Jane Harper is the author of the international bestsellers The Dry, Force of Nature and The Lost Man. Her books are published in more than forty territories worldwide, and The Dry has been released as a major film starring Eric Bana. Jane has won numerous top awards including the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel, the British Book Awards Crime and Thriller Book of the Year, the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year and the Australian Indie Awards Book of the Year. Jane worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK and now lives in Melbourne.
My crime novel of the year is Jane Harper's The Dry...The savage
beauty of the landscape makes an unforgettable setting'
*Joan Smith, Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year 2017*
A book that has atmosphere to spare, as well as a pleasing number
of twists and turns. Elegant and gripping
*Ian Rankin, Guardian Best Books of 2017*
Australian first-timer Jane Harper suggested a potential torrent of
talent with The Dry, 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, in the tense
setting of a landcape where it hasn't rained for two years, Harper
slowly but thrillingly reveals where the truth lies.
*Mark Lawson, Guardian Best Crime Books and Thrillers of 2017*
Jane Harper's The Dry has 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. Harper
depicts it 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
*Jake Kerridge, the Best Thrillers and Crime Fiction of 2017,
Telegraph*
It 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*
Harper's debut novel is The Dry, a crime thriller making its way up
The Sunday Times 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, a whodunit
that evokes the punishing landscape and searing aridity so
convincingly, you expect a heat haze to shimmer above the page
*Culture, Sunday Times*
Wonderfully atmospheric, The Dry is both a riveting murder mystery
and a beautifully wrought picture of a rural community under
extreme pressure
*Mail on Sunday Thriller of the Week, January 2017*
I devoured it in just over 24 hours...Spellbinding
*Ian Rankin*
A stunningly atmospheric read
*Val McDermid, bestselling author of Out of Bounds*
A cracking small-town thriller wound tight by desperation in a
deadly Australian drought
*Hilary Spurling, Spectator Books of the Year*
An 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. This could
be the start of an Antipodean wave that will overtake Scandi
noir
*Evening Standard, The Most Talked About Books of the Summer*
This superb debut from a British-born, Australia-based journalist
grips like a vice 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...Told 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
*Daily Mail, Best Books for the Summer 2017*
The writing is fantastic, 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. What comes next is a series of
twists and turns that will keep you guessing all the way until the
end. I repeatedly found myself shocked and pulled in by Harper's
fast paced and engrossing writing. Truly a fantastic read and
hopefully the first of many to come from Ms. Harper
*An Amazon Best Book of January 2017, Amazon.com*
A sad, beautifully told tale of lives regretted
*The Times*
'Jane Harper's fleet novel about a triple killing is packed with
sneaky moves and teasing possibilities that keep the reader
guessing...The Dry is a breathless page-turner...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...The Dry 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.) But
Ms Hadler has made her own major mark long before any film version
comes along
*New York Times*
Read The Dry by Jane Harper. Gripping murder mystery; brilliant
sense of place
*India Knight, Sunday Times magazine*
Praise for this book has been 'resounding', and rightly so: it's
truly 'remarkable'. Exploring the tensions of small-town life and
'the limits of human endurance', The Dry is a 'chilling murder
mystery', said The Mail on Sunday
*The Week*
Solid storytelling that, despite a plethora of flashbacks, never
loses momentum, strong characterisation and a sense of place so
vivid that you can almost feel the blistering heat add up to a
remarkably assured debut
*Laura Wilson, Guardian*
One of the most assured crime debuts I've encountered in many years
. . . It grips like a vice from first paragraph to last,
atmospherically evoking the small town of Kiewarra . . . Told with
heart-breaking precision and emotional power . . . If you read only
one crime novel this year make it this one
*Daily Mail*
Like True Detective set in the Australian outback...Amid the worst
drought in a century, the tension and stifling heat running through
the small town of Kiewarra crackle off the pages
*Stylist magazine, this month's most exciting new novels*
Set in a small Australian town during a blistering drought, this
creepy and tightly woven tale about a detective investigating a
brutal triple-murder is getting huge global attention for all the
right reasons - it's brilliant!
*Heat magazine*
Pulse-thumping suspense... Building from the first page, rammed
with atmosphere, suspicions, lies and tension, this is a
first-class crime debut'
*Fanny Blake's Great Reads, Woman & Home*
Harper brilliantly captures the claustrophobia of small-town
Australia during a relentless drought. This is an eminently
readable debut with characters you'll love and characters you'll
love to hate
*Express*
Settle in a comfy chair and read . . . The Dry 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
set to be the biggest crime release of 2017
*GQ magazine*
Tipped to be one of the biggest novels of the year . . .a gripping
read
*Hello magazine*
A welcome antidote to all those Nordic crime novels that make you
feel the cold in your bones, this excellent debut set in the
Australian outback had me constantly wiping the sweat from my
forehead
*Sunday Express*
From the searing opening, heat, dust and tension rise from the
pages of this fast moving, tightly plotted and involving
thriller
*Choice*
The 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...Skilfully written and absorbing
*Financial Times*
I can't remember another first novel that was greeted with such
unanimous enthusiasm from readers and reviewers all over the
world...I share the universal approval of this book: it is
gripping, atmospheric and original
*Literary Review*
Jane Harper creates an atmosphere of simmering tension 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*
One of the most stunning debuts I've ever read. I 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. Read it!
