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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'My best friend wore her name, Esther, like a queen wearing her crown at a jaunty angle. We were twelve years old when she went missing.
'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?
'Character-rich and propulsive, with a breathtakingly original use of voice and revolving points of view, Hayley Scrivenor delves under the surface, where no one can hide. With emotional depth and sensitivity, this stunning debut shows us how much each person matters in a community that is at once falling apart and coming together.
'Esther will always be a Dirt Town child, as we are its children, still.' (Publication summary)
Notes
-
Author's note:
To my mother, Danina, First, and always.
And for Daniel, for telling me I should.
To all of us, and our disasters.
And for those who don't survive.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
- Large print.
Works about this Work
-
y
Hayley Scrivenor in Conversation
Lyn Yeowart
(interviewer),
2022
24911160
2022
single work
podcast
interview
'Hayley Scrivenor in conversation with fellow author Lyn Yeowart about Scrivenor's debut novel, Dirt Town.'
-
Murder in the Brain-Broiling Heat and Red Dust of the Outback
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The New York Times , 1 July 2022;
— Review of Wake 2022 single work novel ; Dirt Town 2022 single work novel -
Hayley Scrivenor Dirt Town
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 18-24 June 2022;
— Review of Dirt Town 2022 single work novel 'Dirt Town has a simple plot: a girl goes missing, two out-of-town detectives arrive and the father becomes a suspect. Hayley Scrivenor’s debut is billed as a crime novel but the multiple perspectives she employs to elevate a prosaic storyline into a rich community profile reveal her literary ambitions.' (Introduction)
-
Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor Review – Outback Noir That Lives up to the Hype
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 3 June 2022;
— Review of Dirt Town 2022 single work novel'Set in a remote town where a schoolgirl disappears, this debut arrives with high praise from other crime novelists – and it’s truly excellent'
-
‘Propulsive’, ‘Evocative’, ‘Brilliant’ : The Best Australian Books Out in June
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 1 June 2022;
— Review of Horse : A Novel 2022 single work novel ; Our Members Be Unlimited 2022 single work graphic novel non-fiction ; Basin 2022 single work novel ; An Exciting and Vivid Inner Life 2022 selected work short story ; Talking About a Revolution 2022 selected work essay ; Pomegranate and Fig 2022 single work novel ; Dirt Town 2022 single work novel ; The Eulogy 2022 single work novel
-
‘Propulsive’, ‘Evocative’, ‘Brilliant’ : The Best Australian Books Out in June
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 1 June 2022;
— Review of Horse : A Novel 2022 single work novel ; Our Members Be Unlimited 2022 single work graphic novel non-fiction ; Basin 2022 single work novel ; An Exciting and Vivid Inner Life 2022 selected work short story ; Talking About a Revolution 2022 selected work essay ; Pomegranate and Fig 2022 single work novel ; Dirt Town 2022 single work novel ; The Eulogy 2022 single work novel -
Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor Review – Outback Noir That Lives up to the Hype
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 3 June 2022;
— Review of Dirt Town 2022 single work novel'Set in a remote town where a schoolgirl disappears, this debut arrives with high praise from other crime novelists – and it’s truly excellent'
-
Hayley Scrivenor Dirt Town
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 18-24 June 2022;
— Review of Dirt Town 2022 single work novel 'Dirt Town has a simple plot: a girl goes missing, two out-of-town detectives arrive and the father becomes a suspect. Hayley Scrivenor’s debut is billed as a crime novel but the multiple perspectives she employs to elevate a prosaic storyline into a rich community profile reveal her literary ambitions.' (Introduction)
-
Murder in the Brain-Broiling Heat and Red Dust of the Outback
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: The New York Times , 1 July 2022;
— Review of Wake 2022 single work novel ; Dirt Town 2022 single work novel -
y
Hayley Scrivenor in Conversation
Lyn Yeowart
(interviewer),
2022
24911160
2022
single work
podcast
interview
'Hayley Scrivenor in conversation with fellow author Lyn Yeowart about Scrivenor's debut novel, Dirt Town.'
Awards
- 2023 winner Lambda Awards — LGBTQ+ Mystery
- 2023 shortlisted The Danger Prize
- 2023 shortlisted Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing — Best First Novel
- 2023 winner Davitt Award — Best Debut
- 2023 shortlisted Davitt Award — Best Adult Crime Novel