Based on how awesome the movie The Dry was that I watched a couple weeks ago, I knew I had to get my hands on the debut novel written by Jane Harper. Because the movie was so well reviewed, I just knew that the book would be equally as awesome if not better. It is quite rare for a film adaptation of a novel to do so well, and in this case, be so faithful.
I don’t know that there will be much for me to review here, because the film covered everything so freaking well! I mean, a lot of the dialogue was word for word! Aaron comes back to his desert town of Kiwarra, Australia to attend the funeral of his childhood best friend Luke, his wife, and son in what was dubbed a murder-suicide. A lot of people in town are shocked by the revelation, but then don’t seem quite as surprised given how depressing the situation in Kiwarra has been for the last several years.
Equally as surprising to the town is the reappearance of Aaron, who was run out of town after one of his friends, Ellie Deacon, was found dead in the river. With Aaron’s name on a note that was found, everyone assumes Aaron is the culprit, although Luke makes sure he’s got an alibi, even if it is a lie. That doesn’t stop Ellie’s abusive father from making their lives a living hell before successfully getting rid of them. With Aaron being back and town and stirring the pot at the request of Luke’s parents, he’s making enemies all over again.
That is of course, with the exception of the new sheriff, Greg Raco. As Aaron goes to dig into the paperwork, he runs into Raco looking through a shed. He notices that the cartridges found among the crime scenes don’t match what’s at Luke’s house. This is the catalyst of a lot of thread-pulling, which leads to quite a few uncovered secrets. It’s hard to tell who’s really to blame for the young families death, because it could be a whole host of people. Luke included. In a town this small you’d think there wouldn’t be any secrets, but it seems to be what everyone is best at.
Again, so many good twists and turns in this mystery novel that was expertly adapted to the screen. You really can’t go wrong with tackling either or both of these mediums. The story is so great you might as well do both! Perhaps the only difference I found were the descriptions of people’s appearances. I don’t really think it made any amount of difference, so kudos to Jane and the people who casted the film. I get the feeling that this film and book will be at the top of my “best” lists at the end of the year.