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Aaron Falk #3
Exiles
At a busy festival site on a warm spring night, a baby lies alone in her pram, her mother vanishing into the crowds.
A year on, Kim Gillespie’s absence casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather deep in the heart of South Australian wine country to welcome a new addition to the family.
Joining the celebrations is federal investigator Aaron Falk. But as he soaks up life in the lush valley, he begins to suspect this tight-knit group may be more fractured than it seems.
Between Falk’s closest friend, a missing mother, and a woman he’s drawn to, dark questions linger as long-ago truths begin to emerge.
An outstanding novel, a brilliant mystery and a heart-pounding read from the author of The Dry, Force of Nature, The Lost Man and The Survivors.
A year on, Kim Gillespie’s absence casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather deep in the heart of South Australian wine country to welcome a new addition to the family.
Joining the celebrations is federal investigator Aaron Falk. But as he soaks up life in the lush valley, he begins to suspect this tight-knit group may be more fractured than it seems.
Between Falk’s closest friend, a missing mother, and a woman he’s drawn to, dark questions linger as long-ago truths begin to emerge.
An outstanding novel, a brilliant mystery and a heart-pounding read from the author of The Dry, Force of Nature, The Lost Man and The Survivors.
356 pages, Hardcover
First published September 20, 2022
About the author
Jane Harper
19 books13k followersJane Harper is the international bestselling author of The Dry, Force of Nature and The Lost Man.
Jane is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, and has won numerous top awards including the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year, the Australian Indie Awards Book of the Year, the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel, and the British Book Awards Crime and Thriller Book of the Year.
Her books are published in more than 36 territories worldwide, with The Dry in production as a major motion picture starring Eric Bana.
Jane worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK, and now lives in Melbourne.
Jane is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, and has won numerous top awards including the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year, the Australian Indie Awards Book of the Year, the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel, and the British Book Awards Crime and Thriller Book of the Year.
Her books are published in more than 36 territories worldwide, with The Dry in production as a major motion picture starring Eric Bana.
Jane worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK, and now lives in Melbourne.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 5,796 reviews
January 31, 2023
***HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY***
One of the things I look forward to with a Jane Harper novel is wondering where in Australia she will place her characters!!
This time we are in South Australian wine country. Aaron Falk has come to attend the christening of his good friend Greg Raco’s son, Aaron will be his godfather. There are lots of wonderful descriptions of the festive celebration that I really enjoyed.
However, everything is not picture perfect! Every place has its mysteries and secrets!
The last time Falk visited this area, a mother abandoned her child in the parking lot at the annual wine festival. Now a year later the case has gone cold. The mother, Kim Gillespie, hasn’t been seen since, and the mystery is troubling to this tight knit community.
Kim used to be married to Greg’s brother Charlie, and the Racos knew her well. Leaving her infant alone and disappearing is completely out of character for Kim.
Raco has asked Aaron to look into the case further with him.
No spoilers here but I will tell you that there is more than one mystery to solve and also a budding romance, or two!! Aaron may have some important lifestyle decisions to make as he spends time in this beautiful wine country and meets a very special woman. The pace here is certainly much slower than Melbourne!!
As is this author’s style, this is a slow burn mystery and requires patience to read as she slowly sets the atmospheric scenes and describes the background of the characters.
The writing flows beautifully between characters and past and present timelines.
This novel is intricately plotted, multi-layered and well written. The descriptions of the vineyards and the sunrises and sunsets are vividly described and easy to imagine! What a beautiful area this must be!
I can highly recommend this novel to all mystery lovers, especially fans of Ms. Harper. She never disappoints!
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss and it was my pleasure to read and review this novel.
One of the things I look forward to with a Jane Harper novel is wondering where in Australia she will place her characters!!
This time we are in South Australian wine country. Aaron Falk has come to attend the christening of his good friend Greg Raco’s son, Aaron will be his godfather. There are lots of wonderful descriptions of the festive celebration that I really enjoyed.
However, everything is not picture perfect! Every place has its mysteries and secrets!
The last time Falk visited this area, a mother abandoned her child in the parking lot at the annual wine festival. Now a year later the case has gone cold. The mother, Kim Gillespie, hasn’t been seen since, and the mystery is troubling to this tight knit community.
Kim used to be married to Greg’s brother Charlie, and the Racos knew her well. Leaving her infant alone and disappearing is completely out of character for Kim.
Raco has asked Aaron to look into the case further with him.
No spoilers here but I will tell you that there is more than one mystery to solve and also a budding romance, or two!! Aaron may have some important lifestyle decisions to make as he spends time in this beautiful wine country and meets a very special woman. The pace here is certainly much slower than Melbourne!!
As is this author’s style, this is a slow burn mystery and requires patience to read as she slowly sets the atmospheric scenes and describes the background of the characters.
The writing flows beautifully between characters and past and present timelines.
This novel is intricately plotted, multi-layered and well written. The descriptions of the vineyards and the sunrises and sunsets are vividly described and easy to imagine! What a beautiful area this must be!
I can highly recommend this novel to all mystery lovers, especially fans of Ms. Harper. She never disappoints!
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss and it was my pleasure to read and review this novel.
October 12, 2022
“We see what we expect to see.”
4. 25 stars
Exiles is a quiet mystery that centers on two unsolved crimes in a small town in Southern Australia.
While visiting a friend to attend a christening, AFP Officer Aaron Falk finds himself caught up in the case of a woman who went missing a year ago during a town festival and in an unsolved murder from years ago.
Falk is at a crossroads in his life. He works nonstop and, as a result, has lost almost all of his close relationships. However, he now must choose between his career and a chance at finding love.
The narrative is almost all Falk, which I appreciated. I love seeing how he thinks. Not needing to be the center of attention, Falk is an observer. His brain hones on the details that others don’t see. His abilities aren't magical or Sherlockian-- he continuously mulls over the minute details and doesn’t stop.
“The little things you could have done differently, that was the stuff that haunted you.”
As ever, Falk is introspective. With the dynamics of the cases and his romantic life combined with the constant push and pull of memories, including those of his relationship with his father, Harper highlights Falk's vulnerable side.
Bits and pieces from the two previous Falk novels are mentioned. One doesn’t need to read them to read this book--Exiles can be read as a standalone; however, the earlier books add to the layers and dynamics of Falk’s character.
Harper always wows me with her vivid depictions of the settings of her stories, and this book was no exception. She drew me into the Marralee Valley, the reservoir, and the winery-- it all felt real. The spaces hold different meanings in terms of both mysteries, as they are quiet and calm spaces, yet they are the backdrop for sinister events.
The one minor gripe that I have involves two chapters told from the point of view of two additional characters. I wish Harper didn't include them--they explain what happened to one character and add insight into another, but because their chapters come near the very end, they pulled me out of the narrative and disrupted the flow of events.
This novel is as much a mystery as a character study of Falk. The pacing is slow but, at the same time, moves quickly. The mysteries held my interest, and while the reveals weren't all that surprising, Harper's writing elevated both. The ending leaves things open for another Falk novel, which I am crossing my fingers for. I am not ready to say goodbye to his character.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Flatiron books in exchange for an honest review.
4. 25 stars
Exiles is a quiet mystery that centers on two unsolved crimes in a small town in Southern Australia.
While visiting a friend to attend a christening, AFP Officer Aaron Falk finds himself caught up in the case of a woman who went missing a year ago during a town festival and in an unsolved murder from years ago.
Falk is at a crossroads in his life. He works nonstop and, as a result, has lost almost all of his close relationships. However, he now must choose between his career and a chance at finding love.
The narrative is almost all Falk, which I appreciated. I love seeing how he thinks. Not needing to be the center of attention, Falk is an observer. His brain hones on the details that others don’t see. His abilities aren't magical or Sherlockian-- he continuously mulls over the minute details and doesn’t stop.
“The little things you could have done differently, that was the stuff that haunted you.”
As ever, Falk is introspective. With the dynamics of the cases and his romantic life combined with the constant push and pull of memories, including those of his relationship with his father, Harper highlights Falk's vulnerable side.
Bits and pieces from the two previous Falk novels are mentioned. One doesn’t need to read them to read this book--Exiles can be read as a standalone; however, the earlier books add to the layers and dynamics of Falk’s character.
Harper always wows me with her vivid depictions of the settings of her stories, and this book was no exception. She drew me into the Marralee Valley, the reservoir, and the winery-- it all felt real. The spaces hold different meanings in terms of both mysteries, as they are quiet and calm spaces, yet they are the backdrop for sinister events.
The one minor gripe that I have involves two chapters told from the point of view of two additional characters. I wish Harper didn't include them--they explain what happened to one character and add insight into another, but because their chapters come near the very end, they pulled me out of the narrative and disrupted the flow of events.
This novel is as much a mystery as a character study of Falk. The pacing is slow but, at the same time, moves quickly. The mysteries held my interest, and while the reveals weren't all that surprising, Harper's writing elevated both. The ending leaves things open for another Falk novel, which I am crossing my fingers for. I am not ready to say goodbye to his character.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Flatiron books in exchange for an honest review.
January 31, 2023
Exiles by Jane Harper
Narrated by Stephen Shanahan
Deep in wine country, Aaron Falk is back at the same place he was at this time last year. At a small town festival with his best friend and his friend's family. Last year Greg and Rita Raco's son Henry was going to be christened and Falk is Henry's godfather. But the christening didn't happen because the mother of Greg's niece went missing from this very festival, leaving her baby unattended in her stroller. Despite pulling out all the stops, Kim was never found. Now, a year later, Aaron is visiting again for Henry's christening and to spend time with Greg and Rita, two people who are the closest people to family that Aaron knows.
Aaron spend all his time snowed under at his job as a financial federal investigator. He's sacrificed so much for his job that he seems to not be able to ever let up. It's a big thing that he took this time off, two years in a row, to spend time with friends. But this happy time of christening little Henry is weighed down by the continued absence of Kim. There are posters asking if anyone has seen her and her seventeen year old daughter is intent on being sure every festival attendee knows that Kim still needs to be found.
Another sad event is the hit and run death, several years ago, of Dean, one of the many classmates of Kim and the group of kids she hung around in high school. This story involves a lot of folks who have been close for a couple of decades and along with knowing each other for so long there are rumors and innuendos that run beneath the surface of polite conversation between the people present now. Who is the person whose vehicle ran Dean down? What caused Kim to pull away from her friends and family in the last year or so before she disappeared? Why would she walk away from her new baby? Was it suicide, a kidnapping, or did Kim just want to be done with the life she was leading?
I enjoy spending time with Aaron. He has a troubled past that will never let him go but he does his best to treat people right and be a good friend to the few people he's befriended. Now he's a godfather to little Henry and more a part of a family than he's ever been. He's even met someone who he'd like to spend more time with if his job didn't take up his entire life. At least while he is here he can help his best friend puzzle over the situations of Dean and Kim. If only he could stay here forever, a place he knows could be a home for him, if his job didn't place such huge demands on his conscience.
