Like most detective stories, The Dry explores the concept of justice, examining how institutions like law enforcement both succeed and fail in carrying out justice. Protagonist Falk is both an insider and an outsider to conventional justice: though he is a police officer, he finds himself investigating a case outside his usual field of work and off the record after the original police investigative team make serious errors. Falk’s position as an unofficial investigator sometimes leaves him at a disadvantage, as he lacks the resources of a larger police department, and it occasionally puts him at the mercy of violent local men like Dow and Deacon who would use force to silence Falk. Additionally, Falk is rarely truly outside the system, due to his close partnership with the head of the local police station, Sergeant Raco. Nevertheless, Falk’s main advantage as an unofficial detective is that it allows him to cut through bureaucracy and red tape. Unlike the Clyde police, Falk doesn’t have to worry about justifying his investigation to any superiors—instead, he can do whatever it takes to search for the truth.
While the novel suggests that Falk and Raco’s more independent methods of investigation are superior to bureaucracy-laden official police work, particularly in a small community like Kiewarra, the novel also shows how injustice can persist in a community even with the dedicated work of people like Falk. While Falk succeeds in apprehending the murderer of Luke, Karen, and Billy, the ending of the novel leaves it ambiguous as to what happens to Deacon, who murdered Falk’s childhood friend Ellie 20 years ago and also got away with violently abusing her for several years. And so, despite The Dry’s depictions of the shortcomings of traditional institutions of justice, it nevertheless shows how motivated people can work with an existing system to attain justice, if not for all then at least for some.
Related Themes from Other Texts
Justice ThemeTracker
Justice Quotes in The Dry
Luke lied. You lied. Be at the funeral.
He’d always assumed Luke had been found in the ute’s driver’s seat, but the images showed his body flat on its back in the cargo tray. The lip of the tray was open and Luke’s legs dangled over as though he’d been sitting on the edge. A shotgun by his side pointed towards the mess where his head would have been. His face was completely missing.
It would have been easy to miss, but when Falk thought about it afterwards, he felt sure. In the corner of his vision, Mrs. Sullivan had jerked her pale gaze up in surprise. She’d stared at her grandson for barely half a moment before casting her eyes back down. Falk had watched closely, but she didn’t look up again once.
“Scott,” she began, then stopped. He waited. She took a deep breath. “Scott, to be honest, I wasn’t sure about coming to you with this. My husband—” Karen held his gaze, but Whitlam felt she was forcing herself. “Luke, well. Look, he wouldn’t be happy.”
“I’m trying to keep Kiewarra safe for our kids. Is that too much to ask? Haven’t things been bad enough? I know you didn’t have much time for Karen, but you could at least show some respect, Gretchen.”
“Christ, it’s like Deliverance around here sometimes.”
“Did you do it?”
“I’m not judging you for being gay, mate. I’m judging you for wasting our time when a family’s lying dead.”
Falk leaned over him, ignoring the dog as it bared its teeth. He stood over an ill man lying on the ground. Later he would hate himself for it. At that moment, he didn’t care.
“These gambling types are fair old suckers, though. Always looking for strategies and loopholes. End of the day, it only works if you back the right horse.”
“It was never about Luke.”
“Stay back,” he said, rotating his hand. Falk caught a first glint of metal and his brain screamed gun, while a deeper part flitted frantically, trying to process what he was seeing. Raco tensed next to him. Whitlam unfolded his hand finger by finger, and Falk’s breath left his chest. He heard Raco groan long and deep. A thousand times worse than a gun.
It was a lighter.
If my dad finds out, he will kill me.
The sun was gone and night had fallen around him, he realized. Above the gum trees, the stars were bright. He wasn’t worried. He knew the way. As he walked back to Kiewarra, a cool breeze blew.
