Grim Thriller: The Dry

Once again, I am pleasantly surprised by a highly-acclaimed book actually earning those kudos. This time, it's Jane Harper's The Dry. Detective Aaron Falk was such a well-developed, interesting character, and I read this book ravenously as I watched Falk investigate a very gruesome family murder in a town that he'd been run out of as a child, for an equally heinous crime.

The layers of small-town animosity, conspiracy, and secrecy were woven together so perfectly that the plot was flawless all the way to its conclusion. All of the characters were well-fleshed out, in the past and well as the present, and I cared as much about the death of Falk's childhood friend as I did about the family murder he is asked to look into. And that tragic scene is not something cozy and cerebral that you can tuck away as you try to figure out whodunnit - it is hauntingly real, and that's something you don't see every day. Harper's ability to disturb and to stick with me makes this book worthy of its praise.

All stories have settings, of course, but the backwoods Australian town struggling to survive in the wake of El Nino was very fresh, and very alive, and made the town feel like a veritable volcano ready to explode. Especially at the daring conclusion, which threatens utter destruction for everyone, it was intimately tied to both plot and place. Nice.

Anyone looking for a great crime thriller/mystery will not be disappointed by this title, and I am eager to read the next installment of Aaron Falk in Forces of Nature. Another series to latch onto- a fine day indeed!

K Rating: 5/5