The Dry: A Novel

A person who was helping me with my resume noticed that I write genre fiction reviews and recommended Jane Harper’s The Dry: A Novel to me. I’m so glad he did! Aaron Falk is a Federal police officer in Australia, but not your typical fictional homicide cop–he’s the guy who follows the money trail. He has returned home to his childhood small town for the funeral of his old fried Luke, and Luke’s wife and toddler. Supposedly Luke killed his family (except for his baby girl) and then killed himself. Everyone blames the drought, which is ruining all of the farms, for driving him to despair. It doesn’t help that when Luke and Aaron were teenagers, their friend Ellie drowned, a lot of people thought it was Aaron’s doing, and Luke gave Aaron his alibi at the time. Luke’s father Gerry knows Luke lied about the alibi, and he uses this knowledge to force Aaron to come to town for the funeral. Gerry thinks there’s no way Luke could have killed his family, and wants Aaron to go through all of Luke’s financial records to look for evidence that someone else may have killed them due to debts owed. Unfortunately, Ellie’s father and cousin want to stir up the entire town against Aaron for (they believe) killing Ellie, and in this heat, tempers can flare very quickly. One of my favorite details about this is the relationship that develops between Aaron and Sergeant Raco, the local law enforcement. Raco has already noticed a couple of details that don’t really add up, so he’s open to having Aaron look at alternative explanations. We don’t get the stereotypical friction with disbelieving local police, and that’s nice for a change. There are plenty of possible suspects, and the most obvious are Grant Dow, Ellie’s cousin, and Jamie Sullivan, a guy who worked with Luke that afternoon and who seems to be lying about several details of that day. The town’s feelings about Aaron make for plenty of ongoing tension, especially when someone starts plastering posters with his picture on them around town. Aaron and his father were run out of town shortly after Ellie died, so there’s a lot of unresolved anger there. The town is very small and insular, so no one has forgotten what happened all those years ago. The only people who seem open to dealing with Aaron are those who didn’t live in town at the time all that happened, like the principal of the school Luke’s toddler went to, Sgt. Raco, and the barman who’s renting Aaron a room. There isn’t a lot of action to this story and yet it remains fascinating and engaging. I think I’ll read another Jane Harper book next! Content note for animal harm, domestic violence, murder, and a bit of racial bigotry and misogyny.

A story rarely holds me so well that I actually finish it! This is a complicated story--the back and forth between the current investigation part and the storyline from the past was just right and easy for me to understand, thanks to the italics. It was a comfortable read, not gory. I usually avoid mysteries involving children, but I was able to cope with the heartbreak of this one--there was so much more to the story. The writing was simple and to the point (not simplistic, however, and it impressed me to know this was a first novel). I enjoyed the casual pace because that made the story seem very real, but the great little hooks and cliffhangers were just enough to tease me along, wanting to know more. I actually laid awake last night thinking over which character "did it" and I'm very pleased to report that I guessed one part but not the other! I enjoyed reading a story that took place in Australia , a place I know so little about--small details made it seem very real and yet it wasn't so different from any midwestern American small town. The dialogue was nice, normal, and not snarky (some modern novels have everyone arguing or one-upping each other in place of actual conflict). The story was fraught with guilt and long-standing hurt. I liked the lead character Falk even when I suspected him along with all the others. The climax was exceptionally tense...and satisfying. i hope i get to see the movie!

Enjoyed this book very much even though thrillers are not my preferred genre. This story gripped me from the start and I couldn't put it down until finished. The author provided a believable set of characters and a wonderful sense of place. It feels as if I have really visited this location and community. The writing flowed so well that I hardly realised that I was reading; it rolled out of the pages like a movie. The themes of violence are gruesome except they are not written in a way to evoke horror which makes them bearable, not ghastly. All of the clues get tied up and there's a great twist at the end. A very complex set of situations with a satisfying outcome makes this book outstanding. I have purchased her next book!

I was really torn between four and five stars for this. Certainly, it deserves five stars for pacing, plot and getting you to turn the page, whatever the word for that is. I enjoyed the act of reading the book. But when I wasn't reading it, when I was thinking about the novel, there were aspects of it that bothered me. The plot hooked me from the beginning. An Australian cop, Aaron Falk, based in Melbourne, is called, basically summoned, back to his home town, Kiewarra, because a childhood friend, along with his wife and son, have been murdered. Twenty years earlier Falk was a person of interest in the drowning death of another friend, Ellie Deacon and escaped prosecution when his buddy Luke provided an alibi. Falk is being asked to "look into" the Handler case by Luke's parents, who can't believe Luke killed his family. Falk must do so because Luke's father has told him he knows his alibi from twenty years ago was a lie. My big issue is that the more current crime, the family annihilation, should be very much center stage, and instead, plays second fiddle to the events of 20 years ago. Plus, the small town police chief, Raco, often takes direction from Falk, only because Falk is the lead character in the book. The author, Jane Harper, tries to make the small, desert town seem an active player in the deaths. The crimes are described with the gore of a horror novel. I think the book works better as a straight novel than as a murder mystery. I will say I recommend it. I enjoyed reading it and will likely buy later books in the series.

