The Dry

A Novel

By: Jane Harper

Narrated by: Stephen Shanahan

Instant New York Times best seller.

Winner of the CWA's Gold Dagger Award.

Winner of an AudioFile Eaphones 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.

©2016 Jane Harper (P)2016 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Debut author Jane Harper's fine prose and narrator Steven Shanahan's expert delivery combine for a transcendent Australian noir experience.... Shanahan's accent and speech patterns immerse listeners in the Australian countryside. He also consistently sprinkles in little touches - a stifled yawn, a burp after a swig of beer, a nasally voice for a man with a broken nose - that breathe vivid life into the story and characters." (AudioFile)

Pretty Good

Although this bps begin rather slowly, ut pickws up momentum so that by the time the enc came it turned around quite nicely. All in all not bad.

A Debut - Well Done!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, the plot was fairly well executed . I didn't have any idea who was responsible for the Hadler family murders. I guessed some of the back story of Ellie but not all of it. The ending left me hanging a bit, I am not sure if that was intentional or another book may tie up some of the loose ends. The reader is left in the dark over the Luke/Ellie back story or if there was one. I am still confused about the Luke, Gretchen and Ellie flashback at the river on the day Ellie died. Aaron Falk is a likable character, Raco, the police officer is another likable character and I liked Luke's parents. This is an excellent first novel but I found some of the threads of the plot not worth the amount of time given to them. I have many audio books in my Audible Library and almost all are mystery/suspense/thriller books and I can re-listen to any of the titles at anytime by Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, Bill Pronzini, Jeffrey Deaver, David Rosenfelt, Craig Johnson, Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child, Karin Slaughter, Louise Penny, Robert Crais, Greg Iles, Laura Lippman, Robert B. Parker, Peter Robinson, James Lee Burke, David Baldacci, Lee Child, and Kathy Reichs. I am sure there are more authors that fit into this category for me personally but I was just scrolling down my library and the list was getting lengthy. On the other hand, there are many authors in my library that I have enjoyed their book(s) but as I scroll down my library I am just not as inclined to pause over the title and consider giving it a re-listen. The Dry will fall into that category. Those titles then become the ones I wish I would have waited and checked out thru digital media at my local public library.

great story, good writing

I have come to realize that I prefer an audible book where they don't have different voices portraying the characters I love the fact that I can still have some imagination yet hear a really good story teller read the book. Awesome narration by Shanahan!

I loved it

I liked everything about this book especially Falk. When I read the reviews it seemed like they either loved it or hated it. I did not mind the flashbacks which were well done and informative, at first I found them a little confusing, but I got used to it. The characters were interesting and I really cared what happened to them. I felt very satisfied with the plot and the ending.

Amazing!

Wow that was absolutely excellent. Kudos to Jane Harper!
This novel is as perfect as it gets. The story, the writing, the performance, sheer perfection!
What a pleasure to read a writer in complete command of her story. The plotting, the tension, the pacing were all beautifully mapped out. That's how it's done! True, the first part seems slow, but that's realistic for how the investigation got started and worked its way along, groping along in the dark. It picks up speed in a believable way. There was nothing fake or implausible in how it progressed or reached its conclusion. Fantastic!
The writing: clear, exact, controlled, nothing over or under done. Perfect.
The emotions are understated but very powerful and realistic. There is nothing flashy or manipulative about how she presents the crime. By the end you are just gutted with how sad and horrifying it is.
The characters are completely believable and sympathetic. I especially appreciated that she didn't make her lead guy a superhero he-man detective. He's an unlikely hero, a slow burn, like the story.
I cannot think of a single flaw.
The narrator was fantastic! Especially in the last part of the book. He gets my vote for best performance.

Slow to start but ultimately satisfying

I struggled in the beginning of this book and considered giving up - I re-listened to the first six chapters three or four times before the story made sense to me. After that, however, I enjoyed the book and had no issues becoming fairly engrossed in the book. It was much more a character study than a detective story, but I appreciated that it stayed away from the familiar tropes found in so many detective stories.

Excellent

The characters are well developed, the plot tight, the writing great and the narration excellent. Great read.

Brilliant!

Well written with many surprise tw ists and turns. The narrator managed to have voices that allowed one to know who was talking without naming them. It is the best mystery I haveread in a very long time.
It takes place in the Australian outback and took a while to adjust to the accent, a minor inconvenience.

Good story

Good story but hard to follow the flashbacks on the audio version. That was the only frustrating part.

Good story but very slow at times...

Overall this was a good story and it had a lot of potential in the beginning. But the middle was so slow it was hard for me to get through. It ended with a bang but I almost didn’t get there because I questioned whether I could even make it through to the end. The last third of the book made it worth it.