#Review Exiles by Jane Harper

 

Yet another fantastic read and great story by Jane Harper!

About the Author

Jane Harper is the author of four internationally bestselling Australian mysteries, including The Dry. Her books are published in 40 territories and have sold more than 3 million copies worldwide.

Jane has won numerous top awards including the CWA Gold Dagger, the British Book Awards Crime and Thriller Book of the Year and the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year. The 2021 movie adaptation of The Dry, starring Eric Bana, is one of the highest grossing Australian films of all time.

Jane worked as a print journalist for 13 years in both Australia and the UK, and now lives in Melbourne with her husband, daughter and son. Follow @janeharperautho on Twitter

About the book

A mother disappears from a busy festival on a warm spring night. Her baby lies alone in a pram, her mother's possessions surrounding her, waiting for a return which never comes. A year later, Kim Gillespie's absence still casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather to welcome a new addition to the family.

Joining the celebrations on a rare break from work is federal investigator Aaron Falk, who begins to suspect that all is not as it seems.

As he looks into Kim's case, long-held secrets and resentments begin to come to the fore, secrets that show that her community is not as close as it appears. Falk will have to tread carefully if he is to expose the dark fractures at its heart, but sometimes it takes an outsider to get to the truth...

Review

A young baby abandoned in a pram in full view of everyone at a festival - mother gone and there are no clues to her whereabouts. Aaron Falk just happens to be one of the few witnesses to the events of that evening, and unfortunately the missing woman is connected to the family of good friends of his. 

When he returns a year later and the family jogs memories in the hope of an explanation he realises that there are a few things niggling him, he just can't quite figure out what they are.

Very much a Holmesian fallacy at play here - I couldn't think of a better scenario when the solution is absolutely directly linked to eliminating the impossible. The solution and truth is evident from the very beginning, and I couldn't decide whether that was intentional. It was the only clear possibility no matter which way everyone turned and searched. Was the story really about creating the frame for Falk to view his life in a different way?

The author creates an epi-centre, but the actual story is the surrounding area. Waves of emotions, complex relationship structures, memories and moments of energy and self that Kim has left in the wake of her mysterious disappearance.

I loved it, but then I do enjoy the way Harper writes and plots - I still think about The Lost Man a lot. It's the very specific way the author draws in the environment, the characters and the plot in equal measures. Simultaneously the way the story is fiction and reality - the kind of plot that you recognise in the people and world around you.

Buy Exiles at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Macmillan; pub date 2nd Feb. 2023. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via MacMillan.

The Lost Man by Jane Harper

Harper is undeniably a master of her art. She is a highly skilled storyteller, and her stories are only getting better. I found myself transfixed by the description of the surroundings, the characters and the tale in general. It's the kind of book that makes you skip sleep.

Kudos to Harper for the level of hands-on research it must have taken to be able to pull this story off with such an authentic feel to it. She captures the complete isolation of the surroundings and the strict rules each and every inhabitant of the land has to adhere to in order to survive.

That is the biggest question when the body of Cameron Bright is found in the outback of Queensland. Why didn't he stick to the rules that have been rammed into him since he was a child? The obvious solution, and perhaps the most painful for the family, is that his death was a choice.

The author shines a light on the adverse psychological affect of solitude, loneliness and the almost impossible task of keeping a property or business afloat in these remote areas. The high rates of suicide in rural Australia are on an upwards trend, and men seem especially reluctant to seek help.

With the suspicion of suicide surrounding the death of their brother both Nathan and Bub have to take a closer look at their own mental health. This is particularly the case where Nathan is concerned, because he has been treated like a persona non grata since an unfortunate incident over a decade ago. Imagine being in a remote area and not seeing another person for months on end and then being treated like a pariah when you enter the only place that offers a break from the isolation.

Harper plots with the slow intensity of a predator stalking their prey, and yet she does so in such a warm and inviting way that the reader becomes so engrossed that they can't see what's coming or what is looking right at them.

I really enjoyed where the author took this plot. It was unexpected, but also absolutely necessary. The motive is universal, the repercussions of what proceeds the motive last a lifetime. It's a beautiful slow-burner of a crime set within the outback, with strong characters and a fantastic plot.

Buy The Lost Man at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group; Hardcover pub date 7 Feb 2019, Kindle pub date 23 Oct 2018, Paperback release date 27 June 2019

Follow @janeharperautho @LittleBrownUK, Visit janeharper.com.au

Read my review of Force of Nature by Jane Harper

Force of Nature by Jane Harper

This is how you do modern crime without the vicious twist. Harper plots like an Agatha, lures you in with the vivid imagery of the location and keeps you dangling on a string for the solution. It's well-plotted, has a steady pace and the solution isn't predictable.

Although Aaron Falk is the lead detective and main character Harper doesn't let him overpower the plot, which is a good thing. Sometimes the personal problems and attitude of a main character can completely consume an intelligent and captivating plot.

Five women go on a hike into the Australian bush, but only four come back out. What seems like an innocent exercise in team-building becomes a battle to survive the elements, and not to knock the living daylights out of each other.

Team-building is neither here nor there when you can't stand the people you are supposed to work together with as a team. So when difficulties arise you are more likely to turn on each other instead of helping each other to achieve a common goal.

Alice isn't really very popular with her colleagues. She looks out for herself in life and her career. She is the grown-up version of a mean girl. There are plenty of reasons to dislike Alice in general, there are plenty of reasons for the other four women to dislike Alice, so when they come back and she doesn't the suspicion falls on all of them equally.

Harper is adept at giving the reader the sense of being right there in the bush with those women. Every tree looks the same, every path looks like the one before, and it is easy to feel as if you're being swallowed alive by nature. This is an excellent example of how dangerous the Australian bush is, despite civilisation only being a spit away in this case.

The author writes a captivating read, and it certainly keeps the reader riveted until the end.

Buy Force of Nature at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Follow @janeharperautho @LittleBrownUK