What attracted me to this Australian novel was the description that this was a literary mystery about big secrets in a small town with a real shocker of an ending. It also won a literary award when it was a manuscript. The biggest shocker to me was that it was primarily a garden-variety police procedural with serviceable prose and a formula plot. The tone was warm and pleasing, but there were too many glaring holes that looked more like amateur sleuthing than professional police work. The easily anticipated reveal was not jaw-dropping, and the use of italicized passages to indicate the past was, I thought, a ham-handed device, a sign that the text needed further refinement. So what was there to like? Well, it opened with enough of a bang to reel me in. An entire family--Luke, his wife, Karen, and their little boy, Billy, has been slaughtered. Only baby Charlotte survived untouched. The rural farming town, Kiewarra, is in a drought, and everyone seems guilty of something. There are also menacing characters, but their generic and stereotypical attributes lacked the visceral that can be had with imaginative and original portrayals. The federal agent, Aaron Falk, who comes back to Kiewarra after twenty years (not a new concept), was congenial, and kept the pages turning, although, again, I feel that the author relied on stringing together an overused rather than original character here. (However, a movie, in the hands of the right director, could potentially rise above the book). Aaron returns to Kiewarra to investigate the death of his former best friend, and because of an urgent letter of request from Luke's parents. He intended to stay a day and rush back to Melbourne, but extends his stay because police sergeant Raco invites him to remain and assist in solving this heinous crime. Falk, in the past two decades, only saw Luke occasionally when Luke was in Melbourne on business. However, he learns pretty quickly that the community has emotionally tried and convicted Luke of murder-suicide even before the investigation is underway, despite the fact that Luke was known as a stand-up guy. But there’s a question in his past that this murder causes folks to revisit. The upshot of the past concerns the suicide of s girl that Falk and Luke both had a crush on, Ellie Deacon, the reason Falk had to leave. Rounding that out was Gretchen, the cheerleader type who completed the foursome, and was Luke’s main squeeze until he met Karen. The townspeople remember Luke and Aaron’s alibi for their whereabouts on the day of Ellie’s death, and old suspicions return and foment. Falk and his father were forced to leave with shame and fear, blamed for Ellie’s death, despite her Virginia Woolf-style drowning. But Harper’s depiction of Aaron conveys too obviously that he is unambiguously “good,” despite the mystery of “Luke lied. You lied.” There were too few characters that were complex; they were either good or villainous. None of them transpired into lifelike and organic, although the author used a few traits to remind us of some blueprinted characters that could have been original about a thousand books ago. The best parts of the novel, (which kept me reading), was Harper’s openness to explore the human condition. The downside was that once she broached subjects such as integrity, decency, small-town crazy, greed, jealousy, and redemption, she either overstated it or underdeveloped what she put in motion, using a style that felt like forced mournful. And the investigation looked Keystone Kop-ish, but that wasn’t the author’s intention. Harper meant to stage the sloppy police work as, instead, gradual and incremental discovery, but I think Harper needs to do more research on police work, especially as she is going to continue a series on Aaron Falk. Gretchen, the girl+friend (but not girlfriend) from his past, was probably the most complex, contoured character. But, again, she was mostly derivative--the fiercely independent but vulnerable and attractive woman with secrets and torments that may or may not compromise her actions. As with most of the narrative, her relationship with Falk was predictable. The book was mildly entertaining, but rather light on authenticity. The red herrings were conspicuous, and the denouement was a bit hard to swallow, and I predicted it based on Harper’s tendencies, style, and choices throughout the book. I would give her another try, however (but only in a stand-alone), with the hope that she’ll grow on her strengths-- of compassion for humanity, small town concerns, and the tough road to justice.

The Dry was HOT! 4.5 stars!!! I’m pretty sure it’s actually 5 stars, but I’m still teetering on the edge while my brain fully processes what I just finished reading. Jane Harper really did her big one with The Dry. I mean—she ate and left no crumbs!!!! This book was GOOD. I’m honestly struggling to put into words just how refreshing this read was. I’d been working through a few popcorn reads that were enjoyable, but I was craving something great—and this book delivered. I started it yesterday and genuinely couldn’t put it down. I was also in the mood for a strong MMC (male main character), which is what initially drew me to The Dry, and wow… it did not disappoint. I love when I feel like I have everything figured out, only to realize I absolutely do not—and that happened to me multiple times, right up until the very end. This felt like such a complete book. No lingering questions, nothing unexplained, no unnecessary filler or rambling. It hit the sweet spot in my brain and was exactly what I needed to start my 2026 off right. And y’all—even the audiobook was hitting!!! The narrator didn’t just read the words; he told the story. My fellow immersive readers know how important a good narrator is, and this one truly elevated the experience. The story is set in the fictional, drought-stricken, Australian town of Kiewarra and follows Aaron Falk, a federal agent specializing in financial crimes. He lives and works in Melbourne but receives a letter one day accusing him of lying—and demanding that he return home for his childhood best friend’s funeral. I was immediately hooked. Like… what did you lie about, Aaron??? 👀 When he returns to a town he hasn’t visited in 20 years, he’s met with instant hostility and suspicion. As the story unfolds, Aaron is forced to find out what really happened all those years ago, acknowledge his role in it, and face the judgment and scorn of a town that never forgot—or forgave. What really drove his fractured family away? What made him leave his hometown and never look back? This book was phenomenal. My only complaint is with myself for not reading it sooner. I’m already looking forward to my next Jane Harper read.

