Short Review: Heart-wrenchingly raw; this is the story of a missing girl, a detective grappling with her past mistakes, a dirt town, and all the lives within. I'm still wiping away tears. All the stars.

"We know that: none of us can escape who we are when others aren't looking; we can't guess what we're capable of until it's too late."

Long Review: Where do I find the words to describe this book? The story completely submerges you and doesn't let you come up for air. The characters are so amazingly real you feel like you've known them for years even though you just met them. They will stick with you long after you turn the last page. Sarah, Ronnie, Esther, and sweet, sweet Lewis I am so thankful to have met you.

Easily one of my top books of the year. Get this one on your must read list.

So much more than a mystery--
Dirt Creek, its lyrical prose masterfully narrated by Sophie Loughran, is a mystery, yes; but more than that, it is an exploration of the human condition. Set in a dried-up and nearly forgotten small town in rural Australia, the landscape itself seems bent on erasing the lives of its inhabitants.
Hayley Scrivenor creates characters who are simultaneously distinct and archetypal. The men, women and children of Durton are like so many others around Australia and the world: struggling with keeping a family going; navigating relationships, secrets, and lies. And trying desperately to maintain their balance in a world where every decision seems to lead them deeper into darkness. Sarah Michaels, a missing persons detective with her own trouble haunting her, arrives and is soon embroiled in the town's dysfunction. Her doubts about her own actions color her perception of the situation around her and add an even more personal connection to the story of Esther's disappearance; she is an imperfect person trying her best to reestablish order in a world which seems bent on perpetuating chaos.
In alternating points of view, including that of the We--a Greek chorus of voices of all the children of the town, past and present--and spanning only a short time, the story of Esther's disappearance and the subsequent investigation reveal the slow-motion unravelling of this small town and its people. As connection leads to connection, and finally to revelation, readers are carried not only through the steps of a police investigation, but also through the ways our human frailty creates ripples which resound through people's lives forever. Like the red dust coating everything in Durton, this story will stick with readers long after the story has ended.

In a small Australian town, when 12 year old Esther goes missing, Detective Sarah Michaels arrives to help solve the case. She immerses herself into the entwines lives of the people of this rural Australian town in order to locate the missing girl.
I found the storytelling from author, Hayley Scrivenor very, very unique. The tale was told from many viewpoints of various characters. Perhaps the most unique was Scrivenor’s ability to vacillate from 3rd person point of view (from many characters), to a collective 1st person point of view. Not many authors could pull this off! Beautifully executed and made the story even more interesting. Well done and I highly recommend.
***Huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Durton is a dry Australian town, small enough that everyone knows everyone, but not so small that bad things don't happen. On her way home from school, twelve-year-old Esther disappears without a trace, and there is a plethora of suspects. Dark secrets are exposed, and the town is left reeling in their wake.

Told from multiple perspectives, this slow-paced thriller uses a unique device known as the "Greek chorus". In addition to specific characters telling their sides of the story, one perspective is known as "We"; this refers to the unknown children of Durton, telling the story from their collective viewpoint. The "We" chapters feel eerie in a way, and they add to the creep factor of the book.

My biggest issue with the book is the unnecessary animal abuse. I honestly think it made no difference to the story, so I'd rather it wasn't there. Animal abuse is my only trigger. Maybe think twice about this one if you feel the same way. 3.5 stars

This book was very well written and I enjoyed it overall. It fell apart for me toward the end, and completely lost me for most of the last quarter. It took itself much too seriously. Just tell me a good story. I don't need a running commentary of the world in general.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review.
Wow, this story was very attention grabbing and I wanted to be pulled in and know more and more as I kept going. I enjoyed the way this story was told from multiple point of views, and the we point of view. I also like that the end kind of wrapped up all of our main characters and we got to see a little bit of their lives and kind of how everybody was affected by this.
I loved that I got to jump around from theory to theory in this story with the main detective and the best friend. I got quite a few different suspects throughout the story, but the ending definitely was not what I was expecting.
If you like a murder mystery that definitely could be a true story, that follows multiple point of views, and is fast paced, or can be listened to why you do your daily to do lists definitely check this story out. I was able to listen to this why I did other things it was very captivating I didn't see the ending coming. I listen to 8 hours of it in sitting it was very interesting.
I think my only issue with it in audio form was I got confused time to time about which person we were talking about, but that's probably because I didn't have a copy to read from.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for allowing me to listen to an ARC of Dirt Creek.
Some reviewers have said this is The Dry redux. Not so. This is a debut novel by an Australian, Hayley Scrivenor, read wonderfully by an Australian narrator, and depicts a number of families with many daily problems. And there the similarities stop.
This is a story about a young girl who goes missing and the many people involved trying to find her. There are multiple points of view. The detective, Sarah Michaels, who is gay, just out of a relationship and sometimes distracted by pondering her own behavior in the relationship. There are two children, Ronnie, the missing girl's best friend, and Lewis, friends with both girls. We hear all their voices plus a greek chorus of town voices.
Al the men seem suspect. Everyone seems to be just getting by so it wasn't unusual to have people living on the edge doing strange things. It's a small town and people keep their mouths shut. Ronnie is the one who cares the most and is determined to find out what happened to her friend.

