Last One Out

A new novel by Australian author, Jane Harper, is always something to look forward to. Last One Out is set in a New South Wales town that is rapidly being destroyed by a nearby coal mine. Many of the residents have sold their properties to the mining company and have moved elsewhere. But some are determined to remain. There is resentment from some of the remaining residents to those who have left the town. There is also resentment to the constant noise of the mining machinery and the dust that settles everywhere.

Each year Ro Crowley returns to the town to commemorate with family and friends the memory of her son, Sam, who disappeared on his twenty-first birthday, five years previously.  There are some clues to where he went prior to his disappearance but no-one appears to know where or why he is gone. Sam's father, Griff, still lives in the town but he is about to lose his job and has to decide what to do next. Sam's sister, Della also comes to the town to support her parents. A friend of Griff had committed suicide several years before Sam's disappearance. This therefore is not a happy time for the family or for the community.

However Ro feels that this year she may finally learn the answers regarding the disappearance of her son.

Last One Out is primarily a novel about family and community relationships that develop over time in an outback town. Like Jane Harper's other novels the environment is important. This novel is a study of how people cope with challenges in an outback community under threat. It is also a study of how people cope in times of difficulty plus the determination to discover the truth.

 As Ro investigates, a former friend of Sam makes this statement when talking to community members - 'When Sam asked me why I was still here, it was a bloody good question, and it's one maybe we could all do with making ourselves. ... And to honest about it. Because there's no prize for being the last one out.' (p 308).