Federal Agent Aaron Falk returns to his drought stricken hometown in the outback to attend the funeral of his childhood mate Luke, his wife and son. Luke’s father begs Aaron to investigate the deaths, positive that his son would have never taken his own life, or the lives of his wife and child. Aaron agrees that Luke wasn’t capable of such a crime, and he also thinks that if a man was determined to murder his whole family he would have killed all of them including his infant daughter. Besides wanting to think the best of his childhood friend Aaron has another reason to investigate. Luke’s father brought up the death of Ellie, a friend of Luke and Aaron’s whose body was found in the river when the boys were teenagers. Luke and Aaron were each other’s alibis, but Luke’s father knows the boys weren’t together that day. Did Luke commit the crimes against his family? And if he didn’t, who else has a motive? Will we ever find out what happened to Ellie all those years ago?
This book turned into more of a police procedural than the thriller I expected, and I’m okay with that. Aaron teams up with the local police (a man who had the misfortunate to start the job days before the triple homicide) to piece together what really happened that day. Of course they uncover inconsistencies that make them question if Luke was the killer. Aaron also has to deal with returning home and all the animosity many in the town feel towards him since many think he holds some responsibility for Ellie’s death.
I’m very happy I was reading this while the rain poured down outside. I felt parched just reading about this town suffering through a two year drought. Tension, and tempers, are high as crops and livestock suffer and die and the fortunes of the town die with them. A well-constructed mystery that leaves you guessing just a bit, not too much, at the end.
