Dirt Town (Hayley Scrivenor, Macmillan) 

Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor is a complex and multi-layered whodunnit, peppered with red-herrings and shocking revelations. In the rural New South Wales town of Durton, a young girl, Esther, is missing—initially presumed a runaway, then believed kidnapped. Her story, the town’s story and the lead detective’s story alternate throughout the novel, weaving the rich history of an unfulfilled community, full of lives and potential cut tragically short. Skilfully using the collective voices of the town’s children—in chapters marked ‘We’—as almost a Greek chorus observing the main narrative, the author layers the story with facts about Durton’s history, glimpses into what happened on the fateful day of Esther’s disappearance and the eventual fallout of long-buried secrets. Scrivenor cleverly knits the voices of several characters together to bring us this story of small-town life and isolation, childhood, motherhood, trauma and grief. Everyone is a suspect in Esther’s disappearance, and no one can escape the long-reaching ramifications of past and present actions. Dirt Town is an absolute must for lovers of Australian crime. With her first novel Scrivenor joins the likes of Jane Harper and Chris Hammer by delving into the nuances of rural Australian life—the landscape, the politics and the relationships—and is no doubt one of the genre’s most exciting new talents. Dirt Town is a powerhouse of an Australian crime debut. 

Kate Frawley is a bookseller and the manager of the Sun Bookshop. Read her interview with Hayley Scrivenor about Dirt Town here.

Category: Reviews