{"product_id":"the-dry-9780349142111","title":"The Dry","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn a town without rain, some secrets are never washed away...\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMy crime novel of the year is Jane Harper's \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e...The savage beauty of the landscape makes an unforgettable setting' * Joan Smith, Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year 2017 *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA book that has atmosphere to spare\u003c\/b\u003e, as well as a pleasing number of twists and turns. \u003cb\u003eElegant and gripping\u003c\/b\u003e * Ian Rankin, Guardian Best Books of 2017 *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAustralian first-timer Jane Harper suggested a potential torrent of talent with \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, in which a man returns to the outback town from which he had been summarily exiled as a teenager. He is there to attend the funeral of a childhood best mate who is believed to have killed his wife and son, before turning the gun on himself. But the case is clearly not as simple as that and, \u003cb\u003ein the tense setting of a landcape where it hasn't rained for two years, Harper slowly but thrillingly reveals where the truth lies.\u003c\/b\u003e * Mark Lawson, Guardian Best Crime Books and Thrillers of 2017 *\u003cbr\u003eJane Harper's \u003ci\u003eThe Dry \u003c\/i\u003ehas a protagonist returning from a self-imposed exile to a tiny hometown riven with fear, though the backdrop here is the drought-plagued Australian outback.\u003cb\u003e Harper depicts \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eit so well that the book would have reduced me to a sweaty, crumpled heap on the floor had I not been energised by her diabolically clever plotting\u003c\/b\u003e * Jake Kerridge, the Best Thrillers and Crime Fiction of 2017, Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eIt is hard to believe that this accomplished piece of writing, which returns again and again to the savage beauty of the landscape, is Harper's first novel * Sunday Times, Crime Book of the Month January 2017 *\u003cbr\u003eHarper's debut novel is \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e, a crime thriller making its way up \u003ci\u003eThe \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e Bestsellers charts as steadily as the mercury rises each day in the stricken agricultural town of Kiewarra, in which it is set...It feels like an Ur-Australian novel, \u003cb\u003ea \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ewhodunit that evokes the punishing landscape and searing aridity so convincingly, you expect a heat haze to shimmer above the page\u003c\/b\u003e -- Patricia Nichol * Culture, Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWonderfully atmospheric\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e is both \u003cb\u003ea riveting murd\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eer mystery\u003c\/b\u003e and a beautifully wrought picture of a rural community under extreme pressure * Mail on Sunday Thriller of the Week, January 2017 *\u003cbr\u003eI devoured it in just over 24 hours...\u003cb\u003eSpellbinding\u003c\/b\u003e * Ian Rankin *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA stunningly atmospheric read \u003c\/b\u003e * Val McDermid, bestselling author of Out of Bounds *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA cracking \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003esmall-town thriller\u003c\/b\u003e wound tight by desperation in a deadly Australian drought * Hilary Spurling, Spectator Books of the Year *\u003cbr\u003eAn award-winner in its native Australia, in this first book from journalist Harper a local cop investigates the murder of a family in a small town enduring the worst drought in 100 years. \u003cb\u003eThis could be the start of an Antipodean wave that will overtake Scandi noir\u003c\/b\u003e -- Nick Curtis * Evening Standard, The Most Talked About Books of the Summer *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis superb debut\u003c\/b\u003e from a British-born, Australia-based journalist \u003cb\u003egrips like a vice\u003c\/b\u003e from the first paragraph to the last, atmospherically evoking the isolated town of Kiewarra, outside Melbourne, which has been rocked by a horrific murder\/suicide...\u003cb\u003eTold with heartbreaking precision and extraordinary emotional power, it reveals the prejudices, secrets and lies of small-town life against the background of emotions inflamed by heat\u003c\/b\u003e * Daily Mail, Best Books for the Summer 2017 *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe writing is fantastic,\u003c\/b\u003e and the plot - where many mystery\/thrillers fall short these days - was completely unpredictable in the best ways possible... Aaron Falk, returns to his hometown in Australia to mourn, and inevitably investigate, his best friend's apparent suicide. \u003cb\u003eWhat comes next is a series of twists and turns that will keep you guessing all the way until the end.\u003c\/b\u003e I repeatedly found myself shocked and pulled in by Harper's \u003cb\u003efast paced and engrossing writing\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cb\u003eTruly a fantastic read\u003c\/b\u003e and hopefully the first of many to come from Ms. Harper * An Amazon Best Book of January 2017, Amazon.com *\u003cbr\u003eA sad, beautifully told tale of lives regretted * The Times *\u003cbr\u003e'Jane Harper's fleet novel about a triple killing is \u003cb\u003epacked with sneaky moves and teasing possibilities\u003c\/b\u003e that keep the reader guessing...