Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Dry: A Novel
The Dry: A Novel
The Dry: A Novel
Audiobook10 hours

The Dry: A Novel

Written by Jane Harper

Narrated by Stephen Shanahan

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

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.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 10, 2017
ISBN9781250117632
Author

Jane Harper

Jane Harper is the author of four internationally bestselling Australian mysteries, including The Dry. Her books are published in 40 territories and have sold more than 3 million copies worldwide. Jane has won numerous top awards including the CWA Gold Dagger, the British Book Awards Crime and Thriller Book of the Year and the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year. The 2021 movie adaptation of The Dry, starring Eric Bana, is one of the highest grossing Australian films of all time. Jane worked as a print journalist for 13 years in both Australia and the UK, and now lives in Melbourne with her husband, daughter and son.

More audiobooks from Jane Harper

Related to The Dry

Related audiobooks

Police Procedural For You

View More

Related articles

Related categories

Reviews for The Dry

Rating: 4.056775464742786 out of 5 stars
4/5

1,594 ratings153 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    my favorite was toward the end when we found out more about Ellie.
    A well written novel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Really good. I was hesitant at first but happy I gave it a chance. Can’t wait to dive in to Jane Harpers 2nd book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Fabulously told story. Many twists and turns until the last chapter. Well-written. Highly recommend.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Kiewarra is a hot and arid Australian town that is in the grip of a calamitous drought. Stores have closed and farmers are struggling to stay afloat. In Jane Harper's "The Dry," thirty-six year old Federal Agent Aaron Falk, who was raised in Kiewarra but now lives and works in Melbourne, returns to attend the funeral of a childhood friend, Luke Handler. Luke was found shot to death in his truck, while his wife and child were gunned down in their home.

    At the request of Luke's bereaved parents, Aaron agrees to take a short leave and lend a hand to the investigating officer, Sergeant Greg Raco. Before long, Falk suspects that practically everyone he meets is hiding something. Equally disconcerting is the chilly reception Aaron receives from the townspeople because of the still unexplained drowning death of his former friend, sixteen-year old Eleanor Deacon, twenty years earlier.

    Harper inserts flashbacks into the narrative that, for a while, raise more questions than they answer. The author's dialogue and character development (except for a one-dimensional bully straight out of central casting) are impressive. Harper depicts Luke as a charismatic but occasionally selfish and thoughtless individual. Aaron, who is intelligent and eager to help, resents the fact that some of Kiewarra's citizens continue to shun and harass him. At least the attractive Gretchen Schoner, a single mother with a five-year-old son, remembers Aaron fondly and seems interested in getting reacquainted. "The Dry" is intense and suspenseful, and the author effectively captures the misery, hopelessness, and anger of Kiewarra's frustrated residents. Although a few of Harper's subplots are contrived and resolved implausibly, this moody and intriguing novel is absorbing enough to pique our interest and keep us invested in the outcome.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loved the way the story goes back and forth in time. At times so swift you would miss it if you didn't pay attention. And attention needs to be paid , to details, needs and life. If anything the book teaches that.... apart from being a very good cop/detective/crime story ??
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked it enough to continue with the series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was set in rural Australia during a drought. Jane Harper has created a novel with great sense of place as I could actually feel the heat and dust in my throat while reading The Dry. The characters were believable and I especially loved the interaction between Falk and Raco, the two police investigators. The excellent plot moved very well with great use of flashbacks for telling the back story from 20 years ago. There were many twists and turns that kept me changing my mind about who the murderer could be. This is a fabulous debut from Jane Harper and I hope to read more books by her in the future. I would highly recommend this book for those who enjoy complex murder mysteries.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved it, a great coming of age novel, really captured the atmosphere of a small country Aussie town
