Our library system had a line for the ebooks, but lots of hard copies.
I moved up from 120 to 90 in the county-wide library system in about 4 weeks so I think it’s pretty safe to say that I won’t be joining in the discussion for this book. 
I just got a copy from the library today.
On Amazon, it’s only $9.99 for Kindle and $10.99 for paperback. I really hope everyone can join. It won’t be the same without you all!
E-bay has some. A couple were about $7.00 with free shipping. I got mine on E-bay as soon as the title was announced.
I bought the paperback because unlike some of our other selections, *The Dry/i can be passed along to other readers (i.e., my family members!) with disparate tastes. Well-written, evocative, and not too taxing for anyone who just wants a good, quick yarn.
Definitely some magic at work here! I just got a notification that my hold has arrived at the local library. Guess I will be joining the discussion after all. 
I’m visiting S2 for a long weekend and will have lots of time waiting in airports and on planes. I’ve packed it and will be starting it tomorrow.
I finished the book over the weekend and immediately started re-reading it (so I can keep up with all of you when we begin the discussion). Fantastic book.
It is April 1st!!! I am moving this up to the top of the forum. I can’t wait until the discussion begins!!!
Yes, it’s April 1st! Welcome to our discussion of The Dry.
It’s also Easter, so Happy Easter to anyone who celebrates the day! I’m hosting dinner, so if I am AWOL from this discussion today, you’ll know why.
I thought The Dry was an excellent mystery. I suspected almost everyone, depending upon whatever twist the story took. Evocative setting, distinctive characters, lots of secrets — just what you want in a whodunit.
To get the ball rolling, here are some discussion questions for those who find them helpful. (The list is compiled from two different sites, referenced below. If you have questions in the back of your book, you’ll find them here, but in a different order.)
SPOILERS AHEAD. If you haven’t finished The Dry, join us later. Don’t even read the questions!
I’m going to jump in with one of the easier questions. At least I think it’s an easy one, but maybe some of you will disagree.
I think Luke is Lachie’s father, based not only on Luke’s history with Gretchen, but also on Lachie’s baby photo and the strong resemblance to Billy.
Falk acts like he’s discovered a shocking secret when he finds the photo, but I don’t believe for an instant that the good people of Kiewarra hadn’t already discussed Lachie’s parentage ad nauseam years earlier and then quietly put the issue to bed — perhaps as a kindness to Karen. Gretchen may have lied for the same reason, and may also simply have felt some shame over the affair.
It’s interesting that Luke went to the hospital and posed for a photo with the baby. For most men, that would indicate innocence—you’d visit an old friend but not your secret lover—yet Luke isn’t most men. I wouldn’t put it past him to do something so brazen.
I will also answer an easy question:
I thought the Prologue was one of the finest, creepiest pieces of writing I’ve ever read. It never directly states “Three people were killed – one outside, one at the door, and one in his bedroom” – but instead guides you through the scene as if it were a camera. Also the last bit about no one hearing the baby cry was heart-wrenching. Once I read the Prologue, I was hooked on the book.
Regarding who Lachie’s father is – I agree it must be Luke. No one else was ever presented as an alternative. But I found Gretchen one of the most complex characters in the book, and I still haven’t figured her out. I never warmed up to her or understood her motives. Why wouldn’t she let Luke’s parents know that Lachie is also their grandchild? Why didn’t she tell Aaron where she was when Ellie died? (For a while I suspected she was the one who had drowned Ellie and killed Luke’s family.)
And why didn’t Gretchen ever tell someone that Aaron’s alibi for Ellie’s drowning was concocted? It wasn’t only Luke and Aaron who knew; it was Gretchen too.
I agree the prologue was very effective. It also reminded me of A Town Like Alice where the heroine complains to the barkeep that he doesn’t even try to take care of his fly problem. It made me feel instantly like I was back in that small town world. Also as some one who spent several years as a free range kid in Somalia - it’s the same landscape - the same kind of activities - except we didn’t have any water to play in.
I think Luke must be Lachie’s father, but agree much remains unexplained if he is. Gretchen’s motives for all sorts of things don’t really make sense to me.
I did figure as soon as it was mentioned that Aaron was the expert at money based crime that money would be at the heart of the solution.
