It was probably a bad idea to read a crime novel set in a dying, drought-stricken, rural Aussie town when half my state is on fire and dozens of non-fictional towns are literally running out of water, but oh well. Can’t blame a four-year-old novel for being painfully relevant to current events. Depression practically oozed off the pages, and I couldn’t help thinking that if Kiewarra were real it would be cinders by now.

Depressing realism aside, I thought this was a well-written novel with a decent mystery and an interesting main character. To clarify, the present-day mystery was decent. The past mystery was a disappointing collection of violence-against-young-women tropes. Still, I’m interested enough to seek out more by Harper. I’m undecided if I want to read the sequel, though. Aaron Falk is an interesting character, but he definitely belongs to the class of crime novel protagonists in desperate need of a good therapist. I don’t know if I want to read a few hundred more pages of him not working through his abandonment issues. I hear Harper’s third book is a standalone and also pretty darn good. Maybe I’ll just skip to that one.

My first Jane Harper, and what I can tell so far is that this book is not going to be a favourite.

It's not the story, it's the writing style. It doesn't grab me. And the characters seem very generic - I can't tell them apart. 

Do I care about the story if I can't care about the characters....not so much. 

If something doesn't happen soon that makes me sit up, this may end up being a DNF.

I really liked this murder mystery combining an ongoing crime investigation with past secrets buried for decades in a drought-ravaged farming town in Australia. The past and present cases seem to intersect but there are a few surprises for me along the way. The story focuses on the intricacies of human relationship and small town intrigue, and the main character Falk is a sympathetic figure that rises above the unjust treatment he receives. I might check out more from this author.

I just finished this and Wow. Just... wow. No idea how to review this without spoiling the plot, but this is the second Jane Harper book I've read and both have been excellent, compelling reads. Unlike The Dry, it's not detective fiction, but I think the story is better for it. She has a way of creating believable, nuanced characters that I can empathize with, although none are fully likeable. Her ability to immerse the reader in the setting had me feeling hot and thirsty, feeling the grit of the Outback on my skin and in my clothes. She skillfully dropped hints and clues into the story so that the big reveal was not a surprise or a cheat, but I wasn't entirely sure of it until the very end. And that end is hopeful, but not HEA either. 

Hardcover, borrowed from my public library. So very glad I came across it on the New Fiction shelf by accident. 

I read this for The 24 Festive Tasks 2019, for Door 3 Melbourne Cup Day,Read a book about horses, with a horse or with roses on the cover, about gardening, or set in Australia, or written by an Australian author. This book is set in Australia, written by an Australian author, and it does have horses that serve a definite purpose in the story. 

Don't you just love when the whole universe conspires to get just the right book to you at just the right time? 

Today is Voting Day in my little corner of the world, and as my polling station is in the same building as the city library, I stopped there first to return an overdue book and pay the library policeman her hefty 80 cent fine. And what caught my eye in the New Books! shelf but The Lost Man by Jane Harper, which just happens to be set in Australia and written by an Aussie! I have had the ebook on hold for forever, but apparently it's a lot easier to get your hands on the Old Fart Edition (ie large print). 

And I managed to get through the first chapter while waiting in line to vote, and it was killer. I can't wait to get back to it after work.