The Dry

Not to be confused with Dry, a YA novel I posted about earlier, this taut mystery--an inaugural outing by author Jane Harper--is set in the Outback of Australia, 5 hours from Melbourne where most people are sheep ranchers or farmers. Except there has been a drought for several years and what was once a deep and life-giving river through the town of Kiewarra has gone dry. Aaron Falk has returned after 20 years for the funeral of his childhood best friend, Luke Hadler, who is believed to have killed his wife and son and then himself. His baby daughter was left alive. But Luke's parents, who were more of a family to Aaron than his widowed father, just can't believe it, and they beg Aaron, a federal financial crimes investigator, to look further into the matter. The problem is, Aaron and his father were basically run out of town when Aaron and Luke's friend, Ellie, was found drowned in the river. A note was found with the word Falk written on it and people assumed either father or son had killed her. Luke provided Aaron an alibi, for which he was grateful until years later when Aaron began to realize that Luke's claim that they were together also provided an alibi for Luke. Now Aaron wonders just what Luke was capable of. He joins forces with the local police chief, who is relatively new on the job, and who doesn't quite buy the murder /suicide theory because some clues just aren't consistent with that scenario. Aaron must fight on two fronts--finding out what really happened to Luke and his family even though people in town just want to be done with it, and dealing with the ugly rumors and harassment which have been reignited by Ellie's drunken father and cousin. Are the deaths connected? And more importantly, will Aaron be able to ever find out what really happened to his friend Ellie and to Luke's family. Apparently the movie rights have already been optioned for this. There are two newer novels, Force of Nature (also featuring Aaron Falk) and The Lost Man, which will be released in the U.S. in February.
Lots of good reviews for this award-winning ( the CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel, the British Book Awards Crime and Thriller Book of the Year, the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year and the Australian Indie Awards Book of the Year) book from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and The New York Times.