Book Review: THE SURVIVORS by Jane Harper

 

Title: THE SURVIVORS

Author:  Jane Harper

Publisher: Macmillan Australia 

Read: September 2020

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2

 

Book Description:

 

Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences.

The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal town he once called home.

Kieran's parents are struggling in a community which is bound, for better or worse, to the sea, that is both a lifeline and a threat. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn.

When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away...

 

My musings:

 

Jane Harper is a master at creating a tense, atmospheric setting, and her latest book is no exception. Whilst she has previously taken us to remote outback locations, THE SURVIVORS is set in a small Tasmanian beach town, which is still reeling from the loss of three people in a massive storm ten years ago and has left lasting scars in the community. I loved the wild and beautiful setting, a rugged coast with hidden caves and rip tides and a small community where everyone knows each other’s business – it really made for the most divine setting!

 

Whilst THE SURVIVORS was perhaps not as gritty as Harper’s previous novels and took a little bit longer to grip me, I really enjoyed the slow unravelling of family secrets heavily burdened by past guilt in a community where the loss of lives has left lasting scars. Living in a small beachside community I could relate to a lot of the dynamics described here. And of course if you are looking for some great armchair travel to beautiful Tasmania, it doesn’t get much more atmospheric than this! Even though the mystery itself was not as thrilling as I had expected, and the ending a bit of an anti-climax for me, I still enjoyed the overall experience. Trying to pinpoint what exactly made this novel very different from Harper’s previous books made me reflect that the main character, Kieran, remained a somewhat remote character and one I found difficult to bond with. Not being a detective who was involved in the murder investigation kept him as well as the reader on the periphery of the crime committed at the start of the story, which may have accounted for the slower pace and the lack of gritty details I appreciated in Harper’s previous books. I  recommend it to readers who enjoy a slower, broody mystery revolving around families, the burden of guilt and grief and overcoming past trauma.

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Australia for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.