The Lost Man by Jane Harper

Two brothers drive out to the fence line separating their cattle ranches in the remote Australian outback. The third brother lies dead at their feet. So begins The Lost Man, the latest thriller from Jane Harper. The unforgiving Australian heat will kill a person in hours so everyone knows to always be prepared; keep water and supplies in your vehicle, and stay with your vehicle if something goes wrong. So how and why did Cameron Bright wind up alone and dead lying next to the infamous Stockman’s grave, miles away from his truck?

Nathan returns with his brother Bub to the ranch and a family he has been growing apart from. The ranch is home to family, an old ranch hand who has been around since the beginning, and some seasonal help. The grief has scraped everyone raw, but Nathan begins to wonder if someone there pushed Cam to this fate?

Jane Harper paints a picture of the scorching Australian landscape that seeps into your skin. She populates it with complex characters that will both shock you and make you despair for them. She holds your attention with every page, every sentence, every word. She draws you in tight with the opening and the discovery of the body at the Stockman’s grave. Then she slowly pulls back revealing more and more of the country, the lives of the people who live there, and the situation that has led them to this point. Gradually peeling back the layers of the characters that will have you guessing and changing your mind all the way to the end.

Harper is at the forefront of a new wave of thriller writers coming out of Australia and she is at the top of my must-read list period. She describes an Australia that I’m not sure an actual visit could impress on me any better. The characters are complicated and tragic, the plot a slow steady burn that doesn’t let you up for air until it reaches its final, devasting conclusion. The Lost Man is destined for bestseller status, another slew of awards, and is likely to be on top of my list of best books of 2019. Highly recommended.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.

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