The Dry By Jane Harper

The Dry, the critically acclaimed debut novel by Jane Harper, has garnered so much rave reviews that I just could not resist buying it. It has become a runaway bestseller and Reese Witherspoon’s production company has optioned the film rights.

The Dry by Jane Harper

The Dry opens with an apparent open-shut case of murder-suicide in Kiewarra: Luke Hadler snaps after being tortured by years of punishing drought, turning a gun on his wife Karen and six-year-old son Billy, then on himself. Only his baby daughter, Charlotte, is spared. The community, ravaged by the endless drought, are on edge.  The triple deaths shock the community.

Former Kiewarra resident Aaron Falk, now a federal financial police officer, reluctantly returns to Kiewarra to attend the funeral of his former best friend, Luke Hadler. He would not have attended the funeral if not for a letter from Luke’s father that summoned him in no uncertain terms: “You lied. Luke lied. Be at the funeral.”

Twenty years ago when Falk was under suspicion for the murder of his close friend Ellie Deacon, it was Luke who provided the alibi that they had been together at the time of the crime. Falk and his father had to flee under a cloud of suspicion. But now more than one person knows Falk and Luke didn’t tell the truth back then, and Luke is now dead.

Falk plans to spend less than 24 hours in Kiewarra whose inhabitants aren’t too happy to see him back in town.  But Luke’s parents ask him to investigate the family’s financials, hoping to uncover some insight into Luke’s actions. Teaming up with the local Sergeant Raco, the two slowly begin to uncover secrets and lies, including the death of Ellie Deacon, a girl with whom the town think was murdered by Falk.

The Dry is well-crafted and delivers lots of twists and turns.  The climatic and economic conditions of Kiewarra add to the tension. The book lives up to the hype it is getting.