Dirt Creek

I couldn't enjoy a book that was peopled by such a ghastly group of characters. The men were coarse, big bellied, foul mouthed, abusive to their wives and children, misogynistic, violent and .... the list could go on and on. The women lived in fear (as did their children) but seemed unable to either stand up for themselves or leave, taking their children with them. Does anyone else object to the gramatically incorrect use of "like". "Like" is a comparative word, an apple is like a pear, a balloon is not like a baseball. So many times this author uses it in front of a verb "it was like she didn't understand". Whereas "It was as if she didn't understand" is grammatically correct. Pedantic, I know! As you can gather, this book was not for me! I would have given it zero stars if it were possible.

I was disappointed with this apparent slow-burner. It started out alright, but withered away fast. By a hundred pages in it has burned out. The characters were unlikable, didn't behave realistically and the ending was predictable. For a basic plot (unoriginal and rather dull) it was written in such a complicated way I kept skipping the pages until I found myself lacking the attention to merely skim-read. I've read much better based on the exact same story. Chris Whitaker's After The End, for instance, that this felt like a cheap copy.

I am a HUGE fan of Australian crime fiction. I want to read it all, and there are lots of really exciting, interesting writers making their mark on the genre at the moment. So when I saw Scrivenor’s debut was being published, I jumped at the chance to read it. And oh my goodness, what a riveting, emotional ride it was. Definitely an author to watch! Twelve-year-old Esther Bianchi and Ronnie Thompson are best friends. They live in Durton – or Dirt Town or Dirt and Hurt to the locals – which is a bit boring but OK. One day after school Esther goes missing. The whole town turns out to look for her but they’re all aware that their neighbour, their friend could have been the one to abduct the girl. Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels is tasked with finding Esther but the investigation falters at every turn. Someone in Durton knows what’s happened to Esther. Someone in the small, close-knit community knows the truth… Gorgeously dark, evocative and utterly compelling, I thoroughly enjoyed this superb slow burn mystery with its true to life characters, bleak setting and intriguing plot. I adored the voices the author gave the younger characters. They felt so true and real to me that my heart broke for these poor kids whose friend was missing. The emotion, the naivety was all conveyed so beautifully. The other character I adored was Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels who is guilt-ridden following the end of her recent relationship. Her actions play on her mind constantly and I loved how that made the character more human. Sarah is very well-written and I do secretly hope that this is only the start for her and we get to see her feature in future books. The plot is an intriguing slow burn of a read which I savoured every moment of. I didn’t feel the need to sprint my way through Dirt Town at all. I wanted to enjoy every word, every description of this dead end rural Australian town and savour the interactions between the characters as the mystery slowly but steadily unfurled. I wasn’t able to predict whodunit but it was a very satisfying, very surprising reveal. Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Dirt Town is a very atmospheric, incredibly readable tale which I enjoyed every dark and desolate moment of. The setting is exactly the kind of setting I want in my crime fiction novels – a small town on its last legs. I loved the vivid descriptions the author uses to set the scene, putting the reader right there in the middle of things. But the characters were EVERYTHING. Multi-layered, completely believable and totally unforgettable. It’s hard to believe Dirt Town is a debut and I’m excited to see what Scrivenor delivers next. Highly recommended.

EXCERPT: My best friend wore her name, Esther, like a queen wearing her crown at a jaunty angle. She only ever called me Ronnie. I didn't fit the grown woman name I'd been given. The glamorous syllables of Ve-ron-i-ca had nothing to do with me. We were twelve years old when she went missing. I was bossy and solid, shorter than Esther but determined to dictate the terms of our play, the kid who would assign roles when we pretended to be Power Rangers at recess, stomping off in a huff if other kids had their own ideas. But a lot of the time I wasn't getting my own way with Esther so much as saying out loud what she'd already decided she wanted to do. She would hurtle into a room, tongue sticking out, and leap so she landed with her knees bent and legs wide apart. She'd roll her eyes into the back of her head and say, 'Rah!' at peak volume, before streaking out of the room again. I needed things from people, and Esther didn't, not really, and I think that's why I was drawn to her. ABOUT 'DIRT TOWN': On a sweltering Friday afternoon in Durton, best friends Ronnie and Esther leave school together. Esther never makes it home. Ronnie's going to find her, she has a plan. Lewis will help. Their friend can't be gone, Ronnie won't believe it. Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels can believe it, she has seen what people are capable of. She knows more than anyone how, in a moment of weakness, a person can be driven to do something they never thought possible. Lewis can believe it too. But he can't reveal what he saw that afternoon at the creek without exposing his own secret. Five days later, Esther's buried body is discovered. What do we owe the girl who isn't there? MY THOUGHTS: Durton, or Dirt Town as it's known by the locals. The kind of town you can't wait to leave behind as a teenager. The kind of town you come running home to when life goes wrong. The kind of town where everyone thinks they know you and know your business. Where lives are intertwined. An irritant. A solace. But behind closed doors . . . Dirt Town is a slow burn, character driven mystery. The story is told through the collective voices of the children of Durton, WE; Ronnie, Esther's best friend; Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels, the investigating officer on the case; Lewis, who sits with Ronnie and Esther at lunch to avoid being bullied by the other boys; and Constance, Esther's mother. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” - Charles Dickens could easily have been writing about Durton, about the time when Esther Bianchi went missing. The town buzzed with a suppressed excitement at t...

A very impressive Australian novel; quite harrowing in how one "event" can irrevocably change people's lives. The cast of characters so real and yet non stereotypical. Great work.