*David Baldacci*
One of the best crime debuts of 2017 - literary Broadchurch meets
Top of the Lake
*Joseph Knox, author of Sirens*
There is something about isolated communities and secrets and lies
that just really intrigues me and this is one heck of a thriller
with 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. My heart is still beating
like mad days after finishing the book
*The Book Trail (via NetGalley)*
You can almost feel the searing heat of the Australian drought in
this intense, gripping, atmospheric tale. A compulsive read.
*Kate Hamer, bestselling author of The Girl in the Red Coat*
Put 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, The Dry is a cracking good read 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*
You will feel the heat, taste the dust and blink into the glare.
The Dry is a wonderful crime novel that shines a light into the
darkest corner of a sunburnt country
*Michael Robotham, CWA Gold Dagger Winner, bestselling author of
Life or Death*
Every 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 The Dry, 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 I
loved every minute of it
*John Hart, New York Times bestselling author of Redemption
Road*
Terrific characters, unique and evocative setting, knockout plot
construction. This book has it all
*John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of The Fall*
Every now and then an Australian crime novel comes along to stop
your breath and haunt your dreams...There is about The Dry
something mythic and valiant. This a story about heroism, the sins
of the past, and the struggle to atone
*Sydney Morning Herald*
[A] devastating debut...From the ominous opening paragraphs, all
the more chilling for their matter-of-factness, Harper ...spins a
suspenseful tale of sound and fury as riveting as it is
horrific
*Publishers Weekly, starred review*
A mystery that starts with a sad homecoming quickly turns into a
nail-biting thriller about family, friends, and forensic
accounting. Debut author Harper plots this novel with laser
precision, 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... A chilling story set under a blistering sun, this fine
debut will keep readers on edge and awake long past bedtime
*Kirkus, starred review*
A stunner...It's a small-town, big-secrets page-turner with a
shocker of an ending...
*Booklist, starred review*
The Dry is one of the most talked-about debuts of the new
year....Harper's story is tightly plotted and moves briskly, the
tension as brittle and incendiary as the dried-out crops on the
Kiewarra farms. 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*
A firecracker debut . . . Journalist Jane Harper proves literary is
often mysterious, with her thriller The Dry capturing readers'
attention both for its final twist and its depiction of a hostile
small Australian town beset by drought
*West Australian*
It's extremely rare and exciting to read a debut that enthralls
from the very first page and then absolutely sticks the landing.
Told with heart and guts and an authentic sense of place that
simply cannot be faked, The Dry is the debut of the year
*C.J. Box, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Off The
Grid*
A razor-sharp crime yarn dripping 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 a fantastic finale that will
leave you breathless
*Australian Women’s Weekly*
A tightly plotted page-turner that kept me reading well into the
night...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. In this cracker of a book Harper
maintains the suspense, with the momentum picking up as it draws to
its nerve-wracking conclusion
*Australian Financial Review*
In this exhilarating debut (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*
In Jane Harper's debut The Dry, long-held grudges are thrown in the
mix to make for an absolute tinderbox - and a cracking read. Harper
has delivered a tense, evocative thriller 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 The Dry such a good read . . .
tension crackles . . . It's not surprising that Reese Witherspoon's
production company, Pacific Standard, has already snapped up film
rights for The Dry. It has some decidedly Australian aspects but
Harper's basic point - about the desperate things people will do in
desperate times - is universal
*Adeleide Advertiser*
Atmospheric and riveting, this remarkable debut announces a
significant new talent
*Morning Star*
Harper's debut is a superior thriller in which the oppressive heat
seems to act like a mirage on the very truth itself
*Metro*
This fine crime debut is set in the searing heat of an Aussie
outback town that's described so well you'll find yourself taking
cold showers to wash off the imagined dust and sweat...Plenty of
secrets lurking and waiting to be unearthed in this tense yarn
which will have you thirsting for answers and chilled at the
atmosphere. The Dry's a winner on all levels
*Weekend Sport, Five Stars*
I share the universal approval of this book: it is gripping,
atmospheric and original
*Literary Review*
Forget gloomy, damp Nordic Noir. This is Aussie Arid...A tense,
twisting read that Gone Girl producer Reese Witherspoon has already
optioned
*Event magazine, Mail on Sunday*
Best page-turner of 2017
*Allison Pearson, Telegraph*
Harper's sinuous, expertly crafted narrative is always on shifting
sand, leaving the reader almost seasick with uncertainty
*Paul Connolly, Metro*
One of the stand-out crime debuts of 2017
*Guardian*
I discovered The Dry by Jane Harper earlier this year and felt the
extreme heat and parched earth of the story
*Will Dean, author of Black Pines*
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