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Stumbled on this one randomly while searching my next read. What a great find. The interwoven narrative between the past and present grabs you and holds on. Great ending.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The beginning of the book is so slow but by the end it picks up I only finish it because I wanted to know what happened
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I know I'm late to the party but I just finished reading The Dry by Jane Harper and can honestly say it is worth the hype. Despite having a copy for 11 months (thanks to my GoodReads Melbourne catch-up in August last year) and watching it win the Indie Book of the Year, Indie Book of the Year Debut Fiction for 2017 and ABIA Book of the Year, I've only just read The Dry now. It happens to the best of us doesn't it? Great books lingering in our TBR pile for too long.Well, it's no secret this is a debut Australian crime fiction novel and other readers agree it's fantastic. Having grown up in a small country town myself, I found the rural setting, the characters and the dialogue instantly Australian and recognisable without being cliche or over the top. The writing is flawless and it's hard to believe this is a debut novel.I can highly recommended The Dry and Jane Harper is definitely an Aussie author to watch. I'll be lending it to my Dad next while waiting with baited breath for the next in the series, Force of Nature.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    GREAT Story!!!! It'll keep you on your toes with Suspense!!!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Holy smokes this was so good!! I loved the plot twists and character development. Such a good ending!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Policeman Aaron Faulk returns to his home town for the funeral of his childhood friend Luke Hadler and members of his family. The family were found murdered and it looks like Luke could have done it. Aaron starts to investigate the murders and also brings back memories of his childhood which also includes the apparent suicide of his friend Ellie.This is a debut novel which is being hyped up and it does live up to the hype. The story is solid and flows along quite nicely until all is explained.There are two stories, one the Hadler family murder and Ellie's suicide. The Hadler family murder once revealed is quite plausible and does make sense. The murderer wasn't who I was lead to believe and I guessed all wrong. Ellie's suicide was a different matter. This was solved but for me I would have liked this storyline left open and I never really find out. However the ending does tie everything up and done and dusted.I would highly recommend this book and it is a good solid read. I enjoyed it very much and would read more by this author in the future.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Really good writing. Great imagery. Great twists. Kept me hooked until the end.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    An excellent debut mystery novel set in rural Australia during extended drought conditions. Harper creates a vivid picture of the intense emotions that can be brought about by hardship. The crime took place in a small town, making it a type of locked room mystery, which was very well done. Possible culprits came to my mind, with each one being immediately replaced by another, and in the end I wasn't able to solve the mystery before the denouement. Great characters, excellent depiction of the scene and the culture, and a plot that was complex without being too convoluted. I'll watch for more by this author.My copy was an audiobook with an excellent narration by Stephen Shanahan. Australian terms are so unfamiliar to me that I had to text an Australian friend for definitions, specifically for what sounded like "yoot" and "eski". Shame on me! I should have been able to guess.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Looking for a page turner? This is it. Very entertaining, good characters, couldn't put it down. If this isn't being turned into a TV series right now, I'll eat my hat.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    3,8 stars

