A solid small town mystery taking place in the drought-laden Kiewarra, Australia. You will never forget it's Australia either, on account of the consistent mention of spiders and venomous snakes.

I have nothing new or exciting to say about this story; it was an enjoyable read, but I wasn't champing at the bit to find out whodunit. The loose ends left by

finding out narratively that Ellie's father was the cause of her death, but will never be blamed strengthened the overall novel for me - not everything can be fixed and tied into a neat little bow.

Still, connection to Aaron Falk, our protagonist, never fully happened for me. Emotional investment in the character, if not the plot, is very important to me personally and it fell flat. I can only give The Dry a steady three stars.