The Dry
Crime, Thriller
Jane Harper
Aaron Falk, Book # 1
Brown Book Group
May 2016
ebook
340
English
August 21, 2019 August 24, 2019
After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a cloud of suspicion, saved from prosecution only because of Luke’s steadfast claim that the boys had been together at the time of the crime. But now more than one person knows they didn’t tell the truth back then, and Luke is dead.
Amid the worst drought in a century, Falk and the local detective question what really happened to Luke. As Falk reluctantly investigates to see whether there’s more to Luke’s death than there seems to be, long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies that have haunted them, and Falk will find that small towns have always hidden big secrets.
About the book
This is the first book that I read of this author and I think I will read more of hers. The book is set in Australia, in a very small town where heatwaves and drought are a every day problem and when something bad happens it is said “it’s the heat fault”. Federal agent Aaron Falk is in town for a funeral of a friend, Luke Hadler, who was involved in an omicide-suicide case. In fact everyone in town believes that he killed his wife and son, leaving only his daughter alive because she is only 1 year old. After that he killed himself. But Luke’s parents don’t believe this version and ask Arron to investigate.
Aaron will clash with the father of one of his old friends, a girl who died 20 years prior. The father believe that both Aaron and Luke lied in the past and that they know how the girl died.
I liked the case, it it well structured and well thought out. I also liked the 20 year old case even if the ending was predictable. And even if she wasn’t in the book that much, I was really sorry for Ellie.
I gave 4 stars instead of 5 because I don’t like when the main character is implicated in the case, and who follows my review should know that I don’t like this fact (I pretty much say the same thing every time this subject is in a book).
Nevertheless, I will read the second book in the series. The author’s style is different from what I’m used to. I like that she mixes present and past and that the past is in cursive font to separate it from the present. It seems like I’m watching a TV show and while someone is talking in the present the scene moves to the past with what he/she is remembering.
This is the first book set in Australia that I read and I really liked the fact that I was able to find a book that I liked in the end that is set in someplace different than the usual. But is there this kind of town in Australia? Where there is a permanent drought and heatwaves? I mean it’s Australia, not Africa!
The only defect is the italian (so I’m talking about my version, not the English one) because it’s full of grammar and spelling mistakes. No one read these books once the translator is done with his/her job?