I was able to listen to the audiobook of this story while having the digital copy in front of me, a great way to enjoy Stephen Shanahan's voice while being able to see the spelling of names and places at the same time. Shanahan represents Harper's stories to me. I've now listened to him so much that I can understand his accent, which fits Aaron's so much.
Publication: January 31st 2023
Thank you to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the digital and audio ARCs.
Narrated by Stephen Shanahan
Deep in wine country, Aaron Falk is back at the same place he was at this time last year. At a small town festival with his best friend and his friend's family. Last year Greg and Rita Raco's son Henry was going to be christened and Falk is Henry's godfather. But the christening didn't happen because the mother of Greg's niece went missing from this very festival, leaving her baby unattended in her stroller. Despite pulling out all the stops, Kim was never found. Now, a year later, Aaron is visiting again for Henry's christening and to spend time with Greg and Rita, two people who are the closest people to family that Aaron knows.
Aaron spend all his time snowed under at his job as a financial federal investigator. He's sacrificed so much for his job that he seems to not be able to ever let up. It's a big thing that he took this time off, two years in a row, to spend time with friends. But this happy time of christening little Henry is weighed down by the continued absence of Kim. There are posters asking if anyone has seen her and her seventeen year old daughter is intent on being sure every festival attendee knows that Kim still needs to be found.
Another sad event is the hit and run death, several years ago, of Dean, one of the many classmates of Kim and the group of kids she hung around in high school. This story involves a lot of folks who have been close for a couple of decades and along with knowing each other for so long there are rumors and innuendos that run beneath the surface of polite conversation between the people present now. Who is the person whose vehicle ran Dean down? What caused Kim to pull away from her friends and family in the last year or so before she disappeared? Why would she walk away from her new baby? Was it suicide, a kidnapping, or did Kim just want to be done with the life she was leading?
I enjoy spending time with Aaron. He has a troubled past that will never let him go but he does his best to treat people right and be a good friend to the few people he's befriended. Now he's a godfather to little Henry and more a part of a family than he's ever been. He's even met someone who he'd like to spend more time with if his job didn't take up his entire life. At least while he is here he can help his best friend puzzle over the situations of Dean and Kim. If only he could stay here forever, a place he knows could be a home for him, if his job didn't place such huge demands on his conscience.
I was able to listen to the audiobook of this story while having the digital copy in front of me, a great way to enjoy Stephen Shanahan's voice while being able to see the spelling of names and places at the same time. Shanahan represents Harper's stories to me. I've now listened to him so much that I can understand his accent, which fits Aaron's so much.
Publication: January 31st 2023
Thank you to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the digital and audio ARCs.
December 28, 2022
I can't believe that this book was such a disappointment for me. Most reviews I have seen have been very enthusiastic, and I am in a minority here. My low ratings should not deter prospective readers. The Exiles failed to engage me personally, but many others loved it. I found that it was slow-paced and lacked the energy and suspense I found in her previous thrillers. Jane Harper has been a favourite writer since her first book, The Dry. Whenever I receive a new book by her, it immediately goes to the top of the books I am reading, and I set everything else aside. I am shocked that I found this dull and boring in places.
I listened to the audiobook version of Exiles. I found it slow and tedious, and with so many characters introduced, it could become confusing. It took an effort to keep the cast members straight. Because of the audio format, it was challenging to go back to refresh my memory about a character's place in the story. Maybe I would feel different with another format where I could backtrack to refresh my memory and underline or take notes, but very annoying when this becomes necessary. It became a trial sorting out the prominent cast members, remembering their backstories, their family relationships and friendships with others, their recollections from a year ago, and their marriage or divorce status.
There are two mysteries for Aaron Falk to try to solve, but the book seemed more of a domestic/family drama and romance than a suspenseful thriller. This was a slow burn that picked up momentum toward the book's conclusion. I thought the narration of the audiobook was well done. I wish to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a chance to listen to the latest book by Jane Harper. The publication date will be January 31, 2023.
I listened to the audiobook version of Exiles. I found it slow and tedious, and with so many characters introduced, it could become confusing. It took an effort to keep the cast members straight. Because of the audio format, it was challenging to go back to refresh my memory about a character's place in the story. Maybe I would feel different with another format where I could backtrack to refresh my memory and underline or take notes, but very annoying when this becomes necessary. It became a trial sorting out the prominent cast members, remembering their backstories, their family relationships and friendships with others, their recollections from a year ago, and their marriage or divorce status.
There are two mysteries for Aaron Falk to try to solve, but the book seemed more of a domestic/family drama and romance than a suspenseful thriller. This was a slow burn that picked up momentum toward the book's conclusion. I thought the narration of the audiobook was well done. I wish to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a chance to listen to the latest book by Jane Harper. The publication date will be January 31, 2023.
February 9, 2023
Why would Kim, a devoted mother and wife, leave her 6-week-old baby in a pram at a crowded festival and disappear without a trace? It’s been a year since her disappearance, and the case remains cold.
Aaron Falk is in town to celebrate the christening of his godson, when the subject of Kim’s disappearance comes up. It’s a case that weighs heavily on this tight-knit community and Aaron is asked to investigate the case in an unofficial capacity.
In his personal life, Aaron connects to Gemma, a woman he met a year prior. Her husband was killed in a tragic hit-and-run accident 5 years ago, which is also a case Aaron ponders as he looks into Kim’s disappearance.
This is the third, and last book in the Aaron Falk series but it could work as a standalone. As with her other books, this one is highly atmospheric, and the contrast of the serene and beautiful Australian wine country with the darker side of human nature is compelling. Like the peeling of an onion, secrets are revealed, and as pieces of the puzzle click into place and the various threads untangle it’s even clearer what a brilliant, intricately plotted story the author has written.
Aaron is such a well-developed character and I loved getting a deeper understanding of him and the way his mind works, not just in his professional life, but in his personal one as well. The author has a keen insight into human nature and is able to develop compelling characters who are believable and engage in realistic dialogue. Of special note is Zara, the missing woman’s teenage daughter, and Joel, the hit and run victim’s son, who are both likable characters (so difficult to pull off with this age group).
It's bittersweet to finish the last book in the series, but there are interesting developments in Aaron’s life that makes this a fitting end to the series. (However, I do hope Falk makes an appearance in future books.)
I listened to the audio book and Stephen Shanahan did a fantastic job.
This was a buddy read with Marialyce, do check out her review and see what she thought!
Aaron Falk is in town to celebrate the christening of his godson, when the subject of Kim’s disappearance comes up. It’s a case that weighs heavily on this tight-knit community and Aaron is asked to investigate the case in an unofficial capacity.
In his personal life, Aaron connects to Gemma, a woman he met a year prior. Her husband was killed in a tragic hit-and-run accident 5 years ago, which is also a case Aaron ponders as he looks into Kim’s disappearance.
This is the third, and last book in the Aaron Falk series but it could work as a standalone. As with her other books, this one is highly atmospheric, and the contrast of the serene and beautiful Australian wine country with the darker side of human nature is compelling. Like the peeling of an onion, secrets are revealed, and as pieces of the puzzle click into place and the various threads untangle it’s even clearer what a brilliant, intricately plotted story the author has written.
Aaron is such a well-developed character and I loved getting a deeper understanding of him and the way his mind works, not just in his professional life, but in his personal one as well. The author has a keen insight into human nature and is able to develop compelling characters who are believable and engage in realistic dialogue. Of special note is Zara, the missing woman’s teenage daughter, and Joel, the hit and run victim’s son, who are both likable characters (so difficult to pull off with this age group).
It's bittersweet to finish the last book in the series, but there are interesting developments in Aaron’s life that makes this a fitting end to the series. (However, I do hope Falk makes an appearance in future books.)
I listened to the audio book and Stephen Shanahan did a fantastic job.
This was a buddy read with Marialyce, do check out her review and see what she thought!
November 1, 2022
Jane Harper writes a smart and intricately plotted addition to her Aaron Falks, Federal Financial Investigator series, this time set in Aussie wine country, in the beautiful green and lush Marralee Valley, with Falk making the time to come to his good friends, Greg and Rita Raco's small son, Henry's christening at their family home and winery run by Greg's brother, Charlie. It had been postponed from the previous year when 39 year old mother, Kim Gillespie,went missing, leaving behind her baby daughter, Zoe, in the pram park at the Annual Marralee Food and Wine Festival. Kim had returned to see her older daughter from her previous relationship with Charlie, Zara, with her engineer husband, Rohan, her shoe was found in the reservoir, and she was assumed to have committed suicide, after suffering from depression for some time.
However, not everyone is satisfied with this explanation, particularly the guilt and grief stricken Zara, who is convinced that Kim would never have abandoned her baby, it was so out of character, and a appeal for any further information on Kim is being made, both by the police and family, at this year's festival. Falk is at the heart of this gripping narrative, finding himself at a personal crossroads with his strong feelings for Gemma Tozer, devoted to her stepson, Joel, and who lost her husband, Dean, in a hit and run accident 6 years ago whilst he was out running, the driver had never been identified. Falk finds himself drawn into the family and friends dramas and the small town community and becomes central in solving the mystery of what happened to Kim and his dogged determination even wins out eventually as he chips away at who could possibly have run over Dean Tozer.
This is a slow burn of a crime read, but once I became immersed into the multilayered storylines, I could not stop reading until I had finished. I believe this is the last in the series, which is a real shame, because Falk is a terrific character that still has plenty of mileage left in him, I will miss him, although it was good to see him break through his personal blocks and establish himself in a new life that he would have never envisaged previously. This is a wonderfully engaging and dark crime read, with a fabulous sense of location, that I wholeheartedly recommend both to fans of Jane Harper and to other crime and mystery readers. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
However, not everyone is satisfied with this explanation, particularly the guilt and grief stricken Zara, who is convinced that Kim would never have abandoned her baby, it was so out of character, and a appeal for any further information on Kim is being made, both by the police and family, at this year's festival. Falk is at the heart of this gripping narrative, finding himself at a personal crossroads with his strong feelings for Gemma Tozer, devoted to her stepson, Joel, and who lost her husband, Dean, in a hit and run accident 6 years ago whilst he was out running, the driver had never been identified. Falk finds himself drawn into the family and friends dramas and the small town community and becomes central in solving the mystery of what happened to Kim and his dogged determination even wins out eventually as he chips away at who could possibly have run over Dean Tozer.
