Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

The Dry by Jane Harper

8 reviews

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

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

emfield's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, and Dementia

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

madamegeneva's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

I really, really liked this book. I watched the movie adaptation on a whim a few weeks ago and after realising it was based on a book, I requested it soon after. And boy, I’m so glad I did. 
I assumed that reading the book wouldn’t be super interesting since I’d already seen the movie, but I was surprised at how engrossed I was in text. The book obviously has more space to flesh out characters’ thoughts and motivations (for example, Whitlam’s), and the way the author describes the town/scenery truly makes me feel as if I’m sitting in an small outback town pub. Brilliant. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Blood, and Alcohol

lids_84's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-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? Yes

5.0

What an incredible read! I could not put this book down. 
So many twists and turns as the story unfolds. I love that it’s set in the dry Australian outback and is a must read for any murder mystery / thriller lovers. 
Off to the book shop to get Jane Harpers next book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death, Gun violence, Blood, and Murder

alexreads22's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

1.0

Disgusting animal torture!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

ginger95's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This was a mystery that I could not put down, and I finished in one day. I was deeply invested in the main character, and the bits of the past that were intertwined with the present.

I wasn't expecting who the killer was at all, and it really took me off guard! I did feel like there was a disconnect about Luke, I mean it was implied he was a manipulator/sociopath? and I feel like they built it up a little too much to be a red herring. Other than that great read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Child death

Moderate: Animal death and Gun violence

Minor: Animal cruelty, Incest, and Rape

fraeyalise's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Maybe I'm just not one for thrillers/mysteries, but the mysteries all seem contrived to me. 

The resolution of my mystery seemed to come out of nowhere precisely because the author gave absolutely no foreshadowing. And Ellie seems like an afterthought. Scott's character changed so fast it almost gave me whiplash.

 

Maybe my standards are just too high for mysteries. I did finish it, it was pretty easy to get through, but I'm left feeling more hollow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy