The Dry: A Novel

Jane Harper

Jan 2017 · Macmillan Audio · Narrated by Stephen Shanahan

About this audiobook

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM IFC FILMS STARRING ERIC BANA

*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*

*Winner of the CWA's Gold Dagger Award**Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award*

“A breathless page-turner, driven by the many revelations Ms. Harper dreams up...You’ll love [her] sleight of hand...A secret on every page.” —The New York Times

“One of the most stunning debuts I've ever read... Every word is near perfect.” —David Baldacci

A small town hides big secrets in The Dry, an atmospheric debut mystery by award-winning author Jane Harper.

After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a cloud of suspicion, saved from prosecution only because of Luke’s steadfast claim that the boys had been together at the time of the crime. But now more than one person knows they didn’t tell the truth back then, and Luke is dead.

Amid the worst drought in a century, Falk and the local detective question what really happened to Luke. As Falk reluctantly investigates to see if there’s more to Luke’s death than there seems to be, long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies that have haunted them. And Falk will find that small towns have always hidden big secrets.

Ratings and reviews

Good setting and ambience, but the characters' motivations don't really make sense so the entire plot hangs on a fairly weak thread.

Slow start, it takes several chapters for the pace to get interesting and until around halfway to start getting information that feels significant to the plot. Overall, the story is interesting and it is a good read through to the end.

About the author

Jane Harper has worked as a print journalist for 13 years both in Australia and the UK. She is originally from the UK and moved to Australia in 2008, where she lives in Melbourne and writes for the Herald Sun. The Dry, her debut novel, won the 2015 Victorian Premier Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript.