Marg Wood of the Napanee Branch, recently enjoyed The Dry, an intriguing and page-turning thriller that was suggested to her by a patron.

“The Dry, set in a small Australian town, is the debut novel by author Jane Harper,” says Marg. “This book was suggested to me as “a must-read” by a library patron with similar reading taste to mine. Thank you for your suggestion! It is a mystery/thriller that had me hooked from the very beginning and left me guessing right up to its mind-blowing conclusion.”

The author does a wonderful job with character development and with setting the scene.

Marg explains, “Aaron Falk, a Federal Investigator, is called back to his small hometown when his best childhood friend Luke along with his wife and young son are discovered shot to death in an apparent murder/suicide. Aaron and his father had left town twenty years earlier after another friend Ellie had died under mysterious circumstances and suspicion was cast their way. At the time Aaron and Luke agreed to be the others’ alibi each believing that the other had something to hide. Ellie’s death was eventually ruled a suicide but the people of Kiewarra have long and unforgiving memories and they do everything in their power to make Aaron want to leave town including vandalizing his car and distributing flyers warning other residents that he has returned. Kiewarra has been ravaged by endless drought and the townspeople are on edge and they do not want Aaron around as a reminder of what had happened years ago. At the request of Luke’s parents, who refuse to believe that their son would kill his family then turn the gun on himself, Falk joins forces with local police officer Raco to investigate what had really happened on that scorching hot, sultry day and soon the secrets and lies of this small town are revealed.”

“The author does a wonderful job with character development and with setting the scene,” says. “Even though it is at times a little too graphic for my liking, nevertheless The Dry was an intriguing and thrilling page-turner full of twists and turns!”

You can reserve this novel in a variety of formats at your branch of the County Libraries or online here.