\u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ea breathless page-turner\u003c\/b\u003e...The dryness that gives the book its eerie title looms large in the novel's finale, when certain kinds of weapons become even more terrible than those used to butcher the Hadlers...\u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e has caught the attention of Reese Witherspoon, who has a solid track record for spotting novels with strong movie potential. (Want some evidence? Gone Girl.) \u003cb\u003eBut Ms Hadler has made her own major mark long before any film version comes along\u003c\/b\u003e -- Janet Maslin * New York Times *\u003cbr\u003eRead \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e by Jane Harper. \u003cb\u003eGripping murder mystery; brilliant sense of place\u003c\/b\u003e * India Knight, Sunday Times magazine *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for this book has been 'resounding', and \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003erightly so\u003c\/b\u003e: it's truly 'remarkable'. Exploring the tensions of small-town life and 'the limits of human endurance', \u003ci\u003eThe \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eDry\u003c\/i\u003e is a 'chilling murder mystery', said \u003ci\u003eThe Mail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e * The Week *\u003cbr\u003eSolid storytelling that, despite a plethora of flashbacks, never loses momentum, \u003cb\u003estrong characterisation\u003c\/b\u003e and\u003cb\u003e a sense of place so vivid \u003c\/b\u003ethat you can almost feel the blistering heat add up to \u003cb\u003ea remarkably assured debut\u003c\/b\u003e * Laura Wilson, Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of the most assured crime debuts I've encountered in many years \u003c\/b\u003e. . . It \u003cb\u003egrips like a vice\u003c\/b\u003e from first paragraph to last, atmospherically evoking the small town of Kiewarra . . . Told with heart-breaking precision and emotional power . . . \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eIf you read only one crime novel this year make it this one\u003c\/b\u003e * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003eLike \u003ci\u003eTrue Detective\u003c\/i\u003e set in the Australian outback...Amid the worst drought in a century, \u003cb\u003ethe tension and stifling heat running through the small town of Kiewarra crackle off the pages\u003c\/b\u003e * Stylist magazine, this month's most exciting new novels *\u003cbr\u003eSet in a small Australian town during a blistering drought, this creepy and tightly woven tale about a detective investigating a brutal triple-murder is \u003cb\u003egetting huge global attention for all the right reasons - it's brilliant!\u003c\/b\u003e * Heat magazine *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePulse-thumping suspense..\u003c\/b\u003e. Building from the first page, rammed with atmosphere, suspicions, lies and tension, this is \u003cb\u003ea first-class crime debut\u003c\/b\u003e' * Fanny Blake's Great Reads, Woman \u0026amp; Home *\u003cbr\u003eH\u003cb\u003earper brilliantly captures the claustrophobia of small-town Australia \u003c\/b\u003eduring a relentless drought. This is an eminently readable debut \u003cb\u003ewith characters you'll love and characters you'll love to hate\u003c\/b\u003e * Express *\u003cbr\u003eSettle in a comfy chair and read . . . \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e by Jane Harper. This gripping novel charts a policeman's unwilling participation in the investigation of a terrible murder in the town of his youth, and is \u003cb\u003eset to be the biggest crime release of 2017\u003c\/b\u003e * GQ magazine *\u003cbr\u003eTipped to be one of the biggest novels of the year . . .\u003cb\u003ea gripping read\u003c\/b\u003e * Hello magazine *\u003cbr\u003eA welcome antidote to all those Nordic crime novels that make you feel the cold in your bones, \u003cb\u003ethis excellent debut set in the Australian outback had me constantly wiping the sweat from my forehead\u003c\/b\u003e * Sunday Express *\u003cbr\u003eFrom the searing opening, heat, dust and tension rise from the pages of this \u003cb\u003efast moving, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003etightly plotted and \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003einvolving\u003c\/b\u003e thriller * Choice *\u003cbr\u003eThe earth is like a tinderbox, animals lie dead in the fields and the rolling river where Aaron and his friends use to swim and hang out is \"nothing more than a dusty scar in the land\"...The denouement yet again brings us face to face with the pitiless heat and its ramifications...\u003cb\u003eSkilfully written and absorbing\u003c\/b\u003e * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003eI can't remember another first novel that was greeted with such unanimous enthusiasm from readers and reviewers all over the world...