The Dry by Jane Harper

The Dry by Jane Harper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 336

Publisher - Abacus

Source - bought

Blurb From Goodreads

A small town hides big secrets in this atmospheric, page-turning debut mystery by award-winning author Jane Harper.
In the grip of the worst drought in a century, the farming community of Kiewarra is facing life and death choices daily when three members of a local family are found brutally slain.
Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk reluctantly returns to his hometown for the funeral of his childhood friend, loath to face the townsfolk who turned their backs on him twenty years earlier.
But as questions mount, Falk is forced to probe deeper into the deaths of the Hadler family. Because Falk and Luke Hadler shared a secret. A secret Falk thought was long buried. A secret Luke's death now threatens to bring to the surface in this small Australian town, as old wounds bleed into new ones.


My review

Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk is heading back to his small town home, left under a dark cloud and now no choice but to return. His childhood friend Luke and his family are dead by murder/suicide. Aaron can't quite believe it but on some level maybe just maybe could Luke have really have done this atrocity?

Aaron doesn't get the most warm welcome, the small town is facing the worst drought in one hundred years which is affecting everyone and tempers are raised. Whilst Aaron and one officer unofficially look into the deaths Aaron also has to face the wrath of what he ran from. Small towns don't forget and everything must be answered for.

This is part police investigation, a bit psychological thriller, small town mentality and intrigue as we flip between present and the past with the lead up what led Aaron to leave town. Violence, secrets, lies, friendships, small town mentality and all the jazz that comes with it. You have the two deaths/timelines also the effects of the drought on the towns people and the stresses/issues that brings too. Different but interesting and book one, I will be looking out for the next in the series, 4/5 for me.

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Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 352

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

HER PERFECT LIFE IS A PERFECT LIE.

As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve.

But Ani has a secret.

There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.

With a singular voice and twists you won’t see coming, Luckiest Girl Alive explores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to “have it all” and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that's bigger than it first appears.

The question remains: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for—or, will it at long last, set Ani free?


My Review

Ani is living the high life, engaged to a dreamboat who gives her money to cover every wish she could have. Working on a big magazine, she has the status and labels she dreamed of as a kid. Ani has a past though and she cannot quite outrun it. The past always has a way of coming to the present and Ani will need to deal with her past and the consequences it brings.

The book goes back and forth, past and present, to when Ani was TifAni and all she wanted was status and respect in her peer group. A lot happens when Ani was a teenager, horrific things that are hinted at or referred to in passing in the present. We know it was something bad and now they want her side of the story. In actual fact there is quite a few horrific and unsettling things, Ani being in positions that have shocking consequences. Peer pressure, wanting to fit into the "it crowd", vulnerability, abuse, sexual content, manipulation, relationships, friendships are only scratching the surface.

For me Ani was not a likeable character, she is shallow, very focused on materialistic things however once we get into her past you can understand her a bit better. The majority of characters I found very unlikable but sometimes these characters make for absolutely compelling reading, we have all came across some of these horrors.

It is a busy wee book with a lot of heavy, emotive, enraging topics covered and I would have liked to have seen more depth explored for them. As the book jumps past to present to only get small coverage on certain things covered however it kept my attention as I wanted to know how it all played out. The book does well to keep you on your toes and I can honestly say I never seen a lot of what came to pass. This was 3.5/5 for me, I have another by this author on my tbrm and look forward to it. Also, a lot of quotes said this book is like Gone Girl, if you go into this with no comparisons to that I think you will enjoy it much more, they are very different books!

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The Bone Keeper by Luca Veste

The Bone Keeper by Luca Veste
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 400

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Source - Amazon

Blurb from Goodreads

What if the figure that haunted your nightmares as child, the myth of the man in the woods, was real?

He'll slice your flesh.
Your bones he'll keep.

Twenty years ago, four teenagers went exploring in the local woods, trying to find to the supposed home of The Bone Keeper. Only three returned.

Now, a woman is found wandering the streets of Liverpool, horrifically injured, claiming to have fled the Bone Keeper. Investigating officer DC Louise Henderson must convince sceptical colleagues that this urban myth might be flesh and blood. But when a body is unearthed in the woodland the woman has fled from, the case takes on a much darker tone.

The disappeared have been found. And their killer is watching every move the police make.

The brilliant new police procedural from Luca Veste, featuring series characters Murphy and Rossi - a guaranteed page-turner.



My Review

We open with some young kids spooking each other, taunting over the legend that is The Bone Keeper. A chilling rhyme the kids sing about a boogey man who skins your flesh and keeps your bones. At the beginning of the book her brother goes missing and we come to present day. Louise Henderson is a cop called out to a case. When the woman tells them she was attacked by the Bone Keeper Louse and her partner react differently. Louise very much believes the legends could be real and is trying to keep on top of her anxiety. As the case progresses they have to consider could the legend of the bogey man actually be real after all?

So this is one of those reads that if you had tales of a local bogey man growing up then this will grab you quickly. Police procedural with an attack on a female being investigated, the victim is claiming it was the bogey man so initially they don't think much of it. As they investigate things get a little big spooky and eerie. There are a few parts to the book, Before and Now, Now is present Day, Before goes back to the kids messing around and one going missing. The Bone Keeper Legend and then Louise being the main character and her personal issues whilst trying to keep on top of an active investigation.

The chapters are short which I love, it took me a wee bit to get into and I wasn't always sure where the story was heading. By the end things you read earlier start to click but for a wee bit I wasn't too sure. Veste tackles a few things in the book and brings together police procedure with horror and chilling moments. Good for a night with the lights off and a wee candle, I also think this would work really well as a movie, 3.5/5 for me this time.

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