Dry, The (Winner Of British Book Awards Thriller Of The Year

Description: 'One of the most stunning debuts I've ever read...Read it!' David Baldacci The Gold Australian Book Industry Award for Book of the Year Australian Book Industry Award for Fiction Book of the Year THE SIMON MAYO RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB CHOICE SUNDAY TIMES CRIME THRILLER OF THE MONTH LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER AWARD FOR THE BEST CRIME NOVEL OF 2017 AUSTRALIA INDIE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 AUSTRALIA INDIE DEBUT OF THE YEAR 2017 'Packed with sneaky moves and teasing possibilities that keep the reader guessing...The Dry is a breathless page-turner' Janet Maslin, New York Times WHO REALLY KILLED THE HADLER FAMILY? I just can't understand how someone like him could do something like that. Amid the worst drought to ravage Australia in a century, it hasn't rained in small country town Kiewarra for two years. Tensions in the community become unbearable when three members of the Hadler family are brutally murdered. Everyone thinks Luke Hadler, who committed suicide after slaughtering his wife and six-year-old son, is guilty. Policeman Aaron Falk returns to the town of his youth for the funeral of his childhood best friend, and is unwillingly drawn into the investigation. As questions mount and suspicion spreads through the town, Falk is forced to confront the community that rejected him twenty years earlier. Because Falk and Luke Hadler shared a secret, one which Luke's death threatens to unearth. And as Falk probes deeper into the killings, secrets from his past and why he left home bubble to the surface as he questions the truth of his friend's crime. Review: It is hard to believe that this accomplished piece of writing, which returns again and again to the savage beauty of the landscape, is Harper's first novel Sunday Times, Crime Book of the Month January 2017 Wonderfully atmospheric, The Dry is both a riveting murder mystery and a beautifully wrought picture of a rural community under extreme pressure Mail on Sunday Thriller of the Week, January 2017 The writing is fantastic, and the plot - where many mystery/thrillers fall short these days - was completely unpredictable in the best ways possible... Aaron Falk, returns to his hometown in Australia to mourn, and inevitably investigate, his best friend's apparent suicide. What comes next is a series of twists and turns that will keep you guessing all the way until the end. I repeatedly found myself shocked and pulled in by Harper's fast paced and engrossing writing. Truly a fantastic read and hopefully the first of many to come from Ms. Harper An Amazon Best Book of January 2017, Amazon.com A stunningly atmospheric read Val McDermid, bestselling author of Out of Bounds One of the most assured crime debuts I've encountered in many years ... It grips like a vice from first paragraph to last, atmospherically evoking the small town of Kiewarra ... Told with heart-breaking precision and emotional power ... If you read only one crime novel this year make it this one Daily Mail A sad, beautifully told tale of lives regretted The Times 'Jane Harper's fleet novel about a triple killing is packed with sneaky moves and teasing possibilities that keep the reader guessing...The Dry is a breathless page-turner...The dryness that gives the book its eerie title looms large in the novel's finale, when certain kinds of weapons become even more terrible than those used to butcher the Hadlers...The Dry has caught the attention of Reese Witherspoon, who has a solid track record for spotting novels with strong movie potential. (Want some evidence? Gone Girl.) But Ms Hadler has made her own major mark long before any film version comes along -- Janet Maslin New York Times Read The Dry by Jane Harper. Gripping murder mystery; brilliant sense of place India Knight, Sunday Times magazine Solid storytelling that, despite a plethora of flashbacks, never loses momentum, strong characterisation and a sense of place so vivid that you can almost feel the blistering heat add up to a remarkably assured debut Laura Wilson, Guardian Like True Detective set in the Australian outback...Amid the worst drought in a century, the tension and stifling heat running through the small town of Kiewarra crackle off the pages Stylist magazine, this month's most exciting new novels Set in a small Australian town during a blistering drought, this creepy and tightly woven tale about a detective investigating a brutal triple-murder is getting huge global attention for all the right reasons - it's brilliant! Heat magazine Pulse-thumping suspense... Building from the first page, rammed with atmosphere, suspicions, lies and tension, this is a first-class crime debut' Fanny Blake's Great Reads, Woman & Home Harper brilliantly captures the claustrophobia of small-town Australia during a relentless drought. This is an eminently readable debut with characters you'll love and characters you'll love to hate Express Settle in a comfy chair