This is a slow burn of a crime read, but once I became immersed into the multilayered storylines, I could not stop reading until I had finished. I believe this is the last in the series, which is a real shame, because Falk is a terrific character that still has plenty of mileage left in him, I will miss him, although it was good to see him break through his personal blocks and establish himself in a new life that he would have never envisaged previously. This is a wonderfully engaging and dark crime read, with a fabulous sense of location, that I wholeheartedly recommend both to fans of Jane Harper and to other crime and mystery readers. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
May 8, 2023
3.5⭐️
In the third installment in Jane Harper’s Aaron Falk series, we travel with AFP Officer Aaron Falk to South Australian wine country, where he is to attend his friend Greg Raco’s son Henry’s christening. Aaron is Henry’s godfather. After his arrival, Aaron finds himself helping Raco investigate the disappearance of a local woman from a year ago. One year ago, thirty-nine-year-old Kim Gillespie, was reported missing, last seen at the Marralee Valley Annual Food and Wine Festival. Her baby daughter was found safe in her stroller. Kim was close to Raco’s family, having previously been in a long-term relationship with Raco’s brother Charlie and was the mother of his now seventeen-year-old daughter Zara. At the time of her disappearance, she was married to Rohan Gillespie. The discovery of her shoe near the local reservoir prompted conjecture that Kim had taken her own life. But her body was never found and her daughter is convinced that Kim would never commit suicide. Aaron finds himself involved in the search for Kim as well as trying to get to the truth behind a hit-and-run case from years ago that caused the death of a local man. As the narrative progresses, we follow the investigation into the lives and secrets of the local community.
The premise of Exiles by Jane Harper is interesting and I really like Aaron Falk’s characterization as well as the setting. I also liked the depiction of the community and the dynamics between the different characters. Had I picked up this book only to enjoy the story of a community with family drama and a surprise romance, I could have rated it higher. But, I picked up the book for a suspenseful mystery and while I did like how the story is built up, the final reveal was more than disappointing and very predictable. This is a slow-burn mystery and it did take a while to feel invested in the story. The pace did drag for the first half of the novel, picking up as the narrative progressed. I was hoping to be proved wrong but I was a tad disappointed with how the mystery plays out. I did, however, like how Aaron Falk’s story progressed in the course of this installment.
Though this novel is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. However, I would suggest reading the books to follow Aaron’s story.
Overall, while I did like Jane Harper’s Exiles, I wasn’t completely bowled over by it as other readers have been.
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In the third installment in Jane Harper’s Aaron Falk series, we travel with AFP Officer Aaron Falk to South Australian wine country, where he is to attend his friend Greg Raco’s son Henry’s christening. Aaron is Henry’s godfather. After his arrival, Aaron finds himself helping Raco investigate the disappearance of a local woman from a year ago. One year ago, thirty-nine-year-old Kim Gillespie, was reported missing, last seen at the Marralee Valley Annual Food and Wine Festival. Her baby daughter was found safe in her stroller. Kim was close to Raco’s family, having previously been in a long-term relationship with Raco’s brother Charlie and was the mother of his now seventeen-year-old daughter Zara. At the time of her disappearance, she was married to Rohan Gillespie. The discovery of her shoe near the local reservoir prompted conjecture that Kim had taken her own life. But her body was never found and her daughter is convinced that Kim would never commit suicide. Aaron finds himself involved in the search for Kim as well as trying to get to the truth behind a hit-and-run case from years ago that caused the death of a local man. As the narrative progresses, we follow the investigation into the lives and secrets of the local community.
The premise of Exiles by Jane Harper is interesting and I really like Aaron Falk’s characterization as well as the setting. I also liked the depiction of the community and the dynamics between the different characters. Had I picked up this book only to enjoy the story of a community with family drama and a surprise romance, I could have rated it higher. But, I picked up the book for a suspenseful mystery and while I did like how the story is built up, the final reveal was more than disappointing and very predictable. This is a slow-burn mystery and it did take a while to feel invested in the story. The pace did drag for the first half of the novel, picking up as the narrative progressed. I was hoping to be proved wrong but I was a tad disappointed with how the mystery plays out. I did, however, like how Aaron Falk’s story progressed in the course of this installment.
Though this novel is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. However, I would suggest reading the books to follow Aaron’s story.
Overall, while I did like Jane Harper’s Exiles, I wasn’t completely bowled over by it as other readers have been.
Connect with me!
My Blog
The StoryGraph
October 30, 2022
another book by JH and another opportunity for me to wish i was from a small, charming australian town.
im obsessed with how JH captures oz. whether its on the coast or a quiet bush town, she makes the setting of her books a living thing. i felt immersed in the community and connected to each of the residents. the story feels so authentic, as if it could happen to any small town.
i also think JH does a great job with how this mystery unfolds. its unhurried, with a certain laid-back quality that i associate with aussies. it had me eager to find out what happened all while getting to know the raco family and friends. this mystery is definitely more domestic in character, which is fine. family drama isnt my personal favourite, but it worked in this setting.
so overall, another worthwhile read by JH!
↠ 3.5 stars
im obsessed with how JH captures oz. whether its on the coast or a quiet bush town, she makes the setting of her books a living thing. i felt immersed in the community and connected to each of the residents. the story feels so authentic, as if it could happen to any small town.
i also think JH does a great job with how this mystery unfolds. its unhurried, with a certain laid-back quality that i associate with aussies. it had me eager to find out what happened all while getting to know the raco family and friends. this mystery is definitely more domestic in character, which is fine. family drama isnt my personal favourite, but it worked in this setting.
so overall, another worthwhile read by JH!
↠ 3.5 stars
October 1, 2022
Aaron Falk is back for the third and final time! Now that the first book, The Dry, has been made into a movie (which I may have watched three times already 😊), I completely pictured Eric Bana, Keir O’Donnell, and Miranda Tapsell as their respective characters while reading this one.
Beneath the ferris wheel at the Marralee Valley Annual Food and Wine Festival is a pram bay, for attendees to leave their prams, pushchairs, bikes, scooters, etc. But, when the festival closes, there is a single uncollected pram, and on closer inspection a technician discovers six week old Zoe Gillespie sleeping within – her thirty nine year old mother Kim nowhere to be found.
The investigation leads to one of Kim’s shoes being found in the dam filter of the reservoir, the drop overlooking it located within walking distance of the fairground. What happened to Kim? Was it suicide? Murder? Or did Kim simply leave of her own accord? But, why?
Aaron Falk was at the festival that night, visiting Marralee, for Greg Raco’s (more on him later) son’s christening. It’s now a year to the day since Kim disappeared, and Aaron has returned to Marralee for the same christening, which was postponed due to the tragedy, as Kim has close personal ties to Greg’s family.
Neither the police, nor those closest to Kim are any the wiser regarding what happened to her twelve months prior. Opening night of the Food and Wine Festival has rolled around again, and it is hoped that a planned appeal and tribute will refresh the memories of those who attended the previous year, and unearth fresh clues regarding what really happened to Kim Gillespie?
Just to give you a refresher, Aaron Falk first met Greg Raco, and his wife Rita, in The Dry. Raco was (still is) the new police sergeant in Kiewarra (Falk’s hometown) investigating the Hadler murders with Falk unofficially assisting. Rita was pregnant with their first child, Eva. Greg also appeared briefly in the second book – Force of Nature. Exiles is set six years after the events of The Dry, and the setting of Marralee Valley is the small town Greg grew up in. His older brother Charlie still lives in the family cottage there, and has turned the attached land into a successful vineyard, which is where Greg Raco, Rita, their two children, and Aaron Falk stay whenever they visit.
Kim’s disappearance was the main mystery, but there was also an even colder case of a hit and run car accident five years prior, which occurred at the same spot overlooking the reservoir Kim likely jumped from. Both mysteries had me stumped, and also anxious, as like Aaron I completely warmed to Greg Raco’s family and their close knit group of friends, and didn’t want any of them to be involved, but knew that at the very least one of them had to be. That’s the thing about Jane Harper’s books, they never fail to pack an emotional punch. Speaking of emotion, Exiles was very much Aaron Falk’s personal journey to letting go and moving on, which made this conclusion to the trilogy even more of a slow burn than any of her other books. But, if you are as attached to Aaron as I am, you will be rooting for him to find his happy place, and make peace with his past choices.
Marralee Valley, a fictitious small South Australian town in the heart of wine country, is as vivid, detailed and real as I’ve come to expect from Jane Harper, but lacked the harsh climate element this time around. It was hot (they drank a lot of water 😄), but not unbearable – a lush green, peaceful, beautiful piece of paradise, the kind of place where you’d think nothing bad could happen, but does.
Given that each mystery in the Aaron Falk series is different (as is the setting) you could dive into this one without having read the others, and be able to follow it no problem. However, there is an incident that occurred in The Dry that is referred to in this one that I consider a spoiler. Also, because it’s the final book in the trilogy, and as I’ve mentioned above, it does deal with a lot of Aaron’s internal and external struggles in relation to thoughts, feelings, and past and present experiences that were raised in the first two, particularly The Dry. No mystery spoilers for Force of Nature, but FYI it is the only book of Jane Harper’s I rated less than 5 stars – I gave it four. Definitely still worth reading though, and I’m very excited for the movie of it that is currently being filmed and even more excited for Exiles (which hasn’t been confirmed yet, but I’m sure they’ll commit to turning all three into movies).
Exiles is available now in Australia and New Zealand (20th September, 2022), but won’t be released in the US (31st January, 2023) or UK (2nd February, 2023) until next year.
Beneath the ferris wheel at the Marralee Valley Annual Food and Wine Festival is a pram bay, for attendees to leave their prams, pushchairs, bikes, scooters, etc. But, when the festival closes, there is a single uncollected pram, and on closer inspection a technician discovers six week old Zoe Gillespie sleeping within – her thirty nine year old mother Kim nowhere to be found.
The investigation leads to one of Kim’s shoes being found in the dam filter of the reservoir, the drop overlooking it located within walking distance of the fairground. What happened to Kim? Was it suicide? Murder? Or did Kim simply leave of her own accord? But, why?
Aaron Falk was at the festival that night, visiting Marralee, for Greg Raco’s (more on him later) son’s christening. It’s now a year to the day since Kim disappeared, and Aaron has returned to Marralee for the same christening, which was postponed due to the tragedy, as Kim has close personal ties to Greg’s family.
Neither the police, nor those closest to Kim are any the wiser regarding what happened to her twelve months prior. Opening night of the Food and Wine Festival has rolled around again, and it is hoped that a planned appeal and tribute will refresh the memories of those who attended the previous year, and unearth fresh clues regarding what really happened to Kim Gillespie?
Just to give you a refresher, Aaron Falk first met Greg Raco, and his wife Rita, in The Dry. Raco was (still is) the new police sergeant in Kiewarra (Falk’s hometown) investigating the Hadler murders with Falk unofficially assisting. Rita was pregnant with their first child, Eva. Greg also appeared briefly in the second book – Force of Nature. Exiles is set six years after the events of The Dry, and the setting of Marralee Valley is the small town Greg grew up in. His older brother Charlie still lives in the family cottage there, and has turned the attached land into a successful vineyard, which is where Greg Raco, Rita, their two children, and Aaron Falk stay whenever they visit.
