Review – The Lost Man, by Jane Harper

Genre: Mystery

Length: 352 Pages

Release date: February 5, 2019

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Synopsis:

Two brothers meet at the border of their vast cattle properties under the unrelenting sun of outback Queensland, in this stunning new standalone novel from New York Times bestseller Jane Harper

They are at the stockman’s grave, a landmark so old, no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last hope for their middle brother, Cameron. The Bright family’s quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish. Something had been troubling Cameron. Did he lose hope and walk to his death? Because if he didn’t, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects…

Dark, suspenseful, and deeply atmospheric, The Lost Man is the highly anticipated next book from the bestselling and award-winning Jane Harper, author of The Dry and Force of Nature.

My thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and are not influenced by the publisher.

This book threw me though a loop. For about a third of it, I wasn’t sure if I’d like it at all. It felt very slow getting started and I wasn’t feeling very invested in the mystery yet. However, having read and loved Jane Harper’s previous work, I stuck it out, and I’m so glad I did. If you pick up this book and it doesn’t grab you right away, do yourself a favor and keep reading, because I can promise it’s worth it.

Like Harper’s prior two novels, The Lost Man is richly atmospheric. The Australian outback almost seems to be another character in the novel, with heavy emphasis on the ways the harsh wilderness impacts the daily lives of each of the characters. There is a strong sense of community by necessity. Nathan, the protagonist, for reasons that are revealed later in the novel, has been cut off from this community, and it takes its toll in various ways, from the practical to the psychological.

Harper has done a remarkable job of writing morally grey characters in this novel. We know early on that Nathan has done something horrible enough to warrant being shunned by his community, but we spend a lot of the novel not knowing what this is. As the plot progresses, Harper reveals not only Nathan’s past mistakes, but those of many of those around him. The story explores the many ways that humans can be flawed, how we excuse one another’s flaws, and the ways people lash out when hurt. Nathan starts out viewing many of those around him through rose-colored glasses, but by the end, his perception feels raw and real.

This review is brief and kind of vague, because I truly feel it’s best to go into this book as blind as possible. The blurb gives you very little idea what to expect other than some sort of mystery surrounding Cameron’s death. What follows is a really interesting blend of mystery, suspense, and family drama. The characters within this story and the moral questions they raise will stay with me for a long time to come.