Set in a small town in rural Australia, 12 year Esther goes missing on her way home from school. As the community searches for Esther, the lives of her friends, family, and the police are altered forever. Dirt Creek is a mystery as well as a study of life in a desolate area. I found Dirt Creek by Hayley Scrivenor to be riveting and tension filled. I recommend Dirt Creek to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.
I was given an ARC of Dirt Creek by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

#netgalley
#dirtcreek
#hayleyscrivenor
#mystery

When 12-year-old Ester goes missing after school, the small town of Durton is turned on its side. The town, especially Esther’s best friend Ronnie, is determined to find her. Things like this don’t happen in small towns like Durton, the fact that it has happened has the town questioning whether they don’t know their neighbors as well as they thought.

I primarily listened to the audio version, and I certainly enjoyed the narrator. However, this is such a slow burn that I lost interest a few times when I initially started listening. A lot of that has to do with The Chorus narrator. While the Chorus voice partially narrates’ events as they happen, including giving some history about the town, I don’t tend to enjoy these perspectives and find they make audiobook harder to follow. I found that to be true in this instance as well.

Outside of the Chorus, we have Detective Sarah Michaels, whose portion reads like a police procedural. We also have Lewis and Ronnie as child narrators. Esther’s best friend Ronnie comes across almost younger than her 12 years, provides a peer’s perspective on the events. While Lewis, friend of both Ronnie and Esther, POV’s seems almost a side thought but which is very much integral to the story.

I did enjoy how deeply complex all our characters and narrators were and the way they were all interconnected. The depth Scrivenor has given every character in this book is fabulous and I could really hear the difference between narrators by how they spoke and thought.

While this is a mystery, I wouldn’t classify it as a thriller and found it to be more of a character driven novel. If you enjoy Jane Harper’s books, then you’ll really enjoy this one. I would have liked the story to move at a slightly faster pace, otherwise this was a brilliant debut!

Dirt Creek is out now. Huge thank you to Flatiron Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.

I was given an advance audiobook to review. The following is my own, honest opinion. The book hooked me by being a small town story. I was grabbed. Set in a small town in Australia, couldn’t be that different than a small town in the U.S. everyone knows everyone’s business and news travel insanely fast. There were so many characters what with the kids and their parents, the police, etc. all the people with their own POV moved the story along the author did such a masterful job twisting and redirecting Absolutely would recommend as a great audiobook.Would like to give special thanks to the following for allowing me to review:
#NetGalley
#McMillan Audio
#HayleyScrivenor. I look forward to reading more of her work.
Pub. Date: August, 2022
Go and get your copy now.

Wow, this book did not disappoint. I was pulled in from the beginning and did not see who-done-it, which is one of my favorites! I will be looking for more books by Hayley Scrivenor to add to my TBR!!

#DirtCreek
#NetGalley

I LOVED this book. The writing was fantastic - it was like I was transported to another world. And the narrator was seriously perfect. Audiobook narrators are either a hit or miss - and she was definitely amazing. I know it sounds silly considering the contents of the book, but it was really relaxing to listen to. Like a slow simmer, but comforting.

I have to say, I started out reading the physical copy of DIRT CREEK, but then switched back and forth to the audiobook format, and really preferred it. The narrator, Sophie Loughran really depicted the gritty setting and emotions in this small-town mystery.

Twelve-year-old Esther disappears one day on the way home from school, which sends this small rural town in Australia into a frenzy.

Filled with secrets and multiple POVs, I would recommend for the next mystery seeker.

*many thanks to Flatiron/Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

Great mystery/thriller! Absolutely thrilling! I really enjoyed how the town added to the story, it almost felt like it was a character itself. The characters felt super realistic. Highly recommend!

In the small town of Durton, Australia, a 12 year old goes missing.. It's a town where everyone knows each other and knows the good and bad of the community. So, the mesmerizing plot begins.
The prose is beautifully composed. What I especially enjoyed about this book was its atypical interpretation of a typical plot. What I expected to occur, did not occur. The story has all the elements of intrigue and appeal that kept me reading until I uncovered what had actually happened. The aspects of society today are sensitively discussed and I felt invested in what would and did happen to the characters.
So well done--looking forward to the author's next undertaking.