    This was a good mystery. I think the characters were written well enough, I didn't guess the killer, I was invested in finding out who dunnit.

    This wasn't my favorite for a couple of reasons.
    1) I felt like the author used some pretty well worn plot points to create confusion. I especially dislike the overused misdirection of having a character not give a decent alibi because they're gay. Also, I'm not sure how I feel about Ellie's story line.
    2) I don't feel like there were enough hints toward the actual killer before the reveal, which made it feel a little convenient.

    I did like the descriptions of the oppressive small town mired in drought, though.

    I'm interested in reading the second Aaron Falk book, as the plot description for that sound more up my alley than this one.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Plot-driven contemporary murder mystery set in Australia. Protagonist Aaron Falk, a federal financial crimes investigator, has returned to his childhood hometown to attend the funeral of a friend who has apparently murdered his wife and six-year-old son, then killed himself. In a secondary storyline, the townspeople still harbor animosity toward Falk for his presumed role in the death of a teenage girl twenty years ago. He becomes involved in an unofficial capacity in the murder investigation in conjunction with the local police official, Sergeant Greg Raco.

    The story moves along at a steady pace. The descriptions of the drought and the bushland are well crafted and provide a sense of atmosphere. The author writes in a direct manner. Aaron Falk is the focus, and his character is the most fleshed out. I enjoyed the camaraderie between Falk and Raco. The additional characters are less well-formed. Some are a bit flat while others are stereotypical bullies. The repetition was bothersome, especially regarding details around the horrific death of a small child. I think it is a decently written mystery, but it requires a significant suspension of disbelief and won’t stay with me for long.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Good writing, clever plotting, lightweight - what's not to like?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ok, I read this five years ago so my review is based on my memories from then. This was a cracking read with a sadly pretty ludicrous ending. Endings are hard, I know, so I am pretty forgiving. I liked the main plotting, mystery, characterisation very much and looked forward to reading future novels by Jane Harper.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Jane Harper (1980) is a British-Australian journalist and writer, who has by now published 4 thrillers. The Dry is the first of these, and was a huge success immediately after publication. The edition I read was filled with lyrical quotes from reviews and recommendations from well-known thriller authors such as Ian Rankin and Val McDermid. So my expectations were high. But were they fulfilled?The Dry is set in Kiewarra, a small town in the Australian outback. Things are not going very well out there: it hasn't rained for a couple of years, cattle dies, crops fail and people sink into financial misery. That a man would be so desperate that he kills his family and then himself is not very surprising in that context and above all very sad. However, there are a few things wrong with this reading of the facts. That's what the new local police officer thinks, and so does Aaron Falk, a Melbourne detective who grew up in Kiewarra and has now returned there for the first time in 20 years for his childhood friend's funeral.Aaron Falk is the main character of this story. He left Kiewarra years ago. The story of why he had to leave is a story that you gradually discover over the course of the book. It is this background that hinders Falk's research quite a bit. I won't say much more about it, because I don't want to reveal any plot twists, because there are quite a few of them.The Dry is the kind of book that you can hardly put down, thanks to the many cliffhangers. At the same time it is a rather conventional thriller, with the usual ingredients: a murder, that seems clear, but that is is increasingly questioned, a detective with secrets from his past, several suspects, a romance and an ending where all the puzzle pieces fall neatly into place. The writing style is not very surprising or original. The surprising ingredient was the background: the Australian outback, the drought, the despair. I think that will stay with me the most when I think back to this book. But I'm not lyrical about it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a very well written mystery. I found the characters interesting and will definitely read more of Jane Harper's books. I'm glad this was selected for book club!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Aaron Falk returns to the town he left as a teenager to attend a funeral. That part of Australia is enduring its second year of severe drought and everyone is suffering financially. As he gets drawn into looking into recent murders that involved a childhood friend, Falk also has to come to terms with events that caused him to move away. This is a fairly standard crime novel/thriller that is elevated by the vivid setting and solid writing. I was in need of an entertaining and yet not too challenging read and this book was perfect.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is my second reading of The Dry but apparently I didn't post reading it a couple of years ago. Taking place in a small town in Australia, the focus is on the affects of a muder or possible suicide, of a teenage girl twenty years after her death. A good plot and well written chracters maake it good reading. On a second reading my originnal 4 star rating still stands.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    (3.5 stars) Aaron Falk, Federal Police investigator working in finance investigation in Melbourne, returns to his small hometown in rural Australia to attend the funeral of his childhood friend, who, along with his family, were found murdered in their home. Though the deaths are assumed to be murder/suicide, family members suspect something else may be at play, and Falk teams up with the local police detective to further investigate. There are two story lines going on here: the present investigation as well as a previous death of a close friend of Falk's (Ellie) which occurred when they were teenagers. Because of continued suspicions surrounding Ellie's death and Falk's possible involvement, the townsfolk don't particularly feel warmly toward Falk's return. The story fluctuates between the present investigation and flashbacks to the events leading up to Ellie's death. I enjoyed this story. It kept me guessing as to the whodunnit in both story lines, and it did a good job of describing the sad, somewhat depressing life of a rural community suffering a significant drought. However, given the huge hype over this book, I think I was expecting more, and though I enjoyed it, I wasn't blown away as I was maybe expecting to be. But still, I do plan on reading more by this author.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Did not live up to the considerable hype. Well written with decently drawn characters but a mostly suspenseless story. She never really developed the sleight of hand and misdirection that a good mystery must have. The denouement simply did not deliver on the promises made by the author. I am missing entirely all of the hype for this book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Felt like this was two stories in one book. Aaron Falk goes back to his hometown for the funeral of a friend whose entire family has been murdered. The evidence points to Luke Hadler having killed his wife and son and then himself, but Luke’s parents don’t believe that for a second and want Falk to use his Federal Agent skills to investigate. Meanwhile, the town is NOT glad to see him back because a girl, Ellen Deacon, died when he was a young man and the town has always suspected him or Luke since they were friends with Ellen. Trying to get answers in a town where everyone views you with hostility and suspicion isn’t easy, but that’s what Falk is going to do. I enjoyed the slow reveal of clues, the believable explanation for everything and the way the two stories were shared through multiple perspectives.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Heavy-duty story with a great ending!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Not much to say about this, other than it's an absolutely solid murder mystery. Similar to, but not the same as, John Hart. Think: John Hart takes an Australian vacation.

    Seriously, thought. I'll absolutely read the next Jane Harper publication. Really enjoyed this one.