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 20 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.
Very sharp, very clever – it’s a doozy! A really fantastic read, I thought this was a brilliant crime/thriller. Very sharp writing, it flowed wonderfully with all its twists and turns and mini sub-plots. The descriptive prose of the harsh Australian climate and its impact on the land and its people really rang true and, thank heavens, the author resisted using ‘ockerisms!’ The only clanger with language was when the author described ‘killing an engine’ rather than just ‘turning the car off’. I’m being petty. Australians do not use…
Good Aussie “Who-Dunnit” I read this book in 2 days and couldn’t wait to pick it up again each time. The story line was totally believable and the writing style easy and descriptive. I could feel the heat and smell the dust. I will say that I did not pick the killer…..(that’s not a spoiler because so many possible people run through your mind as the story progresses).Â
An Outstanding First Novel Jane Harper – The DryÂ