Our August book choice, ‘The Dry’ by Jane Harper, transported us to the small country town of Kiewarra in Australia during a two year drought. Tensions are already high in the community due to the unrelenting heat and dust and the impact this is having on people’s livelihoods, when three members of the Hadler family are found brutally murdered. The locals are certain that the father, Luke, has committed suicide after killing his wife and six-year-old son.
When policeman, Aaron Falk, returns to Kiewarra for his childhood friend’s funeral, he unwillingly becomes involved in the investigation. His appearance also evokes old resentments and feelings from twenty years before when a girl they both knew was found dead – a mystery which was never solved.
The two stories are cleverly woven throughout the book as, bit by bit, more is revealed about the characters and the secrets they keep. The tension is maintained from start to finish as rumours abound in the tight-knit, judgemental community, keeping the reader guessing to the very end.
For a debut novel, we all thought it was skillfully-written and structured, with believable characters; the searing heat was tangible, exacerbating the claustrophobic atmosphere of small town Australia. The crime genre fans in the group found it a real page-turner, while others were less concerned with ‘who-dunnit’, but enjoyed it as a good read. Some members have gone on to read ‘Force of Nature’, Jane Harper’s second novel involving Aaron Falk with another crime to solve.
Louise Elsome
‘Bookworms’ Group Coordinator