Kim’s disappearance was the main mystery, but there was also an even colder case of a hit and run car accident five years prior, which occurred at the same spot overlooking the reservoir Kim likely jumped from. Both mysteries had me stumped, and also anxious, as like Aaron I completely warmed to Greg Raco’s family and their close knit group of friends, and didn’t want any of them to be involved, but knew that at the very least one of them had to be. That’s the thing about Jane Harper’s books, they never fail to pack an emotional punch. Speaking of emotion, Exiles was very much Aaron Falk’s personal journey to letting go and moving on, which made this conclusion to the trilogy even more of a slow burn than any of her other books. But, if you are as attached to Aaron as I am, you will be rooting for him to find his happy place, and make peace with his past choices.
Marralee Valley, a fictitious small South Australian town in the heart of wine country, is as vivid, detailed and real as I’ve come to expect from Jane Harper, but lacked the harsh climate element this time around. It was hot (they drank a lot of water 😄), but not unbearable – a lush green, peaceful, beautiful piece of paradise, the kind of place where you’d think nothing bad could happen, but does.
Given that each mystery in the Aaron Falk series is different (as is the setting) you could dive into this one without having read the others, and be able to follow it no problem. However, there is an incident that occurred in The Dry that is referred to in this one that I consider a spoiler. Also, because it’s the final book in the trilogy, and as I’ve mentioned above, it does deal with a lot of Aaron’s internal and external struggles in relation to thoughts, feelings, and past and present experiences that were raised in the first two, particularly The Dry. No mystery spoilers for Force of Nature, but FYI it is the only book of Jane Harper’s I rated less than 5 stars – I gave it four. Definitely still worth reading though, and I’m very excited for the movie of it that is currently being filmed and even more excited for Exiles (which hasn’t been confirmed yet, but I’m sure they’ll commit to turning all three into movies).
Exiles is available now in Australia and New Zealand (20th September, 2022), but won’t be released in the US (31st January, 2023) or UK (2nd February, 2023) until next year.
December 19, 2022
EXCERPT: The baby was asleep when she was discovered. She was just short of six weeks old, a good weight for her age, healthy and well, other than being completely alone. She would have been warm enough deep inside her bassinet pram. She was swaddled carefully in a clean wrap purchased from the state's leading baby-wares retailer, and tucked in with an artisan wool blanket, thick enough to have the effect of flattening out the bundle of her shape if placed in the right way. A casual glance towards the pram would inevitably first see the blanket rather than the baby.
It was a spring night and the South Australian sky was clear and starry with no rain forecast, but the weatherproof hood had been pulled over to full stretch. A linen square normally used as a sunshield was draped over the opening between the hood and the pram. A casual glance would not now see the sleeping girl at all.
The pram was parked alongside a few dozen others in the Marralee Valley Annual Food and Wine Festival's designated pram bay, fighting for space in the shadow of the ferris wheel with a tangle of bikes and scooters and a lone tricycle. It had been left in the far corner, the foot brake firmly on.
The contents of the bay were collected one by one over the next couple of hours, as families who'd been mixing wine, cheese and carnival rides decided they'd celebrated local produce enough for one night. By a little after 10.30 pm, only the pram and the assistant electrical technician's bike were left.
ABOUT 'EXILES': At a busy festival site on a warm spring night, a baby lies alone in her pram, her mother vanishing into the crowds.
A year on, Kim Gillespie’s absence casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather deep in the heart of South Australian wine country to welcome a new addition to the family.
Joining the celebrations is federal investigator Aaron Falk. But as he soaks up life in the lush valley, he begins to suspect this tight-knit group may be more fractured than it seems.
Between Falk’s closest friend, a missing mother, and a woman he’s drawn to, dark questions linger as long-ago truths begin to emerge.
MY THOUGHTS: Marralee is a small town in the heart of the South Australian wine country. A small, pretty town, where everyone knows everyone else and nothing bad ever happens. Only something bad has happened. And no one saw.
Exiles is an intricately plotted mystery, the third in the Aaron Falk series. This was planned as a trilogy, but please Jane Harper, give us more! I'm not yet ready to say goodbye to Falk.
This is very much a character driven mystery, my very favourite kind, and I relished the seemingly slow pace, the introduction of another, older, unsolved crime, and a welcome diversion in Falk's private life.
I loved the sense of family that surrounds Raco and Rita, whom we first encountered in The Dry. Falk is welcomed, even embraced, in this family and it stirs the feeling that maybe work isn't everything, that maybe there could be more if he would just open himself to the possibility.
The mysteries are engaging and compelling. My suspicions were all over the place. The clues were there, but caught up in the atmosphere of Harper's writing and seeing the situation from the perspective of her friends, I missed them. Well, not exactly missed them, but didn't attach to them the importance they deserved. The answer to Kim's disappearance is chilling; to who caused the death of Dean Tozer, sad.
As always, Jane Harper kept me glued to the page, totally immersed in the world of Marralee. I hope we have the chance to return.
Exiles is able to be read as a stand-alone.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#Exiles
I:
T: @janeharperautho @MacmillanAus
THE AUTHOR: Jane worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK, and now lives in Melbourne.
DISCLOSURE: I borrowed my copy of Exiles, by Jane Harper and published by Pan Macmillan Australia, from Waitomo District Library. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Instagram, and my webpage
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
It was a spring night and the South Australian sky was clear and starry with no rain forecast, but the weatherproof hood had been pulled over to full stretch. A linen square normally used as a sunshield was draped over the opening between the hood and the pram. A casual glance would not now see the sleeping girl at all.
The pram was parked alongside a few dozen others in the Marralee Valley Annual Food and Wine Festival's designated pram bay, fighting for space in the shadow of the ferris wheel with a tangle of bikes and scooters and a lone tricycle. It had been left in the far corner, the foot brake firmly on.
The contents of the bay were collected one by one over the next couple of hours, as families who'd been mixing wine, cheese and carnival rides decided they'd celebrated local produce enough for one night. By a little after 10.30 pm, only the pram and the assistant electrical technician's bike were left.
ABOUT 'EXILES': At a busy festival site on a warm spring night, a baby lies alone in her pram, her mother vanishing into the crowds.
A year on, Kim Gillespie’s absence casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather deep in the heart of South Australian wine country to welcome a new addition to the family.
Joining the celebrations is federal investigator Aaron Falk. But as he soaks up life in the lush valley, he begins to suspect this tight-knit group may be more fractured than it seems.
Between Falk’s closest friend, a missing mother, and a woman he’s drawn to, dark questions linger as long-ago truths begin to emerge.
MY THOUGHTS: Marralee is a small town in the heart of the South Australian wine country. A small, pretty town, where everyone knows everyone else and nothing bad ever happens. Only something bad has happened. And no one saw.
Exiles is an intricately plotted mystery, the third in the Aaron Falk series. This was planned as a trilogy, but please Jane Harper, give us more! I'm not yet ready to say goodbye to Falk.
This is very much a character driven mystery, my very favourite kind, and I relished the seemingly slow pace, the introduction of another, older, unsolved crime, and a welcome diversion in Falk's private life.
I loved the sense of family that surrounds Raco and Rita, whom we first encountered in The Dry. Falk is welcomed, even embraced, in this family and it stirs the feeling that maybe work isn't everything, that maybe there could be more if he would just open himself to the possibility.
The mysteries are engaging and compelling. My suspicions were all over the place. The clues were there, but caught up in the atmosphere of Harper's writing and seeing the situation from the perspective of her friends, I missed them. Well, not exactly missed them, but didn't attach to them the importance they deserved. The answer to Kim's disappearance is chilling; to who caused the death of Dean Tozer, sad.
As always, Jane Harper kept me glued to the page, totally immersed in the world of Marralee. I hope we have the chance to return.
Exiles is able to be read as a stand-alone.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#Exiles
I:
T: @janeharperautho @MacmillanAus
THE AUTHOR: Jane worked as a print journalist for thirteen years both in Australia and the UK, and now lives in Melbourne.
DISCLOSURE: I borrowed my copy of Exiles, by Jane Harper and published by Pan Macmillan Australia, from Waitomo District Library. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Instagram, and my webpage
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
March 20, 2023
Falk is baaaccckkk. A woman, known to Falk’s group of friends, disappeared a year ago, only a shoe to be found. Now on the anniversary, Falk happens to be back in Melbourne for a christening and takes an interest in the case.
The 3rd in the series, Harper draws Falk, as we know him, as a character of many flaws and scars. That’s what makes him so likeable and relatable. The beauty setting: Melbourne, Australia.
An enjoyable mystery with a couple of twists that has me giving it 2 thumbs up and 4.25⭐️
The 3rd in the series, Harper draws Falk, as we know him, as a character of many flaws and scars. That’s what makes him so likeable and relatable. The beauty setting: Melbourne, Australia.
An enjoyable mystery with a couple of twists that has me giving it 2 thumbs up and 4.25⭐️
October 14, 2022
Having read all four previous novels by Jane Harper and loved them all, I was very much looking forward to another Aaron Falk adventure in background policing.
I'm not sure if it was me or Ms Harper's writing, but I found this book exhausting. From the first word I was looking for clues. The story centred around a food and wine festival in rural South Australian wine country, but the fact that two people, one confirmed dead from 6 years ago during the same festival, the second a missing woman from the previous year. So for me, the story came second to the search for clues and finding out just what happened.
The story really dragged at times, very different to the previous two Aaron Falk stories, and he was involved more this time in a different way.
I was interested right up to the end as the double mystery was always there and Falk was running through everything in his mind, and ours. Not her best, but certainly worth a read. Read as an ebook from one of my local libraries. 3.5 rounded down
I'm not sure if it was me or Ms Harper's writing, but I found this book exhausting. From the first word I was looking for clues. The story centred around a food and wine festival in rural South Australian wine country, but the fact that two people, one confirmed dead from 6 years ago during the same festival, the second a missing woman from the previous year. So for me, the story came second to the search for clues and finding out just what happened.
The story really dragged at times, very different to the previous two Aaron Falk stories, and he was involved more this time in a different way.
I was interested right up to the end as the double mystery was always there and Falk was running through everything in his mind, and ours. Not her best, but certainly worth a read. Read as an ebook from one of my local libraries. 3.5 rounded down
November 13, 2022
Loss hits you hard and never fails to revisit you over and over and over again.
Jane Harper gifts us with the presence of Aaron Falk, once again, in her third installment of this series. Not to worry. Exiles reads perfectly as a standalone. But when you come front and center with the caliber of Jane Harper, you should read The Dry #1 and Force of Nature #2. They are that good.
