You'll write the script, I'll read the lines: THE LOST MAN.

The Lost Man by Jane Harper

My rating: 4+ of 5 stars


It's been a while since Nathan has seen his youngest brother, Bub. They live on large, adjoining properties out in the middle of nowhere in Queensland, Australia, but they are not close. What has joined the two brothers today is the death of their middle brother, Cameron, whose body is found by the grave of a long-dead stockman: an ancient landmark that casts the only bit of shadow for miles. The brothers are baffled by Cameron's death--his perfectly working, well-stocked car is found miles from the grave. What would possess their brother, who knew all too well the dangers of the scorching outback, to wander from his car to a near certain death?

I love Jane Harper and this book was certainly no exception. This is her first standalone novel (no Aaron Falk this time), and it is another beautifully written, captivating book that leaves you guessing until the very end. The characters are as scant as the landscape: the three brothers; their mother; Cameron's wife, Isle; Nathan's teenage son, Xander; a few workers from Cameron's property; and a couple of townsfolk. Yet somehow Harper weaves an excellent story that casts doubt from the beginning on what happened to Cameron. Did he purposely wander into the outback to his death? Or was something more nefarious going on?

While we're trying to figure out what happened, we're learning that something happened with Nathan in this isolated community, leaving him angry and alone. Bub seems bitter himself. Harper inserts tales of the family's past along with the present, giving us more details about our characters. And, at the same time, we start to see how no one's stories really add up. There's no real detective in this one, per se--at least no Aaron Falk, even if there is someone investigating Cameron's death--so things unravel mainly from Nathan's perspective.

And, of course, the unforgiving outback landscape is its own character: vast, stark, and dividing the brothers in more ways than one. Harper describes it so beautifully, just as she has done in her previous works. She so expertly captures the complicated family drama occurring as well as the small town dynamics happening in this often dangerous, isolated environment. The result, especially with these tense, well-drawn characters is a taunt, dramatic story that kept me reading and wondering until the very end.

I will easily read anything Jane Harper writes; her books simply do not disappoint. This one was different, in many ways, than the first two Aaron Falk novels, yet had many similarities, including her beautiful writing, nuanced plot, and wonderful characters. 4+ stars.

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