Reviews

The Dry, by Jane Harper

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iffer's review against another edition

3.0

I enjoyed the atmospheric writing of this book, especially the author's conjuring of a drought-ridden small farming town in Australia, and how secrets and resentment can be present. In my opinion, Jane Harper does a good job portraying the cast of characters, the complexity of their feelings, and their moral ambiguity. Most likely due to the fact that I listened to the audioboook, and also because my brain has had trouble concentrating lately, the flip-flopping between the past and present, and the two possible murder cases ended up being a little bit confusing and jarring to me.

bkbailey8521's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

crunchwrap's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

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

3.0

emmieham's review against another edition

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4.0

Hmm somewhere between 3.75 and 4.25. I need time to think about this one.

lisagray68's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

ashleighbeanxo's review against another edition

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4.0

The Dry follows Aaron Falk, a Federal Police investigator who returns to his hometown of Kiewerra after his childhood best friend dies in an apparent murder-suicide along with his wife and son. Aaron and Luke have had an estranged relationship over the years, after an incident in their teens forced Aaron and his father to move away from Kiewerra. Since then, Aaron has been desperate to put that part of his life behind him and is not looking forward to returning to his hometown. Luke's family don't believe he could kill his family, so they ask Aaron to investigate. But some things don't add up, and old secrets are threatening to come out..

So when this book came out, there was so much hype surrounding it, so much buzz, that I thought it couldn't possibly be as good as people are saying. Let's just say I was wrong. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The mystery was intriguing and the characters were all shady, that I suspected as least half of them. I'm also not a huge fan of police procedurals, but this was different. It didn't feel like a police procedural and I was on edge the whole time. The reveal was well done. I liked the use of flashbacks to give us backstory, and the red herrings were great.

Overall, a really great book and I look forward to reading more from Jane Harper!