I really enjoyed this book. Scrivenor is a good writer. She gets the 12-year-old voices right. Things move slowly which was fine with me. The tension had a chance to build up without Scrivenor throwing in unbelievable issue.

The narrator was terrific. Her Australian accent just cemented where all this action and inaction took place.

This is not The Dry. And it is not "a copy". It is a great story. Read it!

I requested this ARC because it was described as The Dry meets Everything I Never Told You. I loved both of those books! However, Dirt Creek just fell flat for me. It was just an okay read, I did not love it, but I did not absolutely hate it either. It’s a debut novel and I found the pace a little slow. I also felt the narration was just ok.

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

This debut about a small Australian town where a young girl goes missing really worked for me. Esther’s disappearance brings to light multiple secrets of the townspeople. There’s spousal, child and dog abuse, rape, teenagers exploring their sexuality, drugs. It’s a busy book told from multiple POVs, including a Greek chorus of unknown young children.
This isn’t a quick paced mystery by any stretch. DS Sarah Michaels is brought in to investigate. There’s only one real clue and Michaels quickly focuses on one man. But as the story plays out, additional potential suspects come to light. I never saw the eventual ending.
I was surprised how emotional this book was. It’s not the typical police procedural. For a book with this many POVs, each of the characters were fairly well developed. I also liked that it gave us a glimpse of what happened after the crime was solved and we see how the young children turn out.
Scrivener’s strength is in giving you a strong sense of time and place.
I had both the book and the audiobook. Sophia Loughran was the narrator for the audiobook. While she did a great job with the kids’ voices, her voice didn’t work for the adults.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook! This one hooked me from the beginning and kept me on my toes!

3.5 stars

There's something in the water in Dirt Creek; these folks all share a secretive, sinister *something*, and the focal point of this shared peculiarity becomes apparent in tandem with the disappearance of a young girl.

What makes the creepiness more apparent is the shared perspective that comprises the novel. The perspective characters are intriguing, though I did find myself struggling to connect with one throughout (sorry, Lewis), but the most unexpected and related highlight comes in the "We" chapters. These chapters feature joint voices of the town, and they offer an interesting "A Rose for Emily" sense of being both within and without. I really enjoyed this part, and I am certain that this feature will be what I remember most overall.

There are some added great features here, including a well-timed and planned reveal, but there are a couple of issues that I struggled with and expect others might, too: animal abuse and the repeated discussion of a specific occurrence of rape. These were both too much for me, and when I'm thinking about recommending this one, I'll be adding in strong warnings for both areas.

Overall, this is a quiet and intriguing mystery, and I will definitely look forward to more from this author.

I related to this book a lot because of the small town feel of it. The everyone knows everyone vibes, the drugs because everyone is trying to make a buck, and the secrets that tie all of those small town people together. Plus, those that finally leave that small town.

I will say this book kept me in suspense and I genuinely did not see the end of it coming. I had no idea what really had to Esther and all my guesses were incredibly wrong. It was a good surprise but, ultimately, anticlimactic too. Once I realized what happened I was just so disappointed!

I’ve also seen other reviews on the Greek Chorus and I tend to agree- they just didn’t work well for me. I get why they were included but it was also not my favorite part of the book.

Jane Harper read-alike, anyone?


DIRT CREEK is just the type of literary police procedural I love. In the oppressive heat of a rural Australian town, twelve year old Esther goes missing on her way home from school.

The story is told from multiple POVs, including Esther’s school friends as well as a collective “we”/Greek chorus of children in the town. This stylistic narrative choice made for a unique read as the mystery slowly unfolded. Readers are led down multiple paths of suspicion which kept me invested in the outcome.

This debut by Australian native Hayley Scrivenor is reminiscent of my favorite Jane Harper novels. This atmospheric mystery has such a strong sense of place; the gritty small town setting was a character in its own right.

The audiobook wasso well narrated by Sophie Loughran. Her Australian accent helped set the tone for the story and added to the atmospheric setting.

I love the way the author explored various expressions of grief, complicated community dynamics, and the ways in which we move forward after a staggering tragedy. This book would yield a fascinating book club discussion.

Be sure to pick up DIRT CREEK when it releases this summer!

RATING: 4.5/5 (rounded up to 5)
PUBLICATION DATE: August 2, 2022

A big thank you to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an electronic ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Review will be posted to www.instagram.com/kellyhook.readsbooks in advance of publication date.

DS Sarah Michaels has arrive to take up in her new post in a small Australian town during one of the hottest years on record. She’s got a big case on her hands – trying to find 12 year old Esther, who has disappeared. Meanwhile, Esther’s best friend, Ronnie, decides to take matters into her own hands and begins her own investigation. She learns Esther was seen talking to a man by a local creek the day she disappeared, but the boy who witnessed the interaction refuses to speak to the police. As Ronnie continues to dig it becomes clear that there are more people who know things about Esther’s disappearance. The question is – why do they refuse to talk? This is a thrilling mystery with one of the most appealing young heroines I’ve “met” in quite a while

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