Aaron Falk, a Melbourne police officer of the AFP Financial Division, is off to attend a delayed christening of the child of one of his closest friends. Falk looks forward to spending time with this family and is honored as godfather. But the "delay" sits heavily upon everyone. And that's the story to tell.
It's been a year already since the disappearance of Kim Gillespie. She and her family were attending a festival in South Australia. Nothing added up from there on. Kim was last seen pushing her baby's pram to a corner of the activities.....and then walking away. Someone found the baby unattended as evening set in. No Kim then. No Kim now. No clues then. No clues now.
Rohan, Kim's husband, lives in the aftermath. He is a fraction of the man he was a year ago. He must raise little Zoe alone and watch over Kim's teenage daughter, Zara, from a previous relationship. It's Zara who keeps vigil and refuses to stop searching for Kim.
Falk is every bit the top-notch investigator and solid friend that he has always been in the past. We observe how Falk sees the crisscrossing of these friendships and the realization that someone within this tight group knows more than what meets the eye.
Exiles is a slow burner at times as Harper takes us through the magnificient Australian countryside. She delves into these characters and their backstories in order to lay a solid foundation for this storyline. It's a heavy focus on the flaws within humans and just how that bleeds into individuals standing near and dear. Exiles is a splendid read and shouldn't be missed.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Flatiron Books and the talented Jane Harper for the opportunity.
Jane Harper gifts us with the presence of Aaron Falk, once again, in her third installment of this series. Not to worry. Exiles reads perfectly as a standalone. But when you come front and center with the caliber of Jane Harper, you should read The Dry #1 and Force of Nature #2. They are that good.
Aaron Falk, a Melbourne police officer of the AFP Financial Division, is off to attend a delayed christening of the child of one of his closest friends. Falk looks forward to spending time with this family and is honored as godfather. But the "delay" sits heavily upon everyone. And that's the story to tell.
It's been a year already since the disappearance of Kim Gillespie. She and her family were attending a festival in South Australia. Nothing added up from there on. Kim was last seen pushing her baby's pram to a corner of the activities.....and then walking away. Someone found the baby unattended as evening set in. No Kim then. No Kim now. No clues then. No clues now.
Rohan, Kim's husband, lives in the aftermath. He is a fraction of the man he was a year ago. He must raise little Zoe alone and watch over Kim's teenage daughter, Zara, from a previous relationship. It's Zara who keeps vigil and refuses to stop searching for Kim.
Falk is every bit the top-notch investigator and solid friend that he has always been in the past. We observe how Falk sees the crisscrossing of these friendships and the realization that someone within this tight group knows more than what meets the eye.
Exiles is a slow burner at times as Harper takes us through the magnificient Australian countryside. She delves into these characters and their backstories in order to lay a solid foundation for this storyline. It's a heavy focus on the flaws within humans and just how that bleeds into individuals standing near and dear. Exiles is a splendid read and shouldn't be missed.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Flatiron Books and the talented Jane Harper for the opportunity.
September 28, 2023
VEDIAMO QUELLO CHE CI ASPETTIAMO DI VEDERE
Il romanzo comincia all’annuale Festival di Gastronomia e Vino di Marralee Valley, zona dell’Australia principalmente dedita alla produzione enologica.
Jane Harper scrive thriller particolari, che si distinguono: c’è poca violenza e poco sangue, pochi morti; c’è un fatto, o più, del passato che stende ali di colpa e inquietudine sul presente; c’è un presente che va sistemato riconciliandosi col passato, risolvendo cosa e come è davvero successo tempo prima.
Il detective Aaron Falk è protagonista in tre romanzi, e questo è il terzo. E io presumo che sarà anche l’ultimo della serie.
Al cinema Aaron Falk è diventato Eric Bana: sono già stati realizzati due film dai primi due romanzi.
Aaron Falk è un poliziotto federale che svolge indagini finanziarie e fiscali, ma si trova sempre coinvolto in storie molto locali, lontano da Melbourne dove vive e lavora, storie che nulla hanno a che fare con frodi o delitti di stampo finanziario. Si tratta sempre di situazioni ben più terra terra: in questo caso, una donna scomparsa da un anno, a cui, con lo scorrere delle pagine, si aggiunge un incidente automobilistico avvenuto sei anni prima.
McLaren Vale, Australia del sud: Jane Harper l’ha studiata per ambientare il romanzo.
In questa terza avventura di Aaron Falk, Harper rinuncia ai “corsivi”: cioè, a quelle parti, stampate appunto in corsivo, in cui l’autore da voce a personaggi diversi dal protagonista. A volte la vittima, perlopiù il colpevole. Sono pagine che fanno capire come sono davvero andate le cose. Pagine che a me rimangono sempre un po’ indigeste: perché mi sembrano una scorciatoia, mi sembrano evidenziare l’incapacità di chi scrive di sapere rendere fluida e unitaria la narrazione.
Harper presta molto cura al luogo, al paesaggio, la natura, l’ambientazione: non si tratta di semplice “atmosfera”, riesce a rendere questo elemento parte della storia, come se fosse un personaggio. Forse per questo nei suoi libri i personaggi camminano molto, si muovono spesso a piedi, oltre che in macchina.
In questa occasione siamo nel sud dell’Australia, immersi in vigneti e aziende vinicole che fanno capo a una piccola città.
Barossa Valley, altra zona vinicola dell’Australia del sud usata da Jane Harper per ambientare il romanzo.
L’indagine – e quindi la risoluzione del caso - avanza con lentezza – nonostante le sue storie si svolgano in archi temporali stretti, di solito pochi giorni, qualche settimana – e avanza attenta a dettagli e particolari. Harper ama entrare nell’animo dei suoi personaggi, raccontarne pensieri emozioni e reazioni, oltre che le parole pronunciate e i gesti. Scandagliare comportamenti caratteri psicologie.
Io mi sono innamorato della sua scrittura al primo incontro, che ha corrisposto col suo romanzo di debutto. In pochi mesi ho letto quattro dei cinque che ha scritto: e tengo l’ultimo da parte per la vacanza settembrina.
Il romanzo comincia all’annuale Festival di Gastronomia e Vino di Marralee Valley, zona dell’Australia principalmente dedita alla produzione enologica.
Jane Harper scrive thriller particolari, che si distinguono: c’è poca violenza e poco sangue, pochi morti; c’è un fatto, o più, del passato che stende ali di colpa e inquietudine sul presente; c’è un presente che va sistemato riconciliandosi col passato, risolvendo cosa e come è davvero successo tempo prima.
Il detective Aaron Falk è protagonista in tre romanzi, e questo è il terzo. E io presumo che sarà anche l’ultimo della serie.
Al cinema Aaron Falk è diventato Eric Bana: sono già stati realizzati due film dai primi due romanzi.
Aaron Falk è un poliziotto federale che svolge indagini finanziarie e fiscali, ma si trova sempre coinvolto in storie molto locali, lontano da Melbourne dove vive e lavora, storie che nulla hanno a che fare con frodi o delitti di stampo finanziario. Si tratta sempre di situazioni ben più terra terra: in questo caso, una donna scomparsa da un anno, a cui, con lo scorrere delle pagine, si aggiunge un incidente automobilistico avvenuto sei anni prima.
McLaren Vale, Australia del sud: Jane Harper l’ha studiata per ambientare il romanzo.
In questa terza avventura di Aaron Falk, Harper rinuncia ai “corsivi”: cioè, a quelle parti, stampate appunto in corsivo, in cui l’autore da voce a personaggi diversi dal protagonista. A volte la vittima, perlopiù il colpevole. Sono pagine che fanno capire come sono davvero andate le cose. Pagine che a me rimangono sempre un po’ indigeste: perché mi sembrano una scorciatoia, mi sembrano evidenziare l’incapacità di chi scrive di sapere rendere fluida e unitaria la narrazione.
Harper presta molto cura al luogo, al paesaggio, la natura, l’ambientazione: non si tratta di semplice “atmosfera”, riesce a rendere questo elemento parte della storia, come se fosse un personaggio. Forse per questo nei suoi libri i personaggi camminano molto, si muovono spesso a piedi, oltre che in macchina.
In questa occasione siamo nel sud dell’Australia, immersi in vigneti e aziende vinicole che fanno capo a una piccola città.
Barossa Valley, altra zona vinicola dell’Australia del sud usata da Jane Harper per ambientare il romanzo.
L’indagine – e quindi la risoluzione del caso - avanza con lentezza – nonostante le sue storie si svolgano in archi temporali stretti, di solito pochi giorni, qualche settimana – e avanza attenta a dettagli e particolari. Harper ama entrare nell’animo dei suoi personaggi, raccontarne pensieri emozioni e reazioni, oltre che le parole pronunciate e i gesti. Scandagliare comportamenti caratteri psicologie.
Io mi sono innamorato della sua scrittura al primo incontro, che ha corrisposto col suo romanzo di debutto. In pochi mesi ho letto quattro dei cinque che ha scritto: e tengo l’ultimo da parte per la vacanza settembrina.
December 28, 2022
Exiles is the third in the Aaron Falk series but can easily be read as a stand-alone. A year ago, a mother went missing, leaving her baby in its pram at a wine festival. Now a year later, the family issues an appeal to the festival attendees for additional information. Aaron Falk is in town for a baptism that was postponed because of the disappearance. It’s a small town and everyone has known each other for ages. The tight knit group is discovering though that there have been secrets kept.
This is a slow burn story. Harper takes her time unwinding the story. Aaron isn’t formally investigating the disappearance, just asking questions on his own. Other friends and family have all been doing their own investigations over the past year. There had also been a hit and run five years before the disappearance which has also left lots of questions. The story delves into what we do for the people we love.
I listened to this but I think it might work better as a book. There are a lot of characters to keep track of and given how interrelated they are, I sometimes struggled to keep everything straight (especially since the story also goes back and forth between several time periods and there are multiple POVs. I really appreciated the ending and how Harper wrapped up both mysteries.
Harper’s writing is very descriptive and she does make it easy to envision each scene. She also does a good job of mixing the personal life of the MC with the mystery.
Stephen Shanahan narrated. His Australian accent caused me a few problems. I would struggle over a word and then by the time I figured it out, realize I’d missed a whole sentence. Another reason it might work better to read. But I heartily recommend the story as it was totally engrossing.
This is a slow burn story. Harper takes her time unwinding the story. Aaron isn’t formally investigating the disappearance, just asking questions on his own. Other friends and family have all been doing their own investigations over the past year. There had also been a hit and run five years before the disappearance which has also left lots of questions. The story delves into what we do for the people we love.
I listened to this but I think it might work better as a book. There are a lot of characters to keep track of and given how interrelated they are, I sometimes struggled to keep everything straight (especially since the story also goes back and forth between several time periods and there are multiple POVs. I really appreciated the ending and how Harper wrapped up both mysteries.
