I have never lived in a small town, but my grandparents did. I remember asking my grandmother about the neighbors next door or the people we met on the street or in the little grocery store.  What fascinated me is that there was never a short answer to that question. First the genealogy was given and then their relationship to our family, if any, and then where they went to church and then some discussion of any success, scandal, or sorrow that they might have had. I was always amazed at how much my grandmother knew about everyone.  The Dry is about just such a small town and what happens when  of one of their own is murdered.

In the middle of a severe drought and soaring temperatures, Aaron Falk, a federal agent, returns to his hometown for the funeral of his best friend, Luke.  Aaron and his father left town decades ago, because the town was convinced that Aaron had something to do with the death of a high school friend. Luke had been his alibi then and Aaron had avoided being arrested, but the suspicion and the town gossip made it impossible to stay. Now Aaron is back, but he soon discovers that his friend’s death is not as straight forward as the local police want to make it seem. Reluctantly, after Luke’s parents beg him to stay, Aaron begins to look into his friend’s death,  He soon finds that in a small town the past is always present and that in order to solve Luke’s murder he must first confront the past with its buried secrets and unsolved mysteries in order to find the real motive for this present day crime. But small towns are reluctant to give up their secrets and Aaron soon finds that as he gets closer to the truth, the more dangerous it becomes.

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Marian and Sharon

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