Review: The Dry (Aaron Falk #1) by Jane Harper

Summary from Goodreads:

A small town hides big secrets in this atmospheric, page-turning debut mystery by award-winning author Jane Harper.
In the grip of the worst drought in a century, the farming community of Kiewarra is facing life and death choices daily when three members of a local family are found brutally slain.
Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk reluctantly returns to his hometown for the funeral of his childhood friend, loath to face the townsfolk who turned their backs on him twenty years earlier. 
But as questions mount, Falk is forced to probe deeper into the deaths of the Hadler family. Because Falk and Luke Hadler shared a secret. A secret Falk thought was long buried. A secret Luke's death now threatens to bring to the surface in this small Australian town, as old wounds bleed into new ones.

Review:


What I Liked:

Setting. I have not read many novels set in Australian, so it was interesting to read about the small town and the people in it. The setting does not change during the entire novel but the author manages to make it work. I enjoyed the fact the it had some slow burning elements to it where the focus is mainly on Falk's past and the main mystery. 

Characters. I came to really enjoy Aaron Falk's main point of view as the novel went on. It made me automatically pick up the second book, it also follows Falk. The side characters, from the past and present were interesting as well. 

Writing/Format. Harper ambitiously tries out a new writing format. Past and present were mixed together in chapters, the memories and point of views of other character mixed with Falk's main point of view. Falk's narrative was in print while the other povs were in italics. 
It threw me off at first but I came to really enjoy it by the end. It added a unique element to story because the reader could read the motivations of the killer or other characters in the story beside the main one. 

What I Disliked:

Length. The novel was only around 300 or so pages. It felt like I got sucked into the world and then it ended quicker than I expected. I would have liked to have more, an expanded mystery or more focus on Falk's past. 

One of the Twists/Resolutions. The novel had two different mysteries. One of the mysteries had a good conclusion and I managed to guess part of it. However, I felt that the second mystery did not have a very good ending or solution. I would have liked a more thrilling ending to it than we received. 

I recommend checking out this great start to a series even if you are not a fan of detective fiction. It was a well-crafted mystery. 

Rating: 

4.5 Stars Out of 5 Stars.