I can’t say if the mystery was effective, because as I do all too often with mysteries, I just got impatient with it and started looking ahead. Putting the relevant parts in italics made this particularly tempting to do. I’m not convinced that I really liked the sort of journalistic just the facts style of the past scenes vs the single point of view of the present.
I did really enjoy it, but there were a few things that didn’t hang together for me:
The first time (in current events, not flashback) that Aaron sticks his hand in the hole by the “rock tree,” he only comes up with his old lighter, not Ellie’s backpack. The second time he finds the backpack. I thought that was awfully convenient for purposes of suspense.
Luke had injuries to the back of his skull, as a result of Whitlam’s hitting him with rocks packed into a sock hard enough to knock him unconscious. But the autopsy (if there was one – I don’t remember) or Dr. Leigh or the paramedics didn’t notice those hits.
But I’m nitpicking. Every time I ended a chapter, the last sentence made me want to read just one more. It was very exciting.
There’s an explanation for this near the end:
Ohhhhhh!! Thanks, Mary.
I really enjoyed the book. I stayed up several nights later than I wanted to read one more chapter. (As an aside, I love books that have short chapters.)
In question 10 – I think that Erik Falk was right to leave Kiewarra with Aaron. I understand a father having a bit of doubt about his son killing Ellie, but I don’t think it would have been a huge doubt, if it were me.
The problem with a lie is that no one will ever truly believe the truth. Luke lied for Aaron because he didn’t want to admit his affair with Gretchen. The same holds true for Gretchen. Therefore, they both knew that they were in the clear. I don’t know how Aaron could have proven that he went fishing when and where he did. With Ellie’s father throwing out accusations at Erik and Aaron because of their name in her pocket, everything that they said and did was suspect.
I have wondered why the motel that Ellie had made reservations at did not link the name with the disappearance. I am sure that it would have been in the news, and someone would have noticed that the room that there was a no show had the name Falk.
I liked Jane’s writing style. It got right to the point. Her journalism background kept the story tight in my opinion.
^^ I don’t have my book at hand but I think Ellie made her motel reservations under a fake name. She had a fake ID.
I also think Luke is the father of Gretchen’s baby. Why keep it quiet? Well, Luke has no intention of leaving his wife for Gretchen. Why should he? Gretchen accepts the role she’s given - occasional lover and mother of his child. Certainly no one’s life - Luke and family or Gretchen and child - would have been easier in that small community had the truth been known.
So why not admit the truth to Aaron? I just don’t think Gretchen is ready to admit the truth to anyone. Both Gretchen and Luke seem to be expert at sticking with a story no matter what. Maybe Gretchen will tell Luke’s parents later. They’d gain a grandchild but also the knowledge that Luke cheated on Karen and kept a son secret for years. Lots of complications come with the truth.
I’m in two other books, both having read and discussed The Dry. I was surprised that some people in both discussion groups took Gretchen’s story of a one-night stand at face value. I figured the child was Luke’s even before the picture or the fact that he looks like Billy came into play.
Ellie uses Aaron’s name for the reservation:
@silverlady, maybe the story about Falk’s name being on the paper was just local Kiewarra gossip and never traveled three towns over.
I don’t know…I think if all three teens had stayed together, Luke or Gretchen would have eventually told the truth to Aaron, maybe during one of their late night drinking sessions. And perhaps that truth would have somehow led them to Ellie’s father and Grant. Aaron’s departure sort of froze them all mid-trauma, with no closure.
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Me, too! That was something I especially liked about All the Light We Cannot See.
I liked this page turner, impressed with the very intrigue parallel murders, but also a times confused. The author certainly tied up lose ends, except for the paternity of Gretchen’s son. I suspect Luke, but when Gretchen doesn’t agree to tell Luke’s distraught parents, I had doubt. But, the consensus here convinces me Luke was the father.
The last few chapters went into turbo charge, after somewhat of slow down in the middle of the book.
So @veryhappy I,too, am confused. Did Gretchen know for sure Aaron was not the killer ? She knew Luke wasn’t guilty, but then The town would have been known Aaron’s alibi was a lie.Did she suspect Aaron at all ?
Also, as the reader we learn that Mal and Grant are involved. Ellie’s diary explained Falk’s name on slip of paper, and Ellie’s intention to leave, and of the abuse she can’t handle. Are those facts enough to prove Mal killed her and grant covered up? What am I forgetting ??
Side note, it bothered me that both murders involved info on a slip of paper!