I love crime fiction! Even if I’ve diversified my reading in recent years, I always return to this genre. However, I am not a big fan of modern crime thrillers with a twist on every other page and an abundance of unreliable narrators.
No, it’s the slow, character driven stories, which appeal the most. When reading my favourite mysteries, I regularly forget about the mystery at hand, because I get so immersed in the stories of the individual characters. Ann Cleeves and P. D. James are some of my favourite authors within this corner of crime fiction.
With The Lost Man, Jane Harper could very well join these two favourite authors. Her debut The Dry was enjoyable, but The Lost Man is in a different league altogether.
The story is set in the outback of Queensland, Australia, where both Nathan and his brother Cameron own wast cattle farms, where you can drive for miles without seeing a living soul. Like in The Dry, Jane Harper’s writing is descriptive and evocative to the extent that I was completely transported from London and mediocre temperatures to the dry, unforgiving outback, where nobody survives for long if getting lost. I felt the relentless sun baking down on me and even had to check my water supplies.
It all kicks off with Cameron being found dead on his grounds, away from his car. It is dismissed as a possible suicide, even if both the family and the police feel something isn’t right.
Gradually, we learn about the complex dynamics between family members and experience how living in the brutal environment affects the characters mentally. Also, events from the past are revealed little by little. Everyone has secrets. Everyone carries luggage around. And some of this luggage affects events happening in the present time. In some ways, The Lost Man bears more resemblance to a family drama than to a mystery. It’s a wonderful, poignant story of missed opportunities, regrets, abuse and loneliness.
I also loved the characters. They all felt like real people, who make mistakes, behave irrationally, take bad decisions. People you can recognise, sympathise with, yell at and most importantly people you can engage with and care about.
The Lost Man was the best mystery I’ve read this year and possibly one of the best books as well. I can’t wait to see what Jane Harper comes up with next.
Title: The Lost Man [2018] Author: Jane Harper Format: Audiobook, narrated by Stephen Shanahan Genre: Crime Fiction / Mystery
“I can’t wait to see what Jane Harper comes up with next”. The answer is The Survivors, already out. And between The Dry and The Lost Man there was Force of Nature. A fifth is a work in progress after having seen The Dry turned into a movie success.
Agree, very atmospheric books, although Force of Nature was a bit of a letdown and The Lost Man tended to go walkabout without reason every now and then. “Crime” books where the setting and the characters take pride of place are much preferred to those which focus on bloody deeds, gore and often unbelievable action.
Am currently reading Black River by Will Dean which is a supreme example of immersing the reader in a foreign setting that that exists yet few are likely to have experienced. Eerie yet totally believable and magnetic.
As you mention, Ann Cleeves does this so well regardless of where her stories are set, from the Shetlands right through to Devon. It is also why Ian Rankin remains a constant on my reading list – for his deep knowledge and understanding of Scotland (especially Edinburgh) and the credible characters populating each story. The crime again taking secondary place.
Ah yes, The Survivors. I will look into that next time I feel like an atmospheric mystery. I don’t think my library has it though (I listened to The Lost Man via the library app). As I remember it, I saw some rather lukewarm reviews of Force of Nature, with many reviewers saying it couldn’t live up to The Dry. So I am not going to pick up that one.
Yeah, at some point I almost stopped reading crime, because I found that all the modern stuff wasn’t to my taste. I am sure there are some writers out there sticking to a more “old-fashioned” style like Ann Cleeves, but I just haven’t found them. A few days ago, I started on my first Jane Casey. Everybody seems to love her. So far I am not enjoying it. 🙁 I like Ian Rankin as well, even if he isn’t one of my favourites.
Wonderful review I’m so glad you loved it too! ;-D
Thanks Nicki, it really was a great read!
I’ve just checked, and this book’s available in our library. Thanks for the suggestion!
The reason I picked up this one in the first place was that it was available on audio via the library app. I hope you will enjoy it!
I haven’t tried Harper yet myself but I’ve heard lots of good things!
Yeah, The Lost Man was definitely worth picking up!
I read The Survivors quite recently. It was my first by Harper and I had high expectations. I wasn’t disappointed despite hearing that this latest book is possibly not her best. It was still very good and I’m very keen to read more from her. Perhaps The Lost Man next!
I haven’t read The Survivors, but I’ve also heard people saying that The Lost Man is her best so far. So if you enjoyed The Survivors you should definitely try this one as well.
Sounds like another good one. You know, I could really do with you reading a succession of terrible books. Purely selfish, I know, but it looks like I’ll be visiting the library again.