and read ... The Dry by Jane Harper. This gripping novel charts a policeman's unwilling participation in the investigation of a terrible murder in the town of his youth, and is set to be the biggest crime release of 2017 GQ magazine Tipped to be one of the biggest novels of the year ...a gripping read Hello magazine A welcome antidote to all those Nordic crime novels that make you feel the cold in your bones, this excellent debut set in the Australian outback had me constantly wiping the sweat from my forehead Sunday Express From the searing opening, heat, dust and tension rise from the pages of this fast moving, tightly plotted and involving thriller Choice The earth is like a tinderbox, animals lie dead in the fields and the rolling river where Aaron and his friends use to swim and hang out is "nothing more than a dusty scar in the land"...The denouement yet again brings us face to face with the pitiless heat and its ramifications...Skilfully written and absorbing Financial Times I can't remember another first novel that was greeted with such unanimous enthusiasm from readers and reviewers all over the world...I share the universal approval of this book: it is gripping, atmospheric and original Literary Review Jane Harper creates an atmosphere of simmering tension right from the off. Her version of High Noon in the Outback flickers between past and present to slowly reveal what actually happened between characters who are far more engaging than the cogs usually found in clockwork thrillers Evening Standard One of the most stunning debuts I've ever read. I could feel the searing heat of the Australia setting. Every word is near perfect. The story builds like a wave seeking the purchase of earth before it crashes down and wipes out everything you might have thought about this enthralling tale. Read it! David Baldacci One of the best crime debuts of 2017 - literary Broadchurch meets Top of the Lake Joseph Knox, author of Sirens There is something about isolated communities and secrets and lies that just really intrigues me and this is one heck of a thriller with all of those things and more ... [this thriller] slowly bubbles like a pan on a stove and you think you can guess the moment when the pan lid is just going to explode. But it's only been a little while since the water started to bubble, it'll be ages yet...then BOOM. I had my eye on that pan lid from the start and I didn't guess what would happen. My heart is still beating like mad days after finishing the book The Book Trail (via NetGalley) You can almost feel the searing heat of the Australian drought in this intense, gripping, atmospheric tale. A compulsive read. Kate Hamer, bestselling author of The Girl in the Red Coat Put up your tray table, buckle your seatbelt, and sit back: you've found the right book for this flight. Set in the flash-ready tinder of a town going under, The Dry is a cracking good read that will have you hoping the pilot decides to circle the airport before landing. A hit by land or air. Laura McBride, author of We Are Called to Rise You will feel the heat, taste the dust and blink into the glare. The Dry is a wonderful crime novel that shines a light into the darkest corner of a sunburnt country Michael Robotham, CWA Gold Dagger Winner, bestselling author of Life or Death Every so often a debut novel arrives that is so tightly woven and compelling it seems the work of a novelist in her prime. That's what Jane Harper has given us with The Dry, a story so true to setting and tone it seemed I fell asleep in Virginia only to wake in Australian heat. It's rare, that sense of transportation, and I loved every minute of it John Hart, New York Times bestselling author of Redemption Road Terrific characters, unique and evocative setting, knockout plot construction. This book has it all John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of The Fall Every now and then an Australian crime novel comes along to stop your breath and haunt your dreams...There is about The Dry something mythic and valiant. This a story about heroism, the sins of the past, and the struggle to atone Sydney Morning Herald [A] devastating debut...From the ominous opening paragraphs, all the more chilling for their matter-of-factness, Harper ...spins a suspenseful tale of sound and fury as riveting as it is horrific Publishers Weekly, starred review A mystery that starts with a sad homecoming quickly turns into a nail-biting thriller about family, friends, and forensic accounting. Debut author Harper plots this novel with laser precision, keeping suspects in play while dropping in flashbacks that offer readers a full understanding of what really happened. The setting adds layers of meaning. Kiewarra is suffering an epic drought, and Luke's suicide could easily be explained by the failure of his farm. The risk of wildfire, especially in a broken community rife with poverty and alcoholism, keeps nerves strung taut... A chilling story set under a blistering sun, this fine debut will keep readers on edge and awake long past bedtime Kirk