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).

Exiles

In Exiles by Jane Harper, Aaron Falk is visiting friends in the wine region of South Australia where he has agreed to be godfather to their young son. The baptism had been postponed for twelve months when Kim, a family member, disappeared leaving her young baby in her pram in a car park. Kim was still missing a year later.

Six years earlier Dean Tozer had been killed in a hit and run accident while walking his dog near a reservoir. His body was found six months later but the case was never solved.

Aaron is a member of the Australian Federal Police investigating financial crime. Two of the guests at the house are also policemen so the inability for the local police to solve the disappearance of one person and the death of another in a small rural community is a topic of discussion. 

The Marralee Valley Food and Wine Festival is being held providing the opportunity to canvass whether anyone has new evidence, particularly regarding Kim's disappearance. Kim's daughter, Zara, and Dean's son, Joel, have joined forces to try and discover what happened to their parents and why.

As family members arrive for the baptism, Aaron tries to analyse who may be withholding relevant information. He and another policeman, Greg Raco, go over what is known in an attempt to discover new information. They come to the conclusion - We see what we expect to see. Someone knows what happened and has misdirected police. What is the true story and what really happened to Kim?

Jane Harper has provided a slow moving description of a family living in a small rural community. The novel explores family dynamics and the unease that can exist in family relationships. The environment also has a powerful influence in the novel.

In Marralee Aaron renews his frienship with Gemma Tozer and is faced with a life changing decision. Another Australian novel well worth reading.

Shortlisted for the 2023 Australian Book Industry Awards - General Fiction

The Survivors

Another suspenseful novel from Australian author, Jane Harper. Unlike her previous novels set in outback communities or in mountain ranges, this story is set in Evelyn Bay on the southern coast of Tasmania, a popular seaside location in the summer. However the tourist season is over when Kieran, Mia and their new baby return to the town where they grew up to assist Kieran's mother, Verity, sort through and pack up years of belongings as she and her husband, Brian, need to move to the city. Brian has dementia and needs special care.

Many of their former friends still live in Evelyn Bay but it soon becomes obvious that Kieran's return revives tensions in the town as he was considered to be responsible for an accident that occurred twelve years previously, an accident resulting in the death of his brother, Finn, and Finn's friend, Toby. Kieran has never forgiven himself for what happened that day and the guilt he feels brings back bad memories and fears. 

When a young girl is discovered murdered on the beach shortly after Kieran and Mia arrive the tensions in the town increase, new accusations arise and hidden secrets are exposed. The unsolved disappearance of a fourteen year old girl at the same time of the drowning of the two young men also needs to be solved.

As in her other novels the landscape is a major feature of the novel and in this story the unforgiving nature of the sea, the sinister atmosphere of the caves along with the presence of The Survivors, a memorial to those involved in a ship wreck now guarding the bay, are constantly present. But much of the novel also concetrates on the feelings, memories, rumours and suspicions of the townspeople who remember the events of the past and are concerned that another murder has occurred in their small community. The many layers of past and present events intertwine as the investigation into what really happened proceed.

The Lost Man

This is the third novel by Australian author, Jane Harper. This time the story is set on a property, Burley Downs, in south western Queensland. Cameron and Bub are brothers living on the property with their mother (Liz), Cameron's wife (Ilse), and Harry who has worked on the property for years. The eldest brother, Nathan, lives on the neighbouring property and, as it is school holidays, Xander, his son, is staying with him.

One day Cameron is found dead near the grave of a stockman who died long ago. His car loaded with survival supplies is located nine kilometres from where the body was found. How could someone who has lived his life in the outback die in this fashion?

As the characters in the book try to unravel the mystery of Cameron's death the reader learns of events that have happened in the past which are still impacting on the lives of this family in present times. Many family secrets are gradually revealed or explained. As with Jane Harper's other novels, the environment in which the story is set is a major feature. Another excellent Australian novel.

Force of Nature

When reading this book while watching cricket in Adelaide recently several people, who had read The Dry, noticed what I was reading and asked me what I thought of the book. I was able to tell them that Force of Nature was also definitely worth reading.

Jane Harper's second novel is once again set in Victoria - this time in dense bush on a mountain range. A corporate character building hiking exercise ends in disaster when Alice, one of the participants, disappears. As Alice had been assisting Aaron Falk and Carmen Cooper in a financial investigation regarding the company, BaileyTennants, these two members of the Federal Police assist local police with the investigation. Not only is the area where Alice disappeared thick bush but the area has a reputation as four women disappeared in the region twenty years earlier.

The author reveals the story gradually. Each chapter consists of a section describing the search for Alice while a second section gradually reveals what happened during the the three day hike. It soon becomes clear that there is tension and history between the women in the group and what was meant to be a character developing exercise results in total disarray among group members. We also learn more about Aaron Falk and his relationship with is father.

It is great to have another Australian crime writer who allows the landscape to be a focal part of the story as the mystery is revealed.  I look forward to reading the next novel by Jane Harper.

The film, Force of Nature, based on the novel was shown in cinemas in Australia in February / March 2024.

The Dry

This book by Jane Harper is set in a small farming community in north-west Victoria during a severe drought. The community, struggling to survive, is shocked when news spreads of the death of Luke and Karen plus Billy, their young son. Aaron Falk, a policeman with the Federal Police, now lives in Melbourne but travelled to Kiewarra for the funeral. He had grown up in the area and had been good friends with Luke until a mutual friend, Ellie, was found dead in the creek. Accusations that Aaron or his father were involved caused them to leave the town. Aaron soon discovers that his return to town is not welcomed by most of its citizens but Luke's parents ask him to stay for a while to try and find out what really happened. He agrees to work with local policeman, Raco, investigating the case unofficially.

I soon discovered that this crime novel was difficult to put down. You can feel the dust and desolation of the countryside struggling to survive in the drought. You also experience the tensions and mistrust in this small community struggling to comprehend what is happening. As we follow Aaron's attempts to discover what happened to his friend and why, we learn, via flashbacks, about the events and secrets of twenty years ago that continue to simmer beneath the surface and affect the life of the town. Although this is primarily a crime novel, it is also a study of people in a small outback community attempting to exist in extreme conditions. A great addition to the genre of Australian crime fiction.

In 2020 The Dry was released as a film starring Eric banner as Aaron Falk.