Haha, sorry about that. I do read bad or less interesting books as well, but I don’t always review them. 😁 The Lost Man is certainly worth a library visit!
I think you are right. Keep them coming as I am always looking for new stuff to read, despite my comment. Always love your reviews too.
Aww thanks, glad to hear it!
I’ve added Cleeves and Harper to my list. I like crime fiction and am unfamiliar with their books. Thanks for the tips.
As you can gather, both of them write slow and atmospheric books, so if you prefer fast- paced thrillers, they may not be for you. Ann Cleeves is very popular here in the UK, but she may not have made much impression on your side of the pond.
I completely agree. The Dry was good but I found this book so intense and loved the characters. It was great by audio. I’ll definitely read more by this author.
Exactly! Did you listen to the interview with the narrator at the end of the book? He said, he never read the book in advance, just went ahead and recorded. I thought that was quite impressive.
Definitely checking this one out.
Hope you will like it!
Great review! Not read any of hers yet.
Perhaps, you prefer more fast-paced crime thrillers?
I do like a fast pace or I tend to get impatient! On the other hand, if I enjoy the writing style, this might be enough for me to stay focused!
Yeah, I’m not sure Jane Harper is for you then. To be honest, very little happens (and yet, it kept me spellbound throughout).
Great review! The photo you included is spot on, too. I also loved The Lost Man and have her next book, The Survivors on my shelves.
Great, I may pick up The Survivors as well at some point. Feel free to read it before me and let me know what you think! 😁
I have to read The Survivors soon because I’m passing my copy on to someone else once I’ve finished and I know they’re wishing I’d hurry up!
That sounds good, I look forward to hear your opinion. And yes, we can definitely compare notes, when I have read it as well, that should be fun!
🙂
Plus, you and I can compare notes!
I’m sold, I haven’t read anything by her but she’s on my list!
I would love to hear what you think about this one! 🙂
I jut borrowed it from the library today. Off to bed for A Good Read now.
Ooh, let me know how you get on with it.
Well, I enjoyed it, especially the evocation of the outback. But I found the ending far too ‘and they all lived happily ever after’, and not quite credible. It may appear in my next 6 Degrees.
Agree, it was a bit of a fairytale ending, but it didn’t bother me as much as it would have done in contemporary fiction. Perhaps it’s because I read a lot of more traditional crime fiction and it kinda goes with the genre…
It wasn’t the happy ending as such. Just that every damn’ thing turned out well. But I still enjoyed it.
Haha, that makes sense!
All right, a promising Aussie book! On the TBR it goes! 😀
Hope you will enjoy it!
I only read Force of Nature so far and wasn’t inclined to add more books of this author to my list but if you say it’s the best mystery of the year, I might have to give her another go. I do remember that I loved the setting too. Great review!
I’ve seen rather lukewarm reviews of Force of Nature, so I decided (wisely it sounds) not to pick it up. If you are willing to give the author another try, you should definitely go for The Lost Man. Nicki says it her best so far. 😁
Nice! If you enjoy Australian authors and mysteries, I also recommend Candice Fox, in case you don’t know her: https://wordsandpeace.com/2021/02/28/sunday-post-40-2-28-2021/
Thanks so much, I am not familiar with Candice Fox, but will look into her books!
She is very much worth checking out – award winner and a leading light in what is quite a pantheon of female crime writers Down Under who are greatly helped by the wonderfully supportive Sister in Crime. And among their number is Jane Harper, previous winner of their annual Scarlet Stiletto award.
She does sound like an interesting author, thanks for info!
It’s been awhile since I listened to the audio of The Lost Man … so remind me if I’m wrong but didn’t the mother leave the son out there in the bush? It gave me a creepy feeling.
Haha, I prefer not to have spoilers in my comments, but the ending was a bit creepy, even if I also understood why it happened.
Lovely review Stargazer! I also really enjoyed The Dry, especially for its evocative setting. I’m really pleased to hear that The Lost Man is even better and returns to the outback – I’ll definitely be adding it to my list! 📚❤️ X x x
Thanks so much! The Australian setting is intriguing and Jane Harper’s descriptions are so evocative and vivid. If you enjoyed The Dry, I am certain you will like The Lost Man as well.
You’ve been busy blogging this summer, Stargazer, and I love it! I have missed checking out what you are up to. I read this book and enjoyed re-visiting it through your eyes and thoughts. She is definitely one of the best authors for atmosphere I’ve ever run across!
Hi Jennifer, good to see you again! Yes, there is always a time during the summer when work slows down, so there has been more time to read and write posts. At the moment I am in a bit of a slump, though. I am glad you enjoyed this one as well, it really was atmospheric!