Very good opening and development, ending was a bit silly (cigarette lighter obliterates town), the movie had a much better ending

The dysfunctional, drought ridden rural farming town of Kiewerra in the Australian Outback is the setting for Jane Harper’s The Dry. This mystery within a mystery held me in suspense throughout. The characters are interesting and strategic, as all of their dialogue and interactions work to move the story to a culminating plot point toward the end. I found myself listing the possible solutions to this mystery in my mind, even while I was not reading it. Aaron Falk is a federal agent who has returned to his boyhood hometown and is attending the funeral of his high school friend, Luke, who died under tragic circumstances, as the story of The Dry begins. Readers quickly learn that there is another mysterious death in Aaron and Luke’s past. Aaron’s return to the community, and Luke’s passing, raise to mind all the questions that surrounded the death of Aaron and Luke’s former high school friend from many years ago, Ellie. Aaron ultimately decides to stay in his hometown for a short time to investigate both deaths further, and the novel unwinds during the intense week of Aaron’s investigation. Harper creates an environment where all of the characters are under constant pressure. Since pressure and stress can cause people to act in ways they may not otherwise, this expands the possibilities for how these deaths occurred. At times, I felt anxious just reading about the financial hardships of the characters, so Harper is very effective at drawing the reader into the lives of people in the community. The entire rural farming community is under enormous stress, as they are collectively on the verge of financial ruin. The farmers inability to grow crops because of the dry ground is economically hurting farmers, which in turn impacts all local small businesses and schools. If you do not want to read about people under intense financial stress or small businesses closing, just be aware this is a constant focus of this novel. By the end of the novel, the cause of all deaths is resolved. However, one was wrapped up more completely and tightly than the other. The revelation of the cause of the older, mysterious death felt more abrupt. Also the older mystery was somewhat unresolved, as readers are left wondering about the fallout or consequence might be as the story ends. However, that is my one critique of an otherwise satisfying mystery that engaged my mind with the puzzle I had hoped to find.

The Dry is een heerlijke leeservaring. Twee verhalen door elkaar gevlochten in een desolaat Australisch stadje. Falk is een nieuwe ster. Een tweede boek komt eraan ! Hoera.

Ótima caracterização da personalidade dos diversos personagens. Detalhada e rica narrativa sobre vida em cidade pequena. Final nada óbvio e bastante surpreendente.

オーストラリア、メルボルンでFederal Agentとして働くAaron。謎の死を遂げた親友のLukeの葬儀に出席するために町に戻ってくる。その町は、Aaronが20年前に、ある事件で殺人の疑いをかけられ、事件は謎のまま、人々の冷たい視線に耐えられず、父親と逃げるように捨てた町だった。 日照りで川も乾き、暑いオーストラリアの空気が伝わってくるような田舎町で、過去の未解決事件とLuke一家の謎の死を絡めて、淡々とミステリーが解決していきます。 ミステリーに加えAaronとLukeの秘密、青春時代の男女の微妙な関係、甘酸っぱい思い出も切なく描かれています。 アッというような意外性のあるミステリーではありませんが、デビュー作でありながら、ベストセラーというのも納得です。

I read this book for two reasons: 1) I am a compulsive crime novel reader and I like new experiences in this field, and 2) I like those novels that tell me something about the society they try to describe. Well this novel accomplished both scopes I had. The plot is reasonable, the characters well delineated and the outback of the country is a revelation for me. I think this is a fine author, a real writer who wants to communicate something. I live on the other side of the world and have been to Australia only once, but this book told me something new about this great country. I would also like to add that human beings are all the same everywhere and this description of a small community "down under" reminds me of the small community where I live. Like the Latins were used to say "nihil sub sole novi", i.e. "nothing really new under the sun". In summary, a fine "opera prima".

This is a wonderful book. The author has such compelling descriptive powers that you feel you are really there, it's as if you can feel the heat and the dust and the terrible drought all around you. The characters are very real too and very realistically depicted. The story line is great too, compelling. A great read.