The little things that you could have done differently, that’s the stuff that haunts you.

Jane Harper loves to immerse her readers in a location, so it becomes an intrinsic element to the novel. In Exiles, we find ourselves in the deep heart of South Australian wine country, in the fictional town of Marralee.

Aaron Faulk has been asked by his friend Greg Racoe to be his son’s godfather and finds himself drawn into investigating two local cold cases. It’s a year since Kim Gillespie disappeared, leaving her baby alone in her pram at the Marralee Valley Annual Food and Wine Festival. She left not only her newborn, but also a teenage daughter and a grieving husband. Did she commit suicide? Her friends cannot believe she’d abandon her children. Or did something far more sinister happen to her? The other cold case happened five years earlier, and involved the hit-and-run of a popular member of the community, leaving a widow and son to grieve and question why no-one has ever been charged. Are the cases related?

Harper skilfully weaves the investigations of these cases together with an obvious building attraction between Aaron and local woman Gemma. They met once before in Melbourne and the mutual attraction was hard to ignore. Can Aaron ever see himself leaving his hard-earned position as a federal investigator in Melbourne?

This is the third and final book featuring Aaron Falk, so there is time spent with him as he explores his past decisions, and ponders the direction his life is taking. So the book is a slow burn, with a lot of small detail which made me feel like I was there, watching like the proverbial fly on the wall. I liked this detail, but some readers could find it a little slow and tedious.

. What happens to Kim Gillespie is very disturbing, and I feel the book requires a trigger-warning, however, that would give away the final reveal, so I’m torn!

Another cracking good book from our very own Jane Harper!

Jane Harper just keeps getting better! She can put you into the heart of a place so you can hear the wind, smell the air and, in this case, feel the cold, cold sea.
The Survivors is set in a fictional Tasmanian seaside town - overrun by tourists in the summer months, peaceful and dull otherwise. But like all small communities, Evelyn Bay has its secrets. When the body of a young artist is found on the beach, memories of a previous tragedy resurface and secrets start to be revealed.
Harper has again written an accessible and unputdownable crime novel that had me totally engaged. She creates believable characters that the reader can easily empathise with, and the conclusion is satisfying.

The Lost Man is the third novel by Jane Harper and again, she has created a stunning character driven novel that will stay with you long after you finish it.

Whereas her previous novels were crime/detective novels with the same protagonist, The Lost Man is a stand alone story. It is set in outback Queensland, where the landscape is a character in of itself. The pervading heat is relentless. Harper manages to convey a sense of claustrophobia, in a landscape with a limitless sky. Despite the harshness and toil, the land engenders an almost ferocious love and commitment in the people who live on it.

The three Bright brothers all work the land, following in their father’s footsteps. When the middle brother, Cameron, is found dead beside an isolated gravesite, far from his vehicle, the family is devastated and questions start to be asked about Cameron’s state of mind, the state of his marriage and his behaviour as a young man.

This novel is a slow burn: the history and dynamics of this family is slowly revealed as the story progresses, and ‘the reveal’ is truly shocking. It is an almost forensic study of a family in crisis, and how easy it is to assume you know what happens behind closed doors. I cannot say too much as I do not want to spoil this book for any readers.

I listened to this on Audible, and it is narrated by Steve Shanahan, who also narrated Harper’s previous novels for Audible. His interpretation of the characters’ different voices is breathtaking, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. The only difficulty in listening to an audio version of any book is not being able to mark sections that you would like to quote.

Whatever way you ‘read’ this book, I highly recommend it. Jane Harper just keeps getting better and better.

Second novels are always a challenge, and are approached by the author, and the reader, with trepidation. Will it be as good as the first? Jane Harper can breathe a sigh of relief: she has written another fabulous Australian crime novel. In The Dry we are emmersed in the vast landscape of rural Australia during a drought. In Force of Nature we are lost in the claustrophobic density of the Australian bush. Her characters are believable and complex, and the mystery is all that you would hope for - not predictable.
Highly recommended

I listened to this as an audible book and it is a stunning thriller.
Harper’s descriptions of the sun bleached landscape and the community that is imploding under the weight of drought and despair and tragedy are visceral.
I’m not going to rehash the synopsis. I am going to highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a cracker of a murder mystery that is not like all the others.