Mysteries/Thrillers | Darling Rose Gold, The Keeper, & Force of Nature

Aside from romance, I also find myself reaching for the occasional crime novel or fast-paced thriller as my comfort reads. It sounds strange if I put it that way, but what I consider to be ‘comfort reads’ are books that can quickly transport or distract me, and thrillers can be very absorbing.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been very lucky with the genre lately. Here are my reviews of Stephanie Wrobel’s Darling Rose Gold (2020) and Jessica Moor’s The Keeper (2020), two of my most anticipated thrillers this year which turned out to be disappointments. Thankfully, I just finished Jane Harper’s Force of Nature (2017) this week, which turned out to be very satisfying.

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Mini-Reviews | Murder Mysteries: The Dry & After I’m Gone

THE DRY by Jane Harper (Published by MacMillan Australia in 2016)

My Rating: ★★★★☆

In The Dry, Aaron Falk, a Melbourne-based police officer who works with the financial intelligence unit, returns to his hometown for the funeral of his childhood friend, Luke Hadler, and his wife and six-year-old son. The story goes that Luke shot his wife and son first before committing suicide himself. Falk was initially content to take the story at face value, but he was persuaded by Luke’s parents to extend his stay in order to take another look at the crime. As it happens, things don’t quite add up, and we follow Falk as he investigates the possible murder of the Hadlers and confronts his own painful past in his hometown.