The Dry

by Jane Harper

[Kat @ Novels & Waffles]

“Luke Lied. You Lied. Be at the funeral. ”

First of all, if you are contemplating reading this book, even a little bit – GET THE AUDIOBOOK. The narrator reads in a heavy Australian accent and I think half the fun of this story was just listening to his voice. But seriously, what's better than listening to a whole seven-plus hours of thick Australian accents and a heart-pounding, who-done-it mystery? Not much that I can think of.

The premise of The Dry is nothing especially new – the protagonist is a small-town boy who moves to the big city, but is forced to return home for an unexpected funeral where he is met with unexpected complications. Based solely on that blurb, this book could easily be a Hallmark Channel movie that ends with a white-chapel marriage. But there are no wedding bells awaiting you at the end of this book. No. In this story, the small-town boy is a federal agent named Aaron Falk and his hometown is a drought-infested Australian farm hub called Kiewarra (thus the narrator's accent). Skeletons in the closet come crashing out and long-buried memories are dug up as Falk is forced to confront the secrets he's been hiding for most of his adult life, and some dirty new ones too. It's a pretty standard plot line for this genre I should think – nothing shiny, new, or mind-blowing about it – and yet, I found myself dragged in immediately.

The intrigue starts off thick and fast in the first chapter, and continues on from there in a wildfire-like fury. The suspense leads you down one twisting back alleyway and then another in a beautifully well-crafted mystery that I couldn't stop listening to. As Falk recalls the events that led up to his move to the big city, Harper expertly weaves in pieces of both past and present in a way that simultaneously fills in blanks while leaving questions unanswered. I usually only listen to audiobooks while I take my daily walk with my son, but this one had me lying in bed at night, listening to the audiobook instead of sleeping because I just had to know what came next.

The Dry was like a rollercoaster – most coasters go up and down. They go fast, and if we're honest, we don't necessarily remember every loop or drop. But we remember the exhilaration. We remember that moment when our stomachs flew up into our noses. The Dry is the same. Later on, I might not remember the names of the characters, because if I'm honest, they weren't all that memorable. I probably won't think back on the story due to some outstanding uniqueness or originality, because it didn't particularly shine in that category either. But I will remember that it was one heck of an entertaining ride and I am so glad that I chose to get on.