Harper’s writing is very descriptive and she does make it easy to envision each scene. She also does a good job of mixing the personal life of the MC with the mystery.
Stephen Shanahan narrated. His Australian accent caused me a few problems. I would struggle over a word and then by the time I figured it out, realize I’d missed a whole sentence. Another reason it might work better to read. But I heartily recommend the story as it was totally engrossing.
December 28, 2022
3.5 stars rounded up
Kim Gillespie vanished over a year ago leaving her baby in her pram. Kim had not been found and there have been no clues or explanation as to why she would leave her baby behind. Everyone who knows her claims this is out of character for her. She was a devoted mother.
Aaron Falk has come to town for the christening of his friend, Greg's son. The missing woman was once married to Greg's brother, and he asks Aaron to investigate her disappearance.
Tasked with trying to determine what would make Kim abandon her son, Aaron is also drawn to another woman. Not having enough on his plate, he finds another mystery to solve as well.
This book was on the slower side, and I struggled with it. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator's voice almost put me to sleep at times. I wanted more inflection and emotion; it made the slower feel of this book almost unbearable. But as I enjoy Jane Harper and the other books in this series, I stuck with it.
I have always enjoyed reading how Aaron solves cases. He is extremely dedicated and has lost many close relationships due to his commitment to his work. In this book, we see Aaron seeking out more personal relationships.
I am glad I stuck with this book as I enjoyed the resolution and how Falk solved the case(s). I enjoyed the characters and the atmospheric feel to the book. Harper excels at setting the stage and provides vivid descriptions to readers.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Kim Gillespie vanished over a year ago leaving her baby in her pram. Kim had not been found and there have been no clues or explanation as to why she would leave her baby behind. Everyone who knows her claims this is out of character for her. She was a devoted mother.
Aaron Falk has come to town for the christening of his friend, Greg's son. The missing woman was once married to Greg's brother, and he asks Aaron to investigate her disappearance.
Tasked with trying to determine what would make Kim abandon her son, Aaron is also drawn to another woman. Not having enough on his plate, he finds another mystery to solve as well.
This book was on the slower side, and I struggled with it. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator's voice almost put me to sleep at times. I wanted more inflection and emotion; it made the slower feel of this book almost unbearable. But as I enjoy Jane Harper and the other books in this series, I stuck with it.
I have always enjoyed reading how Aaron solves cases. He is extremely dedicated and has lost many close relationships due to his commitment to his work. In this book, we see Aaron seeking out more personal relationships.
I am glad I stuck with this book as I enjoyed the resolution and how Falk solved the case(s). I enjoyed the characters and the atmospheric feel to the book. Harper excels at setting the stage and provides vivid descriptions to readers.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
March 13, 2023
Review to come!
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
January 11, 2023
In this third book in the series Aaron Falk is taking a few days leave, in the South Australian wine country, to attend the christening of his friends' small son. One person is missing from the group of friends. She disappeared a year ago leaving her baby sleeping in her pram at a wine festival, and no sign of her has been found since.
Aaron feels that at least one person in the group must know more than they are saying and he quietly goes about observing and asking questions. At the same time he is developing a relationship with a woman whose husband was killed in a hit and run. Eventually Aaron starts to have ideas about that too.
This is a slow paced, steady kind of book with frequent trips into the past to explain different relationships and character's back stories. Despite the two mysteries the book is very much character driven. In fact it could be said that the book is like Aaron himself, quiet, thoughtful, slow to act but still interesting.
There is an important change at the end which I guess may indicate that this is the last book in the series.
Aaron feels that at least one person in the group must know more than they are saying and he quietly goes about observing and asking questions. At the same time he is developing a relationship with a woman whose husband was killed in a hit and run. Eventually Aaron starts to have ideas about that too.
This is a slow paced, steady kind of book with frequent trips into the past to explain different relationships and character's back stories. Despite the two mysteries the book is very much character driven. In fact it could be said that the book is like Aaron himself, quiet, thoughtful, slow to act but still interesting.
There is an important change at the end which I guess may indicate that this is the last book in the series.
December 18, 2022
In the small town of Marralee in South Australia's vineyard region, not far from Adelaide, the annual festival was about to get underway once again. But this year was to be a little different, as a young woman and her family searched for answers to a woman who went missing the previous year from this same festival. Kim Gillespie's tiny baby, Zoe, was found snuggly covered in her pram, safe and secure, but alone. And her mother was nowhere to be found. Kim's teenage daughter Zara was leading the quest for information, hoping that something would come to light that hadn't the year before.
Federal investigator, Aaron Falk, was joining the family this year, as he was to be godfather to his best friend's child. As Aaron was drawn into the mystery of the past, he also learned about a hit-and-run six years earlier which had never been solved. The grief that rippled through the community was raw, even after the passing of years, and Kim's disappearance added to that grief. But would answers be found? Or would the two cases remain unsolved?
Exiles is the 3rd in the Aaron Falk series by Aussie author Jane Harper and it was breathtakingly brilliant! This is an excellent series but I've heard a whisper this is the final installment. I hope it's not! The characters are well-crafted, turning them into real people, people I've seen and met in small country towns. It was like chatting with friends, enjoying the festival, concerned about the mystery. Ms Harper knows how to keep her readers enthralled and I'm looking forward to her next book. Highly recommended.
Federal investigator, Aaron Falk, was joining the family this year, as he was to be godfather to his best friend's child. As Aaron was drawn into the mystery of the past, he also learned about a hit-and-run six years earlier which had never been solved. The grief that rippled through the community was raw, even after the passing of years, and Kim's disappearance added to that grief. But would answers be found? Or would the two cases remain unsolved?
Exiles is the 3rd in the Aaron Falk series by Aussie author Jane Harper and it was breathtakingly brilliant! This is an excellent series but I've heard a whisper this is the final installment. I hope it's not! The characters are well-crafted, turning them into real people, people I've seen and met in small country towns. It was like chatting with friends, enjoying the festival, concerned about the mystery. Ms Harper knows how to keep her readers enthralled and I'm looking forward to her next book. Highly recommended.
October 11, 2022
I usually LOVE Jane Harper novels but unfortunately this one didn’t hit the mark, my least favourite by far. So incredibly slow and 3 quarters of the novel was taken up with a love story and explaining all the characters and how they connected. I just kept waiting for it to get better but it didn’t until the last 50 pages. So disappointing
October 12, 2022
Aaron Falk is back in the final book of Jane Harper’s mystery trilogy. Still with the Australian Federal Police financial division based in Melbourne, he has made time in his heavy workload to attend the christening of his friend police sergeant Greg Raco’s son Henry. Falk and Raco have been friends since the events of The Dry six years ago and Raco has asked Falk to be Henry’s godfather.
The christening in Raco’s home town of Marralee Valley in the South Australian wine region was originally scheduled for a year ago but cancelled when Raco’s brother Charlie’s ex-wife KIm disappeared suddenly at the town’s wine and food festival, leaving her six week old baby alone. With the investigation into her disappearance still open, Raco and Falk find themselves taking another look at the investigation and unravelling the secrets and lies of a small town and its people.
The mystery builds slowly as Aaron gets to know Raco’s family better, including her new husband Rohan and her and Charlie’s daughter Zara. The beautiful countryside and peaceful valley and the possibility of a romance has Falk assessing his own work obsessed life. An older unsolved death also bothers Falk and has him looking for answers to what happened then. With many layers to unravel this has a different pace and flavour from the first two books in the series, but is an engrossing read and a fine way to finish the series. 4.5★
The christening in Raco’s home town of Marralee Valley in the South Australian wine region was originally scheduled for a year ago but cancelled when Raco’s brother Charlie’s ex-wife KIm disappeared suddenly at the town’s wine and food festival, leaving her six week old baby alone. With the investigation into her disappearance still open, Raco and Falk find themselves taking another look at the investigation and unravelling the secrets and lies of a small town and its people.
The mystery builds slowly as Aaron gets to know Raco’s family better, including her new husband Rohan and her and Charlie’s daughter Zara. The beautiful countryside and peaceful valley and the possibility of a romance has Falk assessing his own work obsessed life. An older unsolved death also bothers Falk and has him looking for answers to what happened then. With many layers to unravel this has a different pace and flavour from the first two books in the series, but is an engrossing read and a fine way to finish the series. 4.5★
September 23, 2022
Nothing less than five stars for the queen of Australian rural crime novels. So happy to have another Aaron Falk book, but at the same time so sad that it is the last. I can’t help but see Eric Bana now when reading this character…tell me that is not just me? Not that I am complaining.. he was awesome in the role in The Dry.
I ran out and got this book as soon as it was released and finished it the next day. Jane Harper has an incredible writing style, she puts you into the story with her vivid descriptions. It was a wonderful setting of the beautiful SA wine country for this novel.
We see a different side of Aaron this time. Away from work, but he can’t help but get caught up in the mystery of the missing woman. He finds himself with a family, and feels at home, it was lovely to see.
Of course, highly recommend Exiles.
. You just have to read it.
I ran out and got this book as soon as it was released and finished it the next day. Jane Harper has an incredible writing style, she puts you into the story with her vivid descriptions. It was a wonderful setting of the beautiful SA wine country for this novel.
We see a different side of Aaron this time. Away from work, but he can’t help but get caught up in the mystery of the missing woman. He finds himself with a family, and feels at home, it was lovely to see.
Of course, highly recommend Exiles.
. You just have to read it.
October 15, 2022
I feel terrible giving a book such a low rating, but this book was so painfully boring for me. It starts off with a bang (a mother is missing) but then you trudge through 300 plus pages of non-events with uninteresting characters and dialogue. There are so many characters yet they all seem the same. Most of the story is set at a vineyard and a carnival which should lend itself to beautiful scenery, yet I hard time picturing any of it. This book could have been a really fun ' who done it' but unfortunately it wasn't executed well.
September 9, 2022
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.
Exiles is the third book in the Aaron Falk series and this new addition works really well in this series and for our main character.
Jane Harper has this wonderful ability to put the reader in an Australian location that feels real, beautiful, and just let’s her characters shine.
She’s fantastic at characterization and I thought the mystery of the missing mother was well done. I was suspicious of many while reading this and the book just keeps laying down each conversation, clues, and thoughts by Falk and others, brick by brick until the reveal.
And the plot twists and reveal of the mystery was believable and just worked!
Exiles is a slow burn and this did not feel like a thriller. The book is more of a mystery with atmospheric writing woven in about the countryside, family, and overall culture of the Australian way of life.
Aaron Falk is asked to come to the South Australian wine country for his godson's baptism. The last time he was in this area, a mother disappears at a festival and leaves her daughter alone in a baby carriage.
Kim Gillespie is still missing a year later and Falk reluctantly looks into the disappearance for his friend, Greg Raco while taking on the duties of godfather.
