Book Review of The Dry

 I love a good crime novel with a mystery that is just waiting to be solved.  I find it particularly interesting when the author keeps you guessing till near the end of the book on who the guilty party is. Jane Harper accomplishes this in her book The Dry. In The Dry there is not just the current crime (a possible murder/suicide) but also a death from twenty years ago that is still unexplained.

Setting

The story takes place in a small fictional Australian town called Kiewarra.  It is located about five hours north of Melbourne and the story takes place when the town and the area is suffering from a drought that is the worst in recent history.  The drought is so severe that it is placing a real burden on the farmers and the livelihood of the locals.  It has become so bad that suicide is on the minds of many of the residents.

The Book on Amazon

The book can be purchased on Amazon as an ebook, paperback, hardcover or audio book.  Here is a link The Dry

Summary

The book begins when Aaron Falk, a law enforcement officer in the big city of Melbourne, receives a letter from the father of his best friend from childhood.  In this letter the father requests /demands that Aaron attend his son's funeral.  The son (Luke Hadler), son's wife and young son were all found shot to death and the town consensus is that the son shot his family and then turned the gun on himself.  

Aaron Falk had left the town 20 years ago when another close friend, Ellie Deacon, drowned and again the town jumped to the conclusion that either Aaron or his Dad had something to do with Ellie's death.  They left town, never to return again, until Aaron returns for Luke's funeral.

This is a small town where everyone knows or at least thinks they know everyone else's business. It is full of secrets, gossip and people jumping to the wrong conclusions. 

Aaron Falk teams up with the local law enforcement official, Raco, and unofficial investigate the Hadler murders/suicide.  There are many unanswered questions and as they look into the current murders they find the sins of the past coming in to play.  

My Thoughts

This was one of those books where I guessed at the outcome throughout and yet was completely surprised at the ending.  I don't want to give anything away but want you to know you won't be disappointed in the endings.  The sins of the past are brought to task in the heroism of the present.  I found this to be an excellent book.  In fact, after reading it, I immediately downloaded the second book in the Aaron Falk series.  It is called Force of Nature and can be found on Amazon at this link Force of Nature

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Too Early to Plant, So Take a Trip Through a Garden Instead!

March has arrived!  It's too early to plant, so take a nice trip through the outback of Australia with this memorable book reviewed here!  

 

Many of us are getting very itchy fingers!  We all want to start digging in the dirt!  That's not a bad thing, but here in my neck of the woods, it is far to early to even think about starting all those seeds!  So what's a bonafide gardener to do?  My suggestion, is read a book!  
By accident, I came across this book, "The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart" by Holly Ringland.  I was itching to get my hands dirty, I knew it was too early, yet I needed something to take that itch away.  Talking about flowers seemed to be a good idea.  I must confess that I got this book from the library (thank you Libby app.).  To say that it piqued my interest is putting it mildly.  Alice Hart's life is a story that has been lived by many people in some form or other.  Using her love of flowers, helps her to grow, learn, heal and above all live her life!  The flowers just help her with their stories and meanings.  They help her to express what she sometimes doesn't understand or can't put words to.  
I have always wanted to travel to Australia, but I'm pretty sure that I will only be doing that virtually, especially in these times.  So, I was getting rid of two itches at once (gardening and travelling) while delving into the pages of this book.
Trying to get rid of the itch to garden too early can be difficult, but this book took me away to places I have only dreamed of.  That helped me a lot.  Alice Hart (the main character in the book) grabs you right away.  You want to hold her hand as she traverses a new normal amid family secrets and stories that make life "Okay" again.
So many things are not spoken, and through the language of flowers, Alice finds a way to embrace what is going on in her life. 
Do Flowers have a language?  Oh yes indeed they do!  The first book I read about the Language of Flowers was a book reviewed right here by our own writer, Renaissance Woman!  I was so taken with this book that when I found The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, I knew I had to read this book too!
While enjoying the story, I also learnt of trees and flowers that require a "burn" in order to spread their seeds, birds of the Australian landscapes and flowers that we will never be able to grow here in the north.  In addition, the need to keep our hands off of flowers that will die when we pick them.  
I'm sure that you will enjoy this book as much as I did and it just might help you get through that itch, that for us is starting far too early.
Waiting till April will make our efforts of digging in the ground much more fruitful and successful too.
You can learn a lot by reading and hearing the stories set in far away places. When they are  a novel that is fictional, but interspersed with truths of gardening and the habits of flora and fauna of distant places, you know you will be changed.
Here's hoping that spring will come along in due time and our itches to get our hands in the ground will be fruitful and result in beautiful gardens for the year to come.  

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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