Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Lost Man

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The Lost Man by Jane Harper

25 reviews

mel_s_bookshelf's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

Jane Harper’s The Lost Man was slow from the start, and never really picked up for me. While the concept seemed interesting, I can’t say it panned out the way I was hoping. The characters attempted to be interesting, but the lack of surroundings and repetition of stories prevented them from having any real depth. Also, this story makes it hard, extremely hard, to like or feel bad for any of the characters, including those who have died. Yes, everyone has baggage, but this book focused more on unraveling the images of characters than it really did on solving the mystery surrounding Cam’s death. For me, this book was longer than it needed to be for a place where nothing happens, and the characters weren’t interesting enough to save the story.

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bookstorian's review against another edition

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4.0

I'm a keen enthusiast of a mystery read and needed something quick and thrilling to finish off the month - while I didn't find this book entirely thrilling, there were many mysteries that slowly unravelled as I read.

The Bright family have been part of the Balmarra landscape for over a hundred years when one of the three brothers is found laying dead at the infamous Stockman's grave. Although his death if quickly written off as suicide, Nathan, the eldest brother can't seem to shake the feeling that there is more to the story.

There were many classic Jane Harper elements to this story that I loved including the establishment of place - it was so vivid and real, you could sense the isolation and heat of the land as well as the character's relationship with it. The character's were also well fleshed out, most of them had a backstory that not only gave them colour, but also motive. The infusion of outback myth/ghost stories as well as some of the moral decisions made by the characters was awesome as well as the exploration of family and the cyclical nature of abuse.

Whilst the story took a little while to unfurl, I liked that it allowed me to make my own hypothesis about how Cameron died.

I'm glad I can finally tick another Jane Harper novel off my TBR!

Similar to 'The Dry' by Jane Harper and 'The Wrong Woman' by JP Pomare.

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jhbandcats's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow, Jane Harper writes Such Great Books! This one brought the Outback to life in all its sere isolation. It’s made abundantly clear from the first page that this is a deadly environment and if you’re not prepared for the harshness of the land, it will kill you. Harper writes so well that I felt enveloped by her story - it was so vivid.

The Lost Man is an in-depth look at a family wracked by violence down through the generations. The three adult sons have each dealt with their childhood in different ways, with alcoholism and mental illness ongoing despite all the years that have passed. The death of the middle son has the eldest, Nathan, examining the past with new insight and empathy.

The redemption at the end felt so good. I really recommend all Harper’s books and am really eager for her next Aaron Falk (The Dry, Force of Nature) book, available in the US in Jan 2023.

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kponturo's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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j_squaredd's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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readsipsnuggle's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Jane Harper is the absolute best there is these days when it comes to Australian mystery novels, set in towns that feel so authentic. Shanahan makes for the perfect narrator for her audiobooks as well, with each character so distinctly unique. Highly recommend if you want to read or listen to something you can't step away from.

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