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Dirt: Evil in the Heartland
The sinister tone prevails throughout the entire novel, and will keep you turning pages even deep into the night. The psychological aspect of character development of each of the boys is absolutely brilliant, and will keep you guessing what is about to happen to the very last page. You will not see the end coming! A highly recommended, gritty read!
Ellie Midwood, Author of “The Girl from Berlin” Series, 5 Stars
Dirt: Evil in the Heartland’s narrative has all the descriptive prowess and small town charm of a Stephen King classic, landing the reader in a vivid setting with Arvilla, grounding them in reality before terrible and tragic events take place. Goetz’s best work so far.
K.C. Finn for Readers’ Favorite, 5 Stars
Dirt: Evil in the Heartland illustrates the essence of emotional upheaval. It plays havoc with your heart and mind. You love and hate characters. You love and hate the simplicity and hardship of the rural setting… The narrative dips and dives and twists and turns and, at the precise moment, plummets into the shocking climatic turning point…The conclusion is one you will never forget.
Cheryl E. Rodriguez for Readers’ Favorite, 5 Stars
What a powerful story! Dirt: Evil in the Heartland by John P. Goetz captures your attention and holds you riveted until the very end and even beyond. Portrayed with amazing depth, the characters become so real you can imagine sitting down and having a drink with them, listening to their stories, and feeling their pain. Reading Dirt not only provides you with a thrilling story but something much deeper to ponder long after the last page is finished.
Melinda Hills for Readers’ Favorite, 5 Stars
Dirt, Danny, and Booger. The boys struggle to escape bucolic fly-over country, and define their lives beyond the dirt roads, dust, tractors, cold and the dysfunctional relationships that grow wild in the same dirt as the wheat, durum, corn, and oats.
The trio takes you down the unpaved roads of Arvilla, North Dakota, population 313, to their farms, in a close-up look at the little-known life of farming in rural America. Conflict, loss, abuse, and misbehavior pervade their interactions and are accommodated and accepted by all as part of the secret life on a farm. It’s just nobody’s business.
One boy escapes, only to regret the new, exciting life he was so sure he wanted and worked hard to attain. The other two young men remain in Arvilla. Only the gruesome discovery of a female body at a meat processing plant, and the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of many other young women, reunites the three friends when one of them is accused of the horrifying serial murder of women with profiles on luvafarmer.com.
Ellie Midwood, Author of “The Girl from Berlin” Series, 5 Stars
Dirt: Evil in the Heartland’s narrative has all the descriptive prowess and small town charm of a Stephen King classic, landing the reader in a vivid setting with Arvilla, grounding them in reality before terrible and tragic events take place. Goetz’s best work so far.
K.C. Finn for Readers’ Favorite, 5 Stars
Dirt: Evil in the Heartland illustrates the essence of emotional upheaval. It plays havoc with your heart and mind. You love and hate characters. You love and hate the simplicity and hardship of the rural setting… The narrative dips and dives and twists and turns and, at the precise moment, plummets into the shocking climatic turning point…The conclusion is one you will never forget.
Cheryl E. Rodriguez for Readers’ Favorite, 5 Stars
What a powerful story! Dirt: Evil in the Heartland by John P. Goetz captures your attention and holds you riveted until the very end and even beyond. Portrayed with amazing depth, the characters become so real you can imagine sitting down and having a drink with them, listening to their stories, and feeling their pain. Reading Dirt not only provides you with a thrilling story but something much deeper to ponder long after the last page is finished.
Melinda Hills for Readers’ Favorite, 5 Stars
Dirt, Danny, and Booger. The boys struggle to escape bucolic fly-over country, and define their lives beyond the dirt roads, dust, tractors, cold and the dysfunctional relationships that grow wild in the same dirt as the wheat, durum, corn, and oats.
The trio takes you down the unpaved roads of Arvilla, North Dakota, population 313, to their farms, in a close-up look at the little-known life of farming in rural America. Conflict, loss, abuse, and misbehavior pervade their interactions and are accommodated and accepted by all as part of the secret life on a farm. It’s just nobody’s business.
One boy escapes, only to regret the new, exciting life he was so sure he wanted and worked hard to attain. The other two young men remain in Arvilla. Only the gruesome discovery of a female body at a meat processing plant, and the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of many other young women, reunites the three friends when one of them is accused of the horrifying serial murder of women with profiles on luvafarmer.com.
584 pages, Paperback
Published February 19, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 16, 2025
After 584 pages I truly did not want this book to end, it was such an easy read I absolutely flew through it and loved it!
November 19, 2016
How fun and totally creepy!!
Growing up about a mile and a half away from John and his family near Arvilla, ND makes this scary and creepy tale feel like a part of my childhood as well as Daniel, Booger and Dirt. I recognize so many of the nicknames and places where I went to school with John's older sister, Marie, and the 5 Lee kids and the 5 Goetz kids often played together a few miles outside of Arvilla and rode the daily school bus to Larimore. My mother, too, is afflicted with Alzheimer's and is in a memory center in Northwood, ND, where I was born and Mom grew up. She does not know me anymore, however, and, while words were once such an important part of her life as a journalist, she no longer can find the words to express herself, and has become more of a child-like person than my mother, but I know that her faith and mine promises that we will be together again one day I the afterlife, and the God is with her every day as well. Thanks, John, for another thoroughly enjoyable tale!
Growing up about a mile and a half away from John and his family near Arvilla, ND makes this scary and creepy tale feel like a part of my childhood as well as Daniel, Booger and Dirt. I recognize so many of the nicknames and places where I went to school with John's older sister, Marie, and the 5 Lee kids and the 5 Goetz kids often played together a few miles outside of Arvilla and rode the daily school bus to Larimore. My mother, too, is afflicted with Alzheimer's and is in a memory center in Northwood, ND, where I was born and Mom grew up. She does not know me anymore, however, and, while words were once such an important part of her life as a journalist, she no longer can find the words to express herself, and has become more of a child-like person than my mother, but I know that her faith and mine promises that we will be together again one day I the afterlife, and the God is with her every day as well. Thanks, John, for another thoroughly enjoyable tale!
March 24, 2026
This book was so interesting! I was eager to keep reading and was invested in the characters. So many twists and turns and even a sweet romance in the background. Highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews