Crime & Beyond Book Club Reads The Dry by Jane Harper

The Denver-based book club Crime & Beyond recently discussed the debut novel by author Jane Harper and Kerry Hammond is here to give us the report.


This month, Crime & Beyond Book Club met to discuss The Dry by Jane Harper. The UK born author moved to Australia at the age of eight and has written three international bestselling books that take place in the rugged terrain of Queensland, Australia. Her most recent two books, The Dry and Force of Nature, follow the investigations of Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk. In The Dry, our book choice for this month, the investigation gets personal.


Aaron Falk returns to his hometown to attend the funeral of a high school friend, Luke. Luke and his family have been brutally murdered and the police have yet to solve the crime. It is a somewhat unwelcome return when we realize that many residents of the town blame Falk for a 20 year old unsolved death of a young girl; Falk's high school girlfriend. In that case, Luke was Falk's alibi and to this day, the police have been unable to determine the circumstances that led to the girl's death. 


What an exciting debut novel! Our club members rated this book with some of the highest scores we've ever seen. The mystery was exciting, the setting well described and desolate, and the writing style is the kind that immediately draws you into a story and doesn't let you go until you turn the last page. This is a great book club read and a great mystery. Lots of discussion points for any group to sink their teeth into.


On another note, they are looking to make The Dry into a movie starring Eric Bana. Looking forward to that.