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There are currently 37 member reviews
for Dirt Creek
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Shelley S. (Great Neck, NY)
Dirt Creek- atmospheric and engaging
This was an excellent read, made all the more extraordinary by it being a debut novel. The plot concerns the disappearance of a young school girl in a small country town in Australia and its impact on the people whose lives in some way intersect with hers. The reader knows what has become of the girl from the very beginning minus the motive, culprit or details about her demise. As the story unfolds with chapters told from a variety of points of view, including her friends, family members, a Greek chorus of unnamed children and the detective assigned to the case, we learn about life in a dying town where everyone thinks they know everyone else but the reader discovers there are secrets aplenty to be revealed. The atmosphere of claustrophobia made worse by the intense heat drains the energy of everyone involved and perhaps even the reader as we view the inhabitants struggling to survive without many options resigned to less of a life than they had imagined. The author strikes a perfect balance between moving the story along and creating a pervasively intense atmosphere which is as important as any character.
I have grown weary of what seems to be the compulsory use of different narrators, but this is one of the best books I have read recently able to integrate them in a successful way, after all , each person had a unique relationship with our missing girl and can offer a different perspective. Her depiction of the children who play significant roles seems spot on. The way they speak, the things that seem so major to them that they must be hidden and the impaired judgements seem so believable and add pathos and reality to the story. The twists are definitely of the I didn't see that one coming variety and the ending is quite satisfactory as a result. I greatly appreciated the postscripts of where the characters lives take them well into the future. I do hope that while this tale is told, the detective with a few worries of her own will reappear in a subsequent book and allow us to follow her path into the future as well.
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Margaret A. (Cornelius, NC)
Dirt Creek
This is a very well written crime story set in rural small town Durton, Australia (known by its locals as Dirt Town).
A 12-year-old girl named Esther Bianchi has gone missing and her body is found four days later Everyone in the small town has issues and is suspect. When gay Detective Sergeant Sara Michaels arrives, she and her local partner, Smithy, have to determine what happened to Esther and who is telling the truth
Ms Scrivenor manages to make you feel invested in the characters while keeping you guessing as to what happened to Esther until the very end. It is a fast read I didn't put it down until I finished reading the entire story.
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Mary Jane D. (Arlington Heights, IL)
Kept Me Guessing
I don't usually read mysteries but Dirt Creek is an excellent read! I did not want to put it down until I found out what really happened to Esther. I was drawn into the small rural Australian town with descriptive images. The characters were believable even with their quirks and kept me guessing as to their innocence or guilt. The story developed with layer upon layer of new information and secrets revealed. Hayley Scrivenor's first novel is a winner and I hope she keeps writing!
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Martha G. (Columbia, MO)
Dirt Creek
Hooked from the first page, I became deeply involved with each character. Esther's presence was felt even though she was already absent. The writing style and language were mesmerizing. Some books can be read without reading every word. This one requires the reader to read and process every word, every sentence, every chapter. The word pictures are crystal clear. And, oh, the small town-ness is so apparent! This story is a great read; while a disturbing tale, it is one to be savored, to be talked about, and to be passed on with high recommendations to the next reader. My book club will definitely be made aware of this title!
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Jill S. (Durham, NC)
Page-Turning: We Are All Dirt Town Children
You've read it before – a small town that hides big secrets that burst to the surface when a young person goes missing or is slain. Two books that instantly come to mind are The Dry by Jane Harper and Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips.
Haley Scrivenor is not seeking to recreate the wheel. What she IS looking to do is tell a darn good story that keeps you up past bedtime and engages you with fully dimensional characters who you truly care about.
This cast of characters is backed by a choir of children (the "we" chapters) who live in this claustrophobic town, where everyone knows everything and everybody but in fact, know nothing. Young Esther will always be a Dirt Town child, as we all are – always imperfect, but also always a catalyst for revealing truths about ourselves and where we live.
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Holly H., Ripberger Public Library, VA
Dirt Creek
"Dirt Creek" by Hayley Scrivenor, is an excellent crime thriller debut with intricate storytelling, suspenseful pacing and well-developed characters. The author does a very good job of exploring the impact of both past and present trauma in the residents of a town that is slowly fading from lack of meaningful progress. One feature I enjoyed was giving several children story arcs of their own, including a collective voice of "we." This gave the reader a unique viewpoint into the town, with the perspective of the children both enhancing and contrasting with the experiences of the adults.
As a librarian, I will definitely be ordering this book and recommending it to patrons who enjoy crime fiction and authors such as Jane Harper and Liane Moriarty. As a reader, I hope this is the first of many from this author.
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Roberta W. (Los Ranchos, NM)
Impressive Debut Novel
Esther, a young girl disappears on the way home from school. As the investigation into her disappearance unfolds we learn how interconnected the townspeople are and how they are affected by the girl's disappearance. The setting is in the Australian town of Durton where everyone seems to know each other. There are multiple narrators and they include the children who were Esther's best friends. We learn about the secrets that bind the characters together and how those secrets affect them over time.
While reading this book, I thought of Jane Harper's books and I think Dirt Creek is every bit as good as those.
Scrivenor creates a sense of place along with great well-developed characters. I especially love the way she got into the children's minds. Many authors who use children as narrators make them seem like small adults and that is not the case here. It is so well done that I could put myself back into their age group and remembered how I felt about my best friends.
I was so impressed by this book and can't wait to recommend it to my mystery-loving friends. I have no doubt they will love it too.
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