When Esther Bianchi disappears on a Friday afternoon in Dirt Creek, a rural town in Australia, it affects the entire community. A policewoman from the regional center arrives to take charge of the investigation is met by a local cop who seems to willing and able to work with her. But is he too close to the residents? Red herrings abound in this twisty tale. As in many of the Australian noir genre, the sense of place is key to the story

This was an absolutely fantastic book and listening to it on audiobook brought it a little closer, a little clearer....enough to give you chills. Each character in this book has a story, a piece of the bigger story, but definitely their own piece. When this young girl goes missing, the whole town reacts. Secrets are revealed and more lives changed forever, but WOW, how Hayley Scrivenor brings it all together with a twist and a bang and a whole parade of clues I had not strung together. You should definitely READ THIS BOOK.

Hayley Scrivenor really delivers with this gritty tale of a small town in rural Australia, which is part coming of age story and family drama, and part murder mystery. The characters are raw and real, and the plot is intricately written and fast paced.

The novel features multiple POVs of the children and adults involved, and a Greek Chorus, which is a collective voice of the children of the town after the story. This is a debut mystery, and Scrivenor's writing is impressive! I was most impacted by the depth of the characters and how well she captures the thought processes of the children involved.

This book is perfect for fans of Jane Harper! It is out now - go grab your copy. It's a great choice for a fall or winter read! Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher and author for my advanced readers copy. I also listened to the audio on this book - and the narration really adds depth and character to the story!

This was an enjoyable read with a good mystery and small town locale, which I like. I feel like this book had the workings and all the components for a really good story, but it fell flat in the character development. And with this being a very character driven story, that took away from how good this book could have been. The characters needed more depth and description to make them stand out from all the others. There are a lot of characters and at times it is hard to keep them straight.

My Favorite Kind of Novel! Slow Burning, Character Driven Fiction!

The day twelve-year-old Esther (“Estie”) disappears after school one day, everyone in the small town of Durton, aka Dirt Creek, is completely shocked. Things like that just don’t happen in their town. It’s a good-hearted, warm, wonderful community, after all!

Once Detective Sarah Michaels and her partner start sniffing around, it becomes quite clear that everyone has something to hide and they’d like to keep it that way.

The last person to see Estie was her best friend Ronnie, and Ronnie will do absolutely anything to find her, even if it puts her in harm’s way.

I found the writing here to be stellar and enjoyed the storyline, as character-driven fiction/suspense is my favorite genre. I will say that I guessed the culprit almost immediately, and was impressed that my armchair detective skills were right on the money when all was revealed.

This was a buddy listen with Kaceey and it gave us both much to discuss.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the alc.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This is one of the best thriller/mysteries i have read so far this year. would buy, would read again, will recommend.

What did I just read? Several days after finishing Dirt Creek, I'm still haunted. This debut novel packed a memorable punch. I look forward to the author's next book.

A sad mystery of an abducted 12-year-old. As readers we see the effects on every member of a small town. The perspectives of her friend, law enforcement and town's people are relayed. If this story doesn't make you examine yourself, those around your children, and your child's environment nothing will.

The narrator did a good job.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for accepting my request to read and review Dirt Creek.

I was unable to finish this one. It was so slow moving, and it would say a date and then go back in time with out any mention of it and I was just getting completely lost. I made it to almost 50 percent of the audio but just can't do it.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to listen to an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a slow burn, and an overall depressing story. I wanted to like it, but when it ended, I still wanted more.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced audio book! I really enjoyed this narrator and the entire storyline. It was gut wrenching and really played on the small town collective drama. The story itself also gave multiple perspectives in that you get the kids, detective, and mother’s points of views. Overall, 5 star read for me!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! This a great mystery. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoyed The Dry by Jane Harper. A missing girl in a small town has everyone pointing fingers. Most of the characters are lying about their alibis or stretching the truth about what they know which sends the lead detective on a wild chase to find the truth. I did struggle with all the characters, too many to keep track of for me, and I didn’t really love any of them, but I did grow fond of Dirt town itself, as it reminded me, sadly, of my own small town.

Such a great slow burn mystery! I really enjoyed the story and am super surprised this is a debut novel.

Ronnie’s best friend Esther disappears on her way home from school. They are twelve years old and Ronnie decides to try and find her friend. Two detectives are assigned the case and end up speaking to the whole of this small town. This story definitely kept me guessing! I loved the detectives on this case, the lead female detective’s character was perfect even in her flaws.

The audio was amazing, as it always is with Macmillan Audio! ♡︎♡︎♡︎ Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this ALC in exchange of my honest review.