The Dry

The Dry is the 2016 bestselling debut novel by Australian author Jane Harper. The book has won numerous international awards and has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide. A feature film adaptation of the novel is due for release in August 2020, directed by Robert Connolly and starring Eric Bana.

Synopsis 
Federal Police agent Aaron Falk returns to the struggling farming community of Kiewarra for the funeral of his childhood best friend, Luke Hadler. Severe drought has put the town under extreme pressure and the community is shocked but not surprised when the Hadler family is found dead in their farmhouse. While Falk is loath to confront the townspeople who rejected him twenty years earlier, the mystery around the deaths of the Hadlers compels him to dig deeper into the events leading up to the tragedy.

Reception 
The Dry has won multiple major awards, including the British Book Award for Crime & Thriller Book of the Year 2018, the UK Crime Writer's Association Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel 2017, the Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year Award 2017, Amazon Best Mystery and Thriller Novel Award 2017, Goodreads Choice Award for Best Mystery Thriller and Best Debut 2017, the Australian Book Industry Award for Australian Book of the Year 2017, the Indie Book Award for Book of the Year 2017, the Barry Award for Best First Novel of 2017.

Film adaptation 
The film rights for The Dry were optioned by producers Bruna Papandrea and Reese Witherspoon in 2015. It was announced in November 2018 that Eric Bana would star in the lead role of Aaron Falk, along with Genevieve O'Reilly as Gretchen and Kier O'Donnell as Raco.

Principal photography began in March 2019 in the state of Victoria, including the Wimmera region.

The film is due for release on 27 August 2020.

References

Category:English-language films
Category:Australian films
Category:2020 films
Category:Australian crime drama films
Category:Films based on Australian novels
Category:Films shot in Victoria (Australia)