books

So you've just finished The Dry? Here's what to read next.

Jane Harper's best-selling, groundbreaking first novel The Dry is the kind of book you read and then immediately Google 'books like The Dry' so you can get more twist-filled Australian mysteries onto your reading schedule. 

After reading the last page of The Dry you immediately want to be sucked into another Australian community so you can uncover its biggest secrets and lies (with the help of a ridiculously good looking, tall Eric Bana-ish Aaron Faulk type character). 

To help you out, we've rounded up a bunch of unputdownable thrillers from more Australian authors. 

The Lost Man by Jane Harper 

Image: Pan Macmillan Australia. 

I can't write a story about Jane Harper's books without mentioning... the others. 

They're all brilliant and you should add The Lost Man, The Survivors and Force of Nature to your to-read pile immediately. 

The Lost Man is Harper's third book and her most unputdownable in my opinion. 

Set on a remote property in Queensland, The Lost Man follows the story of Nathan Bright who is forced to confront his own past and his family's secrets when his younger brother Cameron is found dead on the family's property a few days before Christmas. 

The book features a twist that will make you gasp out loud. 

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth 

Image: Pan Macmillan Australia. 

No one writes domestic thrillers better than Sally Hepworth and her latest book, The Good Sister, is one of her best yet. 

The Good Sister is set in Melbourne and follows twin sisters Rose and Fern Castle. 

Years ago, Fern did something bad, and Rose protected her. 

Now Rose can't have a baby and Fern thinks this is the perfect opportunity for her to pay Fern back for everything she's done for her. She just needs to find a father. It shouldn't be that hard, right? 

Tell Me Lies by J.P. Pomare 

Image: Hachette Australia. 

I sat down to read Tell Me Lies by J.P. Pomare one Saturday afternoon in December and hardly moved for the next six hours. Once I'd read the final page, I clicked onto my Instagram and told everyone they needed to read it. Immediately. 

Tell Me Lies is a fast-paced psychological thriller set in an affluent suburb in Melbourne. Psychologist Margot Scott seems to have the picture-perfect life – a thriving private practice, a nice house in the suburbs, an adoring husband, and two healthy and happy children. 

But Margot made a mistake early in her career that she's never been fully honest about. Then there is the suspicious behaviour of several of her patients. 

Full of twists and turns, Tell Me Lies is the perfect page-turner for fans of Jane Harper, Pip Drysdale and Gillian Flynn

The Family Doctor by Debra Oswald

Image: Allen and Unwin. 

The Family Doctor is the latest thriller from the creator of Offspring

It follows the story of Paula, a suburban GP who is left devastated when her friend and children are killed by their estranged husband and father. 

When a new patient comes into her surgery claiming she's a victim of domestic violence, Paula has to ask herself how far she will go to protect this family. 

The Family Doctor is the perfect page-turner for fans of Jane Harper and Sally Hepworth. 

The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey.

Image: Allen and Unwin. 

When a beautiful young teacher is murdered and her body is found in the lake, strewn with red roses, local policewoman Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock pushes to be assigned to the case,. 

What Gemma doesn't tell anyone is that she actually knew the murdered woman in high school years before.

The Dark Lake is an addictive crime thriller, a mesmerising account of one woman's descent into deceit and madness, and it already has fans racing to the final page all around the world. 

For more like this: 

The 7 books everyone will be reading in March.

"I just... sobbed." The 10 books we couldn't put down this month.

9 unmissable books written by Australian women in 2020.

Related Stories

Recommended