\u003cb\u003eI share the universal approval of this book: it is gripping, atmospheric and original\u003c\/b\u003e * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eJane Harper creates an atmosphere of \u003cb\u003esimmering tension\u003c\/b\u003e right from the off. Her version of High Noon in the Outback flickers between past and present to slowly reveal what actually happened between characters who are far more engaging than the cogs usually found in clockwork thrillers * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of the most stunning debuts I've ever read. \u003c\/b\u003eI could feel the searing heat of the Australia setting. Every word is near perfect. The story builds like a wave seeking the purchase of earth before it crashes down and wipes out everything you might have thought about this enthralling tale.\u003cb\u003e Read it!\u003c\/b\u003e * David Baldacci *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of the best crime debuts of 2017\u003c\/b\u003e - literary Broadchurch meets Top of the Lake * Joseph Knox, author of Sirens *\u003cbr\u003eThere is something about isolated communities and secrets and lies that just really intrigues me and \u003cb\u003ethis is one heck of a thriller \u003c\/b\u003ewith all of those things and more . . . [this thriller] slowly bubbles like a pan on a stove and you think you can guess the moment when the pan lid is just going to explode. But it's only been a little while since the water started to bubble, it'll be ages yet.....then BOOM. I had my eye on that pan lid from the start and I didn't guess what would happen. \u003cb\u003eMy heart is still beating like mad days after finishing the book\u003c\/b\u003e * The Book Trail (via NetGalley) *\u003cbr\u003eYou can almost feel the searing heat of the Australian drought in this intense, gripping, atmospheric tale. \u003cb\u003eA compulsive read.\u003c\/b\u003e * Kate Hamer, bestselling author of The Girl in the Red Coat *\u003cbr\u003ePut up your tray table, buckle your seatbelt, and sit back: you've found the right book for this flight. Set in the flash-ready tinder of a town going under, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e is a cracking good read\u003c\/b\u003e that will have you hoping the pilot decides to circle the airport before landing. A hit by land or air. * Laura McBride, author of We Are Called to Rise *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou will feel the heat, taste the dust and blink into the glare. \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ea wonderful crime novel that shines a light into the darkest corner of a sunburnt country\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e * Michael Robotham, CWA Gold Dagger Winner, bestselling author of Life or Death *\u003cbr\u003eEvery so often a debut novel arrives that is so tightly woven and compelling it seems the work of a novelist in her prime. That's what Jane Harper has given us with \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e, a story so true to setting and tone it seemed I fell asleep in Virginia only to wake in Australian heat. It's rare, that sense of transportation, and \u003cb\u003eI loved every minute of it\u003c\/b\u003e * John Hart, New York Times bestselling author of Redemption Road *\u003cbr\u003eTerrific characters, unique and evocative setting, knockout plot construction. \u003cb\u003eThis book has it all\u003c\/b\u003e * John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of The Fall *\u003cbr\u003eEvery now and then an Australian crime novel comes along to \u003cb\u003estop your breath and haunt your dreams\u003c\/b\u003e...There is about \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e something \u003cb\u003emythic and valiant\u003c\/b\u003e. This a story about heroism, the sins of the past, and the struggle to atone * Sydney Morning Herald *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e[A] devastating debut\u003c\/b\u003e...From the ominous opening paragraphs, all the more chilling for their matter-of-factness, Harper ...spins \u003cb\u003ea suspenseful tale of sound and fury\u003c\/b\u003e as riveting as it is horrific * Publishers Weekly, starred review *\u003cbr\u003eA mystery that starts with a sad homecoming quickly turns into \u003cb\u003ea nail-biting thriller\u003c\/b\u003e about family, friends, and forensic accounting. Debut author \u003cb\u003eHarper plots this novel with laser precision\u003c\/b\u003e, keeping suspects in play while dropping in flashbacks that offer readers a full understanding of what really happened. The setting adds layers of meaning. Kiewarra is suffering an epic drought, and Luke's suicide could easily be explained by the failure of his farm. The risk of wildfire, especially in a broken community rife with poverty and alcoholism, keeps nerves strung taut... \u003cb\u003eA chilling story set under a blistering sun, this fine debut will keep readers on edge and awake long past bedtime\u003c\/b\u003e * Kirkus, starred review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA stunner...It's a small-town, big-secrets page-turner with a shocker of an ending\u003c\/b\u003e... * Booklist, starred review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003eone of the most talked-about debuts of the new year\u003c\/b\u003e....Harper's story is tightly plotted and moves briskly, \u003cb\u003ethe tension as brittle and incendiary as the dried-out crops on the Kiewarra farms\u003c\/b\u003e. But it is the beautifully evoked landscape and the portrayal of a gloomy outpost on the edge of a desert that are the stars of the show * BookPage *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA firecracker debut\u003c\/b\u003e . . . \u003cb\u003eJournalist Jane Harper proves literary is \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eoften