The Dry
Summary:
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. [summary from https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250105608]
Group Reviews/Comments: Wow did our group love this book!
Good sense of place. The despair with the poor country and the lack of hope for the people—it hurt. Lots of surprising twists that kept me going. Number of possible ways it could have ended, and it was a surprise but it fit.
I really loved it. I got emotional towards the end. Showed how divided people can become when there is a tragedy.
I liked how the characters were described. The setting: awesome and terrible. Pacing pretty good, as was building of clues and suspicion.
I really enjoyed the book. The little boy dying—the terror, very hard to read. I liked how they brought back Ellie in the flashbacks.
Thumbs up. How dry…the drought really well described. I think author did a good job with the flashbacks and different timelines and who is talking.
Thumbs up. I suspected everyone. Disappointing that the Ellie murder was left somewhat unresolved.
I loved it. Was upset and angry with what happened to Ellie.
The small town and the heat and dryness –very claustrophobic. The story-line was really good, the town was, the isolation really well done.
Thumbs up. Usually don’t like books where everyone has a secret but it was really done. Liked both mysteries—the cold case and modern one. Liked the setting in Australia. Didn’t warm up to the adult Falk as much as the teenage Luke but hopefully in the next books he is portrayed better.
I thought it was really good. But I really didn’t like Falk, especially present-day Luke. Liked the police officer. The portrayal of the farmland felt realistic. The killing of sick animals, the space of the countryside, and the sense place phenomenal.
I really liked it. Thumbs up. Loved the prologue. Set a really good sense of place. I felt really strongly about all of the characters. Either loved or hated them. But didn’t get a good sense of who Falk was.
I liked the book. While reading it was more interested in the past murder but then more interested in present murder as things progressed. I liked setting in small town. Really realistically portrayal of a small town (rather than the picture perfect small town in a Hallmark movie!) Liked the ending.
I really liked this one. Super intense. The setting—I don’t really like heat—and I felt uncomfortable and oppressed when reading. The mystery was really interesting—we had no information, just this horrific crime scene. The book was sparse, the characters had to work hard to extract information.
I really liked the book. I liked the focus on Luke and not Karen. Liked how the mystery actually has a lot to do with what modern Falk does as a living. Ellie’s last message…related so much to how social media is now, when we take a tiny piece of information and make up, extrapolate nonsense from it.
Thumbs up. So sad and so real.
