Force of Nature

by Jane Harper

The girl looked unconvinced, but when she got up to leave, she took her sandwich wrapped in a napkin. Falk and Carmen watched her through the window. At the end of the street, she stopped by a bin. She held the sandwich over the lid for a long while, then with what looked like physical effort, put it in her bag and disappeared around a corner.

  ‘It’s a start, I suppose,’ Falk said. He thought of the hundreds of little things that had added up to go so wrong. Maybe hundreds of little things could add up to go right.

  After a few days thinking at home, Falk had then spent a few more acting. He’d gone to a furniture shop to buy a couple of things, then bought a couple more while he was there.

  Now, he sat in his new armchair in the corner of his flat as a patch of sunlight moved across the carpet. It was comfortable and had been a good decision. It made the place look different. Busier and fuller, but he thought he liked it. And from his new vantage point he could see his latest change clearly.

  The two photographs of him with his father hung on the wall, framed and polished. It changed the feel of the room, but he thought he liked that as well. He had meant what he had said to Lauren at the waterfall. Families can forgive. But it wasn’t enough to mean it, you had to live it.

  Falk looked up now, checking the clock. It was a beautiful Friday afternoon. Carmen was getting married the next day in Sydney. He wished her well. They had never spoken about what had passed between them on the bank of the falls. He sensed for her it was an encounter that was best kept fleeting. He understood. His suit jacket and a wrapped wedding gift were waiting with his bag. Ready for his flight to Sydney.

  It was nearly time to leave, but he thought he had just long enough for a quick call.

  He heard the dial tone down the line and could imagine the phone ringing at the other end in Kiewarra. His hometown. A familiar voice answered.

  ‘Greg Raco speaking.’

  ‘It’s Aaron. Are you busy?’

  A laugh down the phone. ‘No.’

  ‘Still skiving off work?’ Falk said. He pictured the police sergeant at his home. Not back in uniform just yet.

  ‘It’s called convalescence, thanks, mate. And it takes a while.’

  ‘I know,’ Falk said, turning over his own burned hand and examining the skin. He did know. He had been lucky.

  They talked for a while. Things were a little better since the drought had broken. Falk asked after Raco’s daughter. After the Hadler family. All doing okay. And everyone else?

  Raco laughed. ‘Mate, if you’re that curious, maybe you should come and see for yourself.’

  Maybe he should. Eventually, Falk glanced at the clock. He had to get moving. Catch his plane.

  ‘Listen, are you bored with this convalescence of yours yet?’

  ‘Very.’

  ‘I’m thinking of going for a hike. One weekend. If you feel up to it. Something gentle.’

  ‘Yeah. Definitely. That’d be really good,’ Raco said. ‘Where?’

  Falk looked at his dad’s maps spread out on the coffee table in the warmth of the afternoon light. The sun glancing off the picture frames on the wall.

  ‘Anywhere you like. I know some good places.’

  The careful pencil marks showing him the way. There was plenty to explore.

  Acknowledgements

  Once again I am lucky enough to have been surrounded by a wonderful group of people who have helped me in so many different ways.

  A sincere thank you to my editors Cate Paterson at Pan Macmillan, Christine Kopprasch and Amy Einhorn at Flatiron Books, and Clare Smith at Little, Brown, for your faith and unwavering support. Your insight and advice has been invaluable and I am truly grateful for the many extraordinary opportunities you have created for my writing.

  Thank you to Ross Gibb, Mathilda Imlah, Charlotte Ree and Brianne Collins at Pan Macmillan, and to all the talented designers, marketing and sales teams who have worked so hard to bring this book to life.

  I would be lost without the help of my incredible agents Clare Forster at Curtis Brown Australia, Alice Lutyens and Kate Cooper at Curtis Brown UK, Daniel Lazar at Writers House and Jerry Kalajian at the Intellectual Property Group.

  Thank you to Mike Taylor, senior reptile keeper at Healesville Sanctuary, Senior Sergeant Clint Wilson from Victoria Police, and Grampians Gariwerd National Park visitors and community team leader Tammy Schoo, for kindly sharing their knowledge and expertise of native wildlife, search and rescue procedures and camping and hiking techniques. Any mistakes or artistic liberties are my own.

  I am indebted to the many dedicated booksellers who have championed my books with such enthusiasm and, of course, to all the readers who have embraced the stories.

  Thank you to the Elwood mums and their beautiful babies for your warmth and friendship. You have been a beacon of light through it all.

  As always, love and thanks to my wonderful family who have supported me at every step: Mike and Helen Harper, Ellie Harper, Michael Harper, Susan Davenport and Ivy Harper, Peter and Annette Strachan.