mysterious\u003c\/b\u003e, with her thriller \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e capturing readers' attention both for its final twist and its depiction of a hostile small Australian town beset by drought * West Australian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIt's extremely rare and exciting to read a debut that enthralls from the very first page\u003c\/b\u003e and then absolutely sticks the landing. Told with heart and guts and an authentic sense of place that simply cannot be faked, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e is the debut of the year\u003c\/b\u003e * C.J. Box, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Off The Grid *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA razor-sharp crime yarn \u003c\/b\u003edripping in the sights, sounds and smells of the Australian bush...The storytelling is accomplished, with a bald sparseness to the writing that draws you in and characterization that rings resoundingly true...as the action twists and turns, the pace build[s] to \u003cb\u003ea fantastic finale that will leave you breathless\u003c\/b\u003e * Australian Women’s Weekly *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA tightly plotted page-turner that kept me reading well into the night\u003c\/b\u003e...Harper shines a light on the highs and lows of rural life - the loyalty born of collective endurance in adversity, as well as the loneliness and isolation, and the havoc wrought by small-town gossip. She also explores the nature of guilt and regret, and the impact of the past on the present. \u003cb\u003eIn this cracker of a book Harper maintains the suspense, with the momentum picking up as it draws to its nerve-wracking conclusion\u003c\/b\u003e * Australian Financial Review *\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003cb\u003ethis exhilarating debut \u003c\/b\u003e(which won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript), Falk goes back to a town ravaged by feelings of resentment and distrust that are exacerbated by drought . . . A community psychologically and socially damaged, Kiewarra resembles Henry Lawson's bush. Australian novelists such as Harper, in a small and select company, are exploring disquieting, imaginative territories, far from the littoral or metropolis * Weekend Australian *\u003cbr\u003eIn Jane Harper's debut \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e, long-held grudges are thrown in the mix to make for an absolute tinderbox - and \u003cb\u003ea cracking \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eread\u003c\/b\u003e. Harper has delivered \u003cb\u003ea tense, evocative thriller\u003c\/b\u003e that paints a stark picture of what desperate times can do to a community. She slowly reveals the deep-worn tensions between characters in the small town, and it's this that makes \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e such a good read . . . \u003cb\u003etension crackles\u003c\/b\u003e . . . It's not surprising that Reese Witherspoon's production company, Pacific Standard, has already snapped up film rights for \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cb\u003eIt has some decidedly \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eAustralian aspects but Harper's basic point - about the desperate things people will do in desperate times - is universal\u003c\/b\u003e * Adeleide Advertiser *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAtmospheric and riveting\u003c\/b\u003e, this remarkable debut announces a significant new talent * Morning Star *\u003cbr\u003eHarper's debut is a superior thriller in which the oppressive heat seems to act like a mirage on the very truth itself * Metro *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis fine crime debut is set in the searing heat \u003c\/b\u003eof an Aussie outback town that's described so well you'll find yourself taking cold showers to wash off the imagined dust and sweat...\u003cb\u003ePlenty of secrets lurking and waiting to be unearthed in this tense yarn \u003c\/b\u003ewhich will have you thirsting for answers and chilled at the atmosphere. \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e's a winner on all levels * Weekend Sport, Five Stars *\u003cbr\u003eI share the universal approval of this book: it is gripping, atmospheric and original * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eForget gloomy, damp Nordic Noir. This is Aussie Arid...A tense, twisting read that \u003ci\u003eGone Girl\u003c\/i\u003e producer Reese Witherspoon has already optioned * Event magazine, Mail on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003eBest page-turner of 2017 * Allison Pearson, Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eHarper's sinuous, expertly crafted narrative is always on shifting sand, leaving the reader almost seasick with uncertainty * Paul Connolly, Metro *\u003cbr\u003eOne of the stand-out crime debuts of 2017 * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eI discovered \u003ci\u003eThe Dry\u003c\/i\u003e by Jane Harper earlier this year and felt the extreme heat and parched earth of the story -- Will Dean, author of Black Pines","brand":"Little, Brown Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48733657760087,"sku":"9780349142111","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780349142111.jpg?v=1720001068","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-dry-9780349142111","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}