Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Series: Aaron Falk #1
Page Count: 328
Publication Year: 2017
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Summary:
*cough cough* “It’s so hot and dry. You better not light a match or we’ll all die, that’s how hot it is. *cough cough*
“My childhood friend killed his family and committed suicide. Now I’m at the funeral realizing everyone has rekindled their hatred for me. Wait a minute mate, you want me to stay and investigate the murders? Well, okay, I guess I’ll stick around.”
I thought the title simply described the Australian landscape. Turns out it worked for the characters and story too.
The MC had nothing going for him, being as lively and interesting as an empty desert.
This book's been praised for great writing and atmosphere and how it's a fantastic debut. For some mystery/thriller thing, the plot went nowhere for ages. All they did was talk about this and that, constantly go from person to person and discard all the recently gathered info. That’s how mysteries usually work but at least other ones have compelling people and locations and general intrigue. I guess every interesting thing died in the drought and all we got was the crusty aftermath. Heck, the MC even says at one point he doesn’t know why he and the dead guy were friends. Then why should I care, mate?
The ending picked up a bit but not enough to revive the gently smoldering remains of my attention and curiosity.
Do yourself a favor and skip this one.
Check out my rating here.