Raco’s brother Charlie use to be married to Kim and they have a daughter together. This close-knit family is still struggling with her disappearance and how out of character it was for Kim to leave her baby that night.
While Falk investigates this mystery, he has a new romance brewing on the sidelines and big decisions that could affect his career and overall life.
Definitely get to this one if you’ve already started this series and also like slow burn mysteries that are wonderfully written!!
Exiles is the third book in the Aaron Falk series and this new addition works really well in this series and for our main character.
Jane Harper has this wonderful ability to put the reader in an Australian location that feels real, beautiful, and just let’s her characters shine.
She’s fantastic at characterization and I thought the mystery of the missing mother was well done. I was suspicious of many while reading this and the book just keeps laying down each conversation, clues, and thoughts by Falk and others, brick by brick until the reveal.
And the plot twists and reveal of the mystery was believable and just worked!
Exiles is a slow burn and this did not feel like a thriller. The book is more of a mystery with atmospheric writing woven in about the countryside, family, and overall culture of the Australian way of life.
Aaron Falk is asked to come to the South Australian wine country for his godson's baptism. The last time he was in this area, a mother disappears at a festival and leaves her daughter alone in a baby carriage.
Kim Gillespie is still missing a year later and Falk reluctantly looks into the disappearance for his friend, Greg Raco while taking on the duties of godfather.
Raco’s brother Charlie use to be married to Kim and they have a daughter together. This close-knit family is still struggling with her disappearance and how out of character it was for Kim to leave her baby that night.
While Falk investigates this mystery, he has a new romance brewing on the sidelines and big decisions that could affect his career and overall life.
Definitely get to this one if you’ve already started this series and also like slow burn mysteries that are wonderfully written!!
January 31, 2023
Update 1/31/23: Reposting my review to celebrate that today is the US publication day!
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishers for sending me an ARC of Exiles in exchange for an honest review.
A year ago, 39-year-old Kim Gillespie disappeared from the Marralee Valley Annual Food and Wine Festival, leaving behind her newborn daughter Zoey safely tucked away in a stroller under the Ferris wheel. Though her body was never found, the general consensus is that she snuck out of the festival and jumped to her death into the nearby reservoir. Now, family and friends, including Australian Federal Police officer Aaron Falk, have returned for the Festival and for the christening of Falk’s soon-to-be godson. Over the course of the week, Aaron meets a wide cast of characters who all had connections to Kim—and to an unsolved, seemingly unrelated hit-and-run years earlier—and Aaron slowly begins to untangle the mysteries.
Exiles works on pretty much every level. The the writing is very good and evocative. Ms. Harper is a very talented writer, able to reveal character and advance the story slowly and steadily through subtle moments. The plot is well-crafted, juggling multiple mysteries in the present and the past, dispensing little clues and a fair amount of misdirection. Aaron Falk is a fully realized character (especially after two earlier books), who ends up playing the role of wise, observant outsider. But there are probably ten other significant characters and each of them is also sharply drawn. Most of the story is told from Aaron’s perspective, but there are occasional chapters from another’s perspective, and each of those is a revelatory gut punch.
Finally, a word about the narrator, Stephen Shanahan. He’s an Earphones Award Winner, and he has narrated several of Ms. Harper’s novels. His reading of each of her books, including this one, is wonderful. He does an excellent job of varying his voice for the different characters, and has a great Australian accent that is just perfect for the material. Honestly, there should be a law that he narrates every novel set in Australia. 😄
Exiles is another excellent mystery by Jane Harper. And if this novel is where we say goodbye to Aaron Falk, at least he’s been left in a good place. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Highly recommended, though you really should read the earlier two books in the series (The Dry and Force of Nature) first.
The little things you could’ve done differently. That was the stuff that haunted you.
…
We see what we expect to see.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishers for sending me an ARC of Exiles in exchange for an honest review.
A year ago, 39-year-old Kim Gillespie disappeared from the Marralee Valley Annual Food and Wine Festival, leaving behind her newborn daughter Zoey safely tucked away in a stroller under the Ferris wheel. Though her body was never found, the general consensus is that she snuck out of the festival and jumped to her death into the nearby reservoir. Now, family and friends, including Australian Federal Police officer Aaron Falk, have returned for the Festival and for the christening of Falk’s soon-to-be godson. Over the course of the week, Aaron meets a wide cast of characters who all had connections to Kim—and to an unsolved, seemingly unrelated hit-and-run years earlier—and Aaron slowly begins to untangle the mysteries.
Exiles works on pretty much every level. The the writing is very good and evocative. Ms. Harper is a very talented writer, able to reveal character and advance the story slowly and steadily through subtle moments. The plot is well-crafted, juggling multiple mysteries in the present and the past, dispensing little clues and a fair amount of misdirection. Aaron Falk is a fully realized character (especially after two earlier books), who ends up playing the role of wise, observant outsider. But there are probably ten other significant characters and each of them is also sharply drawn. Most of the story is told from Aaron’s perspective, but there are occasional chapters from another’s perspective, and each of those is a revelatory gut punch.
Finally, a word about the narrator, Stephen Shanahan. He’s an Earphones Award Winner, and he has narrated several of Ms. Harper’s novels. His reading of each of her books, including this one, is wonderful. He does an excellent job of varying his voice for the different characters, and has a great Australian accent that is just perfect for the material. Honestly, there should be a law that he narrates every novel set in Australia. 😄
Exiles is another excellent mystery by Jane Harper. And if this novel is where we say goodbye to Aaron Falk, at least he’s been left in a good place. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Highly recommended, though you really should read the earlier two books in the series (The Dry and Force of Nature) first.
January 16, 2023
3.5 stars
In this third book in the 'Aaron Falk' series, the Australian detective helps investigate a woman's disappearance. The book works fine as a standalone.
*****
Aaron Falk takes a break from his job as a Federal Police Investigator in Melbourne......
.....to visit his friends Greg and Rita Raco in the southern Australian town of Marralee Valley. Aaron will attend the christening of the Racos toddler son Henry, for whom Aaron is godfather.
While Aaron's in town, he'll also attend Marralee Valley's annual Food and Wine Festival, where a tragedy occurred a year ago.
During last year's Food and Wine Festival, a woman named Kim Gillespie disappeared, leaving her baby daughter Zoe alone in her stroller.
The police found Kim's shoe in a reservoir near the fairgrounds, and concluded the missing woman committed suicide. However Kim's body was never found, and Kim's teenage daughter Zara - from a previous relationship with Charlie Raco (Greg's brother) - refuses to believe Kim killed herself.
Thus Zara plans to pass out fliers and stage an appeal at this year's festival, asking for information about her mother. Kim's husband Rohan, who's been raising little Zoe alone, will also be present to aid with the appeal.
Meanwhile, Zara's uncle Greg Raco, who's a police officer, plans to continue investigating Kim's disappearance.... and he asks Aaron Falk to help.
As it happens, Kim's vanishing isn't the only mystery in Marralee Valley. Six years ago a man called Dean Tozer was killed in a hit-and-run incident, but the perpetrator cleaned up the scene and was never identified.
Dean's wife Gemma and his son Joel still hope the driver will be found, but this seems less and less likely as time passes.
Aaron Falk - who met Gemma previously, when she was visiting Melbourne - decides to look into the tragedy, in part because he'd like to have a relationship with Gemma.
Most of the story, which is told largely from Aaron's point of view, focuses on Kim's disappearance, but we also get evocative sketches of picturesque, wine-producing Marralee Valley;
meet some of the town's colorful residents (such as a beautiful flirtatious woman and a former footy star);
learn about the seemingly dangerous reservoir; get depictions of the annual teen drinking party, where the kids get blotto; and more.
Aaron is an intuitive detective who susses out clues that other people miss, and he eventually solves all the mysteries. I won't say more because of spoilers. I enjoyed the novel, and recommend it to fans of suspense stories.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Stephen Shanahan, who does a fine job.
Thanks to Netgalley, Jane Harper, and Macmillan Audio for a copy of the book.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com
February 8, 2023
Whatever happened to Kim? Supposedly she left her child in a stroller, at a festival, and walked away not to be seen again. The story starts a year later as Aaron Falk comes back to the area where Kim had gone missing. Aaron is back for his role as a godfather to Greg and Rita Raco's son, Henry, a job he had to give up last year after the disappearance.
Falk seems to be a workaholic as a financial federal investigator, but now he's back for a happy occasion, Henry's christening. Although sadness is present as Hawk witnesses many posters announcing Kim's disappearance. Kim has a teenage daughter who along with many others wants answers.
We are taken back seven years where Kim and her friends have suffered the hit and run accident of their friend, Dean, and after that occurrence Kim seems to seclude herself from her friends.
How does all of this tie together and where is Kim? Even if she is dead, people want to know.
Jane Harper has made a compelling story with friends drifting and lives moving forward from each other. The elements of drinking and its often repercussions is brought forward. We do get to know Falk, a protagonist from Harper's previous books, and his troubled background and he does seem to meet someone he starts to care for. Can Falk find out the mysteries behind the deaths and can he possible finally find a place he can call home?
Thank you to Jane Harper, Macmillan Audio with a fine narration by Stephen Shananhan, and NetGalley for the ability to listen to this story, which published on January 31, 2023.
Jan and I enjoyed the time spent with Aaron Falk and am sad to see the series end.
Falk seems to be a workaholic as a financial federal investigator, but now he's back for a happy occasion, Henry's christening. Although sadness is present as Hawk witnesses many posters announcing Kim's disappearance. Kim has a teenage daughter who along with many others wants answers.
We are taken back seven years where Kim and her friends have suffered the hit and run accident of their friend, Dean, and after that occurrence Kim seems to seclude herself from her friends.
How does all of this tie together and where is Kim? Even if she is dead, people want to know.
Jane Harper has made a compelling story with friends drifting and lives moving forward from each other. The elements of drinking and its often repercussions is brought forward. We do get to know Falk, a protagonist from Harper's previous books, and his troubled background and he does seem to meet someone he starts to care for. Can Falk find out the mysteries behind the deaths and can he possible finally find a place he can call home?
Thank you to Jane Harper, Macmillan Audio with a fine narration by Stephen Shananhan, and NetGalley for the ability to listen to this story, which published on January 31, 2023.
Jan and I enjoyed the time spent with Aaron Falk and am sad to see the series end.
October 2, 2022
A very disappointing final outing for Aaron Falk - I solved the main mystery as soon as one character described their movements on the night of the disappearance. The second mystery I did not solve, but it also felt low stakes to solve as far as the amount of time spent on it/the actual unravelling.
This book is much more of a small town romance with a side of mystery than any of Harper's other books, just a very different energy overall.
This book is much more of a small town romance with a side of mystery than any of Harper's other books, just a very different energy overall.
April 27, 2023
One second, let me put my Unpopular Opinion hat on. Okay, ready.
