Despite my protests for The Lost by Mari Hannah the group voted for The Dry already read by a couple of us and highly recommended.
The book is set in the Australian countryside in the middle of a two year drought and centres around Aaron Falk, a policeman returning to his home town to attend the funeral of his childhood best friend thought to have killed his wife and young child before committing suicide.
The drought and Australian outback were expertly described throughout the book although I did get a little tired of reading the line 'we're all at boiling point' and the casual references to various breeds of spiders seemed more for the reader than the actual characters. The group commented on how this may have been because Harper is English and spiders and snakes are perhaps more noticeable to an outsider, hence the references. We also discussed how the town could easily have been set in America as the farming/small town lifestyle, and its people, would easily have fit.
There were some really nasty characters in the book and I felt myself getting wound up at the way Falk was treated. Excellent writing from Harper ensured we all wanted the Deacons to get their comeuppance. I certainly wouldn't have reacted the way Falk did to their threats, even if it was for the greater good.
Having said that it was refreshing to read about Falk, a policeman who wasn't an alcoholic, who didn't have a superior breathing down his neck with the threat of this job being his last and whose actual last case was a success. Yes his love life was slightly lacking but on the whole Harper avoided the stereotype really well. Equally with Raco it was interesting to have a male/male partnering and one of equal authority who worked together rather than trading testosterone laid insults at one another.
I enjoyed the twists and the turns as the duo methodically worked their way through town eliminating suspects. The linked(?) story of Ellie was an excellent addition, although very sad and the book flittered between the past and the present seamlessly. Of equal sadness was Falk's father who left the only life he had ever known for his son and died never knowing the truth, heart breaking.
The group loved the book, with everyone finding it easy to read and most of us not guessing the ending until well through the book. The group scored it a 9 out of 10 highlighting three reasons: 1) how different it was from your typical cop thriller; 2) how good the setting description was; and 3) the plot and how it constantly kept you guessing. I wasn't in love with the book as much as the group were, it just didn't get under my skin like good books should do but it was very good and I along with the rest of the group will read Falk's next turn in Force of Nature.
Special mention to The Plough in this post for their biodegradable straws and continuing to serve the public of Cramlington during a fire alarm - very apt that a book about a drought where even a lighter can cause mass devastation was reviewed to the wailing of a fire alarm.
Next book is Women and Power by Mary Beard. A very different choice for the group and I'm interested to see what we make of it.
The book is set in the Australian countryside in the middle of a two year drought and centres around Aaron Falk, a policeman returning to his home town to attend the funeral of his childhood best friend thought to have killed his wife and young child before committing suicide.
The drought and Australian outback were expertly described throughout the book although I did get a little tired of reading the line 'we're all at boiling point' and the casual references to various breeds of spiders seemed more for the reader than the actual characters. The group commented on how this may have been because Harper is English and spiders and snakes are perhaps more noticeable to an outsider, hence the references. We also discussed how the town could easily have been set in America as the farming/small town lifestyle, and its people, would easily have fit.
There were some really nasty characters in the book and I felt myself getting wound up at the way Falk was treated. Excellent writing from Harper ensured we all wanted the Deacons to get their comeuppance. I certainly wouldn't have reacted the way Falk did to their threats, even if it was for the greater good.
Having said that it was refreshing to read about Falk, a policeman who wasn't an alcoholic, who didn't have a superior breathing down his neck with the threat of this job being his last and whose actual last case was a success. Yes his love life was slightly lacking but on the whole Harper avoided the stereotype really well. Equally with Raco it was interesting to have a male/male partnering and one of equal authority who worked together rather than trading testosterone laid insults at one another.
I enjoyed the twists and the turns as the duo methodically worked their way through town eliminating suspects. The linked(?) story of Ellie was an excellent addition, although very sad and the book flittered between the past and the present seamlessly. Of equal sadness was Falk's father who left the only life he had ever known for his son and died never knowing the truth, heart breaking.
The group loved the book, with everyone finding it easy to read and most of us not guessing the ending until well through the book. The group scored it a 9 out of 10 highlighting three reasons: 1) how different it was from your typical cop thriller; 2) how good the setting description was; and 3) the plot and how it constantly kept you guessing. I wasn't in love with the book as much as the group were, it just didn't get under my skin like good books should do but it was very good and I along with the rest of the group will read Falk's next turn in Force of Nature.
Special mention to The Plough in this post for their biodegradable straws and continuing to serve the public of Cramlington during a fire alarm - very apt that a book about a drought where even a lighter can cause mass devastation was reviewed to the wailing of a fire alarm.
Next book is Women and Power by Mary Beard. A very different choice for the group and I'm interested to see what we make of it.
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