The Dry - Jane Harper

Synopsis:
A small town hides big secrets in The Dry, an atmospheric, page-turning debut mystery by award-winning author Jane Harper.

After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a cloud of suspicion, saved from prosecution only because of Luke’s steadfast claim that the boys had been together at the time of the crime. But now more than one person knows they didn’t tell the truth back then, and Luke is dead.

Amid the worst drought in a century, Falk and the local detective question what really happened to Luke. As Falk reluctantly investigates to see if there’s more to Luke’s death than there seems to be, long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies that have haunted them. And Falk will find that small towns have always hidden big secrets.

Review: (I'm going to try to not give away too much)

You're thrown into the deep end when you begin this book, Aaron Falk returns to his hometown after decades away to attend the funeral of his childhood best friend Luke. The majority of the town believes Luke had shot his eldest son and wife dead in their family home before killing himself in a clearing not far from his house. The town accept it and grieve the loss of the family as well as trying to get by in a drought.

Aaron Falk doesn't want to stay in the town longer than a day, but after the funeral Luke’s father approaches him asking him for help and he just can't refuse. He agrees to stay a little longer but after that he's definitely gone.

Each and every day Falk has is interesting, When certain things happen we get to see a little into the past of the Aaron all the way back to when it was him and his best friend Luke as they hung out with 2 other friends.

The characters were so well written,so interesting and engaging. I loved how much of a great main character Aaron was. It was just so exciting to see him pull all of the pieces of the puzzle together. Thankfully there was no super sloppy romance like some of the other novels of this genre that I have read. It was quite nice to spend the large majority of the story on the main plot line instead of swerving off to a out of place romance.

I enjoyed how quickly the tide would turn, you'd be lead in one direction and you'd believe you had it all figured out and then all of a sudden you're ripped away and in the other direction taking you back to square one. It kept me gripped and I found it hard to put down.

The ending took me completely by surprise and other did have to sit in silence for half an hour after finishing it, clutching it to my chest trying to fully absorb everything I had felt I had experienced.

Jane did an amazing job right from the start, she created scenes so well written I swear I could feel the hot unforgiving sun bearing down on me. It is an incredible thrilling debut from Jane and I can't wait to see what else she has up her sleeves for us in the future.

It's a 5/5 from me, it'd be an 11/10 if I went that high. It's a definite must read for some of you out there that just can't wait to sink into a mystery. Give it a shot and let's see if you can figure it out before the end what happened to the Hadler family.

Aunt Edna’s Money

So aunt Edna and I weren't exactly best buddies but when the inevitable man dressed in black came to her door and knocked 3 times before being let in, Edna passed everything down to me. We all knew the end was close with her, she had recently been wanting more time with each of us separately and even then that was the first time I had seen her and spoken to her face to face in over 5 years.

I had heard stories about my Aunt Edna, some of them I could believe, others I could not, but even this moment now I could not believe her whole estate was mine. I had read her will and all the terms which included instructions on what to do so that wretched unlikable cousin of mine, Wilfred got none of it.

Meeting up with my aunt for the first time in over 5 years was nerve wrecking but all of those nerves simply melted away when we drank at a great little coffee shop and spoke of music and books. Even after all of the bad stories I had heard about the woman, she was the most likable person I had met and we clearly bonded. She had expressed her concern for her own health as she leant back arched over the table holding firmly to my hands, then she expressed her concern of Wilfred who she feared would do anything to take all she had once she had passed but against my wishes she dropped the subject quickly and got back to talking about books.

As I browsed the isles of the old bookstore we shared a love for days after her death, I couldn't help but think of wretched Wilfred and the rules in my aunts will. I run my fingers over the spines of many books, picking out those which caught my attention before adding them to my pile at the counter. by the time I was finished I had bought many hundreds of pounds worth of books but it was all in the name of inspiration and research.

You see my aunts wishes were to be cremated, and not only that, but her ashes mixed in with ink, which she believed I could use to create a masterpiece of a book manuscript with within a year, and now I browse the same bookstore, looking over a small crowd of people who had gathered for the unveiling of the book now available in store. The main characters name? Edna of course.

Post Apocalypstic Wasteland

So much war
So much death.

The screens in my bunker had shown it me all, the day I came down here I was 17, and by my count I now stand at a very old 67. My skin has begun to loosen, my sight worsen and I cant hear anything anymore, which when war is raging seems best. I had always been sure I would die by the time I was 40 but I had defeated my own expectations and although the war is still raging on outside of my pimped out bunker I can longer stand the sight of the same old 4 walls. They had been my only company for 50 years.

my knees shaking as I climb the steps, my breathing becoming a harder chore by the second. By the time I reach the door I deliberate on waiting another day and turning around and walking back down the steps but I know this is my only chance to see what it our there with my own eyes.

I push the door open, the seal of protection breaking within a second. The air barely changes and I I take my first weary step outside. The once green grass now stood yellow and weathered, the soil bumpy in random places. The air was thick with the smell of smoke yet none was visible. I circle the bunker, no building stood for a fair mile and a half and those that did were unstable.

There was no sign of life, I was truly alone. 50 years in a bunker to avoid what seems to be an endless war but now I was going to continue living in a bunker knowing I had avoided a war for no reason.

I circle the bunker one last time,sloeer than before taking in all I could before climbing back down the steps in my bunker closing the door after myself with a heavy heart and stinging eyes.