  Above all, my deep gratitude to my remarkable husband Peter Strachan – the help you have given me spans years and would fill pages – and to our daughter Charlotte Strachan, our love, who has made us so much more.

  About Jane Harper

  Jane Harper is the author of The Dry, winner of various awards including the 2015 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, the 2017 Indie Award Book of the Year and the 2017 Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year. Rights have been sold in 27 territories worldwide, and film rights optioned to Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea. Jane worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK and lives in Melbourne with her husband and daughter.

  Jane Harper

  The Dry

  WHO REALLY KILLED THE HADLER FAMILY?

  It hasn’t rained in Kiewarra for two years. Tensions in the farming community become unbearable when three members of the Hadler family are discovered shot to death on their property. Everyone assumes Luke Hadler committed suicide after slaughtering his wife and six-year-old son.

  Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk returns to his hometown for the funerals and is unwillingly drawn into the investigation. As suspicion spreads through the town, Falk is forced to confront the community that rejected him twenty years earlier. Because Falk and his childhood friend Luke Hadler shared a secret, one which Luke’s death threatens to unearth . . .

  ‘Every now and then an Australian crime novel comes along to stop your breath and haunt your dreams.’

  sydney morning herald

  ‘One of the most stunning debuts I’ve ever read.’

  David Baldacci

  ‘This is a story about heroism, the sins of the past, and the struggle to atone. But let’s not forget the redbacks, the huntsmen, the rabbit scourge and all that makes this a quintessential Australian story beautifully told.’

  the age

  Accolades and Awards for Jane Harper

  ‘The disruptive revenant has sparked fine Australian fiction, from Patrick White’s The Twyborn Affair to Chris Womersley’s Bereft. 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 territory, far from the littoral or metropolis.’

  Weekend Australian

  ‘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

  ‘Every
now and then an Australian crime novel comes along to stop your breath and haunt your dreams. The Broken Shore by Peter Temple was one, Bitter Wash Road by Garry Disher another. Both are books that capture something profound about the Australian landscape and the people who inhabit it. Both are not just great crime fiction, but great Australian novels. The Dry, by Jane Harper, is another.’

  Sydney Morning Herald

  ‘This is a story about heroism, the sins of the past, and the struggle to atone. But let’s not forget the redbacks, the huntsmen, the rabbit scourge and all that makes this a quintessential Australian story beautifully told.’

  The Age

  ‘There is about The Dry something mythic and valiant.’

  Canberra Times

  ‘Try to set aside one sitting to indulge in journalist Jane Harper’s page-turning debut novel. The pace never falters . . .’

  Daily Telegraph

  ‘The Dry is Melbourne journalist Jane Harper’s first book, and sees her heading into the Peter Temple class of Australian crime fiction . . . in Aaron Falk we’ve been given a compelling and gritty new detective.’

  The Saturday Paper

  ‘In Jane Harper’s debut, The Dry, long-held grudges are thrown into 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.’

  Adelaide Advertiser

  ‘The Dry is a tightly plotted page-turner that kept me reading well into the night. Her characters are achingly real . . . shines a light on the highs and lows of rural life . . . 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

  ‘The book’s prologue is powerful and shockingly addictive . . . wonderful debut . . . a worthy recipient of its pre-release hype.’

  Queensland Times

  ‘Debut author and journalist Jane Harper has produced a razor-sharp crime yarn dripping in the sights, sounds and smells of the Australian bush . . . action twists and turns, the pace building to a fantastic finale that will leave you breathless.’

  Australian Women’s Weekly Book of the Month

  ‘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 (UK)

  ‘The taut crime thriller . . . ignited a bidding war among every major publisher in Australia, with the rights sold to more than twenty territories. The Dry dissects issues of masculinity, alcoholism and domestic violence . . . setting Hollywood ablaze.’

  Who Weekly

  ‘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 (UK)

  ‘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 (UK)

  ‘A stunningly atmospheric read.’

  Val McDermid

  ‘One of the most stunning debuts I’ve ever read. I could feel the searing heat of the Australian 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

  ‘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

  ‘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

  ‘Harper throws out so many teasing possibilities that it’s hard to believe this is her first novel. The Dry is a breathless page-turner’

  Janet Maslin, The New York Times

  This is a work of fiction. Characters, institutions and organisations mentioned in this novel are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously without any intent to describe actual conduct.

  First published 2017 in Macmillan by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd

  1 Market Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 2000

  Copyright © Jane Harper 2017

  The moral right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

  This ebook may not include illustrations and/or photographs that may have been in the print edition.

  The author and the publisher have made every effort to contact copyright holders for material used in this book. Any person or organisation that may have been overlooked should contact the publisher.

  Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available

  from the National Library of Australia

  http://catalogue.nla.gov.au

  EPUB format: 9781760554781

  Typeset by Post Pre-press Group

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