I’m a big fan of Jane Harper, so when I read that Hayley Scrivenor’s book Dirt Creek was available from Flatiron Books and NetGalley in return for my honest review, I was looking forward to it – a LOT. For some reason, it was originally publixhed in Australia as Dirt Town, but is renamed as Dirt Creek. Whatever, it’s quite reminiscent of Harper’s book, and also has a fine mystery story told rom multiple points of view. (one of them is sort of a “Greek chorus” representing the town’s children, which isn’t as strange as it might sound. 

A twelve-year-old girl named Esther disappears on the way home from school in a small town in rural Australia, and before long the whole town is filled with grief and suspicion. Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels arrives in town during the hottest spring in decades and begins her investigation, and Esther’s best friend, Ronnie, is determined to find Esther and bring her home.

Lewis, a friend of Ronnie’s,  tells her that he saw Esther with “a strange man” at the creek the afternoon she went missing, and Ronnie feels she is moving closer to finding her friend. But for some reason Lewis won’t talk  to the police.  

The dry and dusty atmosphere reminded me of Jane Harper’s writing about the outback, drought, etc. I sometimes am challenged by multiple POV mysteries, but this one was fine once I settled in and focused on my reading. STRONG debut. Four stars.