So - I loved the previous two Falk books, while Exiles' ratings give me the sense I read an entirely different book from everyone else.
There are a couple of things Harper had to accomplish in this final installment of the Aaron Falk series: present a mystery we could solve with him, and give the character a nice send-off. I think perhaps she succeeded with the latter, at high cost and sacrifice of the former (as well as my personal enjoyment as a reader).
I found this book slow, bogged down heavily with content that would've been more at home in women's fiction, small-town romances, or a family drama. As this series has never been any of those, I was unpleasantly surprised. Pages and pages were spent on family life with the Racos, nursing children or tending to them, and I was simply not there for that, even if it was nice to see Falk with family of sorts and in a domestic setting. There were lengthy flashbacks and conversations that never furthered the mystery, but rather felt like hardcore retconning to fill in the character of Falk and his life before this case, just before we close his series. Bit late for that, I thought.
Literally hundreds of pages of filler content were in this book that has a page count of over four hundred. As such, the "suspense" labels are baffling me this time around; is it truly suspense, per se, if you present a mystery, ramble for hundreds of pages, and then present a neat summation of events?
A plot device that kept coming up that bothered me was also the use of memory. Several times Falk says something to the effect of "It could have been this I saw, or it could have been that", and he's not the only to do this either. It does ground us in some realism that many characters distrust their memory and offer several versions of events as they revisit them on-page, but at the same time, some characters recall things a little too vividly for having been a passing glance or action a year or more before. It was just clunky, implausible writing at many points for me.
And a major character was missing that was present in the Falk books before: Australia as a background but essential character. In both The Dry and Force of Nature, the climate and seasons of different areas of Australia heavily influence the stakes and tension in the plot. That was entirely missing here.
As for the couple of mysteries involved, I was heavily disappointed in how they were presented and their resolutions. Harper did something several times where Falk realizes something in his own mind, and asks someone something kind of "off-screen", and that takes from us as readers the ability to put things together ourselves. That's poor mystery crafting for me.
So between the major letdown of the mysteries and the writing itself, as well as the unbalanced, meandering plot overall, I was very disappointed in this conclusion to Falk's mysteries. I give it two stars.
So - I loved the previous two Falk books, while Exiles' ratings give me the sense I read an entirely different book from everyone else.
There are a couple of things Harper had to accomplish in this final installment of the Aaron Falk series: present a mystery we could solve with him, and give the character a nice send-off. I think perhaps she succeeded with the latter, at high cost and sacrifice of the former (as well as my personal enjoyment as a reader).
I found this book slow, bogged down heavily with content that would've been more at home in women's fiction, small-town romances, or a family drama. As this series has never been any of those, I was unpleasantly surprised. Pages and pages were spent on family life with the Racos, nursing children or tending to them, and I was simply not there for that, even if it was nice to see Falk with family of sorts and in a domestic setting. There were lengthy flashbacks and conversations that never furthered the mystery, but rather felt like hardcore retconning to fill in the character of Falk and his life before this case, just before we close his series. Bit late for that, I thought.
Literally hundreds of pages of filler content were in this book that has a page count of over four hundred. As such, the "suspense" labels are baffling me this time around; is it truly suspense, per se, if you present a mystery, ramble for hundreds of pages, and then present a neat summation of events?
A plot device that kept coming up that bothered me was also the use of memory. Several times Falk says something to the effect of "It could have been this I saw, or it could have been that", and he's not the only to do this either. It does ground us in some realism that many characters distrust their memory and offer several versions of events as they revisit them on-page, but at the same time, some characters recall things a little too vividly for having been a passing glance or action a year or more before. It was just clunky, implausible writing at many points for me.
And a major character was missing that was present in the Falk books before: Australia as a background but essential character. In both The Dry and Force of Nature, the climate and seasons of different areas of Australia heavily influence the stakes and tension in the plot. That was entirely missing here.
As for the couple of mysteries involved, I was heavily disappointed in how they were presented and their resolutions. Harper did something several times where Falk realizes something in his own mind, and asks someone something kind of "off-screen", and that takes from us as readers the ability to put things together ourselves. That's poor mystery crafting for me.
So between the major letdown of the mysteries and the writing itself, as well as the unbalanced, meandering plot overall, I was very disappointed in this conclusion to Falk's mysteries. I give it two stars.
April 29, 2023
5★
“Two days later, they found a shoe. Kim Gillespie’s white trainer, waterlogged and streaked with sediment, was recovered more than a kilometre to the east, jammed in the dam’s filters.”
Last year, Aaron Falk was in South Australia to be godfather to Henry, Greg and Rita Raco’s new baby. It was the week of the Marralee Annual Food and Wine Festival, and nobody I know would pass up a festival celebrating wine in South Australia!
Old friends gathered, new people were introduced, and people waved to each other across the crowds. Happy times.
But late at night, as the festival was closing, a worker found a lone pram with baby Zoe in it. Kim Gillespie’s baby. Henry’s christening was postponed, and the search was on. The shoe was found.
“Specialist divers were called to broach the crack in the base at the centre of the natural reservoir. They went as deep into the cavernous void as they could, while searchers swept the perimeter on foot and in ranger vehicles, and volunteers combed the shallows in their weekend boats.
. . .
But Zoe’s mother did not come back for her.”
Teenagers Zara and Joel have lost none of their persistence. Zara is Kim’s daughter with Charlie Raco, Greg’s brother, and she has lived with Kim since her parents split up. She has the usual teen angst, but amplified – resentment, withdrawal, anger, and fear.
Joel has been trying for five years to find the hit-and-run driver that pushed his father’s car into the reservoir. He has some splinters of timber with blue paint on it and has been trying to track down the car that crashed Dean through the barrier.
Dean’s body wasn’t found for months. But Joel points out to Aaron– it was found.
“‘And here’s another fact for you. It took nearly six months to find my dad in that water, but in the end they still found him. Take a guess how many people in the past fifty years have drowned in the reservoir and never been seen again?’
‘Go on.’
‘Kim would be the first.’”
Aaron is part of the financial division of the Australian Federal Police working in Victoria, nothing to do with a missing person or death in the neighbouring state of South Australia. He and Greg worked together policing in the past, so the kids and others turn to them both for help.
Who was the last to see Kim? Where? How was she? Who had been in touch with her recently? Why would she leave her baby? Where is she? Meanwhile her husband Rohan is raising little Zoe alone.
This year, as they wander around the festival, they try to remember and retrace their steps at the last festival. Some of these people are old friends of Aaron’s, while others are childhood friends of theirs, so we see the dynamics of a pretty close community in a small town. Aaron is enjoying their company, and there’s even a bit of match-making going on.
This takes place in the celebrated wine country of South Australia, and I have to say that I expected a lot of drinking, but except for flashbacks to the drunken teens who still party at the reservoir regularly (as their parents did before them), the adults drink a lot of iced water. They need to be sober to look after this wonderful countryside.
Falk, from the reservoir:
“He leaned both hands on the railing and let himself relax for a minute, soaking up the sight in front of him. Light wisps of cloud moved across the sky, throwing delicate patterns of shadow below. From that height, the town looked small, its surrounds vivid and lush. Long rows of grapevines stretched out, their man-made perfection drawing the eye. Far in the distance, he could make out the aggressively imperfect crack where part of the giant Murray River carved its way through the land.”
This is the last in Falk’s series, and Harper has congregated the old and new characters around him smoothly. They have helped him mellow, loosen up, and live a little.
Love the characters, love their story, love the landscape.
Please pass the shiraz!
P.S. This is fine as a standalone. I admit I had to be reminded who the old friends were anyway. 😊
“Two days later, they found a shoe. Kim Gillespie’s white trainer, waterlogged and streaked with sediment, was recovered more than a kilometre to the east, jammed in the dam’s filters.”
Last year, Aaron Falk was in South Australia to be godfather to Henry, Greg and Rita Raco’s new baby. It was the week of the Marralee Annual Food and Wine Festival, and nobody I know would pass up a festival celebrating wine in South Australia!
Old friends gathered, new people were introduced, and people waved to each other across the crowds. Happy times.
But late at night, as the festival was closing, a worker found a lone pram with baby Zoe in it. Kim Gillespie’s baby. Henry’s christening was postponed, and the search was on. The shoe was found.
“Specialist divers were called to broach the crack in the base at the centre of the natural reservoir. They went as deep into the cavernous void as they could, while searchers swept the perimeter on foot and in ranger vehicles, and volunteers combed the shallows in their weekend boats.
. . .
But Zoe’s mother did not come back for her.”
Teenagers Zara and Joel have lost none of their persistence. Zara is Kim’s daughter with Charlie Raco, Greg’s brother, and she has lived with Kim since her parents split up. She has the usual teen angst, but amplified – resentment, withdrawal, anger, and fear.
Joel has been trying for five years to find the hit-and-run driver that pushed his father’s car into the reservoir. He has some splinters of timber with blue paint on it and has been trying to track down the car that crashed Dean through the barrier.
Dean’s body wasn’t found for months. But Joel points out to Aaron– it was found.
“‘And here’s another fact for you. It took nearly six months to find my dad in that water, but in the end they still found him. Take a guess how many people in the past fifty years have drowned in the reservoir and never been seen again?’
‘Go on.’
‘Kim would be the first.’”
Aaron is part of the financial division of the Australian Federal Police working in Victoria, nothing to do with a missing person or death in the neighbouring state of South Australia. He and Greg worked together policing in the past, so the kids and others turn to them both for help.
Who was the last to see Kim? Where? How was she? Who had been in touch with her recently? Why would she leave her baby? Where is she? Meanwhile her husband Rohan is raising little Zoe alone.
This year, as they wander around the festival, they try to remember and retrace their steps at the last festival. Some of these people are old friends of Aaron’s, while others are childhood friends of theirs, so we see the dynamics of a pretty close community in a small town. Aaron is enjoying their company, and there’s even a bit of match-making going on.
This takes place in the celebrated wine country of South Australia, and I have to say that I expected a lot of drinking, but except for flashbacks to the drunken teens who still party at the reservoir regularly (as their parents did before them), the adults drink a lot of iced water. They need to be sober to look after this wonderful countryside.
Falk, from the reservoir:
“He leaned both hands on the railing and let himself relax for a minute, soaking up the sight in front of him. Light wisps of cloud moved across the sky, throwing delicate patterns of shadow below. From that height, the town looked small, its surrounds vivid and lush. Long rows of grapevines stretched out, their man-made perfection drawing the eye. Far in the distance, he could make out the aggressively imperfect crack where part of the giant Murray River carved its way through the land.”
This is the last in Falk’s series, and Harper has congregated the old and new characters around him smoothly. They have helped him mellow, loosen up, and live a little.
Love the characters, love their story, love the landscape.
Please pass the shiraz!
P.S. This is fine as a standalone. I admit I had to be reminded who the old friends were anyway. 😊
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