Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Jane Harper - The Dry Overnight I finished Jane Harper’s novel - a story I found difficult to put down until I reached the last page. For a first novel it is outstanding. The author writes in beautiful, descriptive language and, at the same time, keeps socking the reader between the eyes with the revelations that unfold in this terrible story of a brutal family murder in an outback country town - a town that seeps with anger, bitterness, violence, oppressive heat and blow-flies. As a reader I came to feel either a strong affinity or hate/anger towards each character. It’s that kind of book. The characters are developed so well that I am still thinking about them as real people as I write this review. I appreciated the details of country life and the little things described that only people who have lived in small Australian outback towns can fully appreciate. The complexity of the story - the “whodunit?” builds almost to screaming level by the time the truth starts to emerge. Beyond solving the brutal murder of three family members, we become immersed in other powerful stories from twenty years back that could be linked with the current crime. Or are they? This is a five out of five novel for me and I’ll certainly be looking out for Jane Harper’s future novels.