime series where readers follow him through these cases. The details of the Hadler's murders were horrific and I was satisfied that the murder is caught.
(i even suspected the suspect when they were introduced)

But I must admit that I was more invested in Ellie's case. I feel the ending gives readers a sense of closure by finally revealing what really happened to her, but it was not as satisfying in my opinion.

Perhaps that is to be  expected with these small towns and clenching secrets that are so harmful to those around them. And  for Ellie who was just a young teenager and a victim, I feel Kiewarra should have done more for her instead of blindingly placing blame. It felt like they were belittling her life and existence after her death. When it was clear to a lot of them that something was happening to her when she was alive but ignored it. And placing blame on Aaron and his father was a mirror of their own shame and guilt. And to be honest, I wanted her murderer to receive justice on the page.  Too often, justice for crimes like that go unpunished in the real world. And if fiction is a full separation from reality, then why didn't we get that?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

tibbarasden's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. It does have the darker theme of a child being murdered and child abuse, so keep that in mind if it is a trigger warning. The plot did stall a bit midway, and some some side characters got a little lost. I did enjoy the setting and the main character. I liked the addition of the drought to the storyline. I personally did not see the twist coming for the present-day plot and the who done it. I did have my suspicions on the mystery of the past, which proved out. Though how that was wrapped up was very anticlimactic and rushed, while at the same time not being fully resolved. The outcome of the present-day plot felt a little forced. Not a bad read, but it definitely didn't wow me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

marleens's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This was an outstanding book. Books like this with a police main character trying to solve a crime, can be so hit or miss. And sometimes they start to feel samey. But this was absolutely excellent. Aaron Falk was a great MC, with a history and personality that tied really well into the setting and plot. I enjoyed the setting and atmosphere, and all the characters we met along the way. Had my suspicions about how things had happened, some were right, some weren’t. Just as I like it. Most importantly it was very well written and paced. I flew through it in a couple of days and will definitely read more of Harper’s works!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism and Child death

Minor: Incest, Rape, Excrement, and Vomit

sophieamreacher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Slow, atmospheric, mysterious. I enjoyed the setting and the characters. I enjoyed the flashbacks and the hints. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

annie_brewer's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

 Read via audiobook (Wavesound from W. F. Howes Ltd)

A solid mystery! Really enjoyed the small town atmosphere, very accurate of rural Australia. 

I appreciate that the police work was mostly just collecting the information through questioning. The barrier to get people talking was excellently conveyed, but the solving of the case felt achievable once all the information was acquired. This seemed like a very accurate representation of how cases with limited resources could be resolved albeit doesn't provide the reader with an overly satisfying revelation. 

I did find that Falk was a very average protagonist. He seemed to not have any motivations, nor large personality flaws, and was overall a bit underwhelming. The secondary characters were also a bit basic, but maybe were written to be reserved to add to the tension within the novel in regards to the drought, financial struggles and the distrust of the protagonist.

This was quite a slow paced read, but the duel timeline mystery of Falk's past was very interesting and kept me hooked.

Excited to read the next installments! Hopefully we learn a bit more about Falk and he becomes more developed.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction

Gambling addiction

jess2obsess's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Infidelity

wandering_canuck's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5 intense stars!!

I read this in one sitting. I was captivated from the opening sentence to the last word. I picked up this book only because it was a prompt for a reading challenge and I expect it to make my top 10 of 2024. 

Exceptional writing. Harper builds a vivid landscape, where the 

This is how a mystery-thriller should be written. The story was well fleshed out. Harper avoids the pitfalls of convenience and coincidence to make the story fit the outcome. Two whodunits within one novel, and both told in a way that left you guessing until the end. Though there are no loose ends left to be tied up, I never once felt I was being led by the hand. Her writing kept me engaged and I happily buckled in to ride out the story until the very end. 

This book was simply brilliant and would make a great book club read. I'll definitely pick up another of her novels. She has me hooked!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

barbarella85's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Fire/Fire injury