Scan barcode
j_rowley's review against another edition
3.0
One of three brothers dies in the Outback. Father had been particularly brutal. Eldest married young. They got a bad piece of property from father-in-law. Probably helped doom the marriage. Nathan, after having a really good night with the bartenter Isle, bumped into ex-father-in-law. They have words. Later he passes exFIL on side of the road having heart attack, and he doesn't stop to help which is a no no in the Outback. Town ostracizes him. He's lived alone, not seeing anyone for years.
Middle brother Cam takes over the homestead and marries bartender, Ilse. They have two young girls. Youngest brother Bub lives there with mom, Liz. Cam seems to be a great guy -- find out he's controlling with a mean streak. He might have hurt one of the girls. He might be a serial rapist. Looks like one of the early rapes coming back to haunt him. Suspicion she was killer.
Everyone worried about Nathan on his own. Teen son Xander is worried about him too.
Turns out mom killed him. Saw he was turning into his dad, and she wouldn't allow it.
Nathan leaves us with suspicion that after the car accident which killed dad, that mom wasn't unconscious for that long. That maybe letting someone die is easier the second time around.
Middle brother Cam takes over the homestead and marries bartender, Ilse. They have two young girls. Youngest brother Bub lives there with mom, Liz. Cam seems to be a great guy -- find out he's controlling with a mean streak. He might have hurt one of the girls. He might be a serial rapist. Looks like one of the early rapes coming back to haunt him. Suspicion she was killer.
Everyone worried about Nathan on his own. Teen son Xander is worried about him too.
Turns out mom killed him. Saw he was turning into his dad, and she wouldn't allow it.
Nathan leaves us with suspicion that after the car accident which killed dad, that mom wasn't unconscious for that long. That maybe letting someone die is easier the second time around.
jennitarheelreader's review against another edition
5.0
The Lost Man is my first read from Jane Harper and what a read! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
The Bright brothers live on enormous adjacent cattle properties in the Australian outback. The Lost Man opens with two of the brothers, Nathan and Bub, meeting at the stockman’s grave landmark where their brother, Cameron, has passed away. Was there foul play, or did Cameron intentionally allow himself to die from dehydration in the brutal outback desert?
There are several suspects (in my mind) right away even in this sparsely populated area. Was it Nathan or Bub, the competitive brothers who may have wanted Cameron’s property or possibly a need for revenge?
Was it one or both of the drifters living and working on the property?
Or was Cameron’s wife, Ilse, somehow involved? The way things transpire, the spotlight blinks on each person in time, and I never knew who the red herrings were because there were several!
Now I know why Jane Harper’s writing is first described as atmospheric. YES, it absolutely was. Suspenseful? Another big yes. Dark and gritty? Uh huh!
If you enjoy mysteries, stories of family dynamics, easy-to-read, perfectly paced slower burning suspense, this book has your name all over it.
The Lost Man is an epic, deeply emotional story that will keep you on your toes, and its slower momentum will allow you plenty of time to analyze and explore what you think happened; that is what kept me invested all the more.
I buddy read this with my friend Beth at Bibliobeth, and it was an amazing book to analyze and dissect with a dear friend. ♥️
I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
The Bright brothers live on enormous adjacent cattle properties in the Australian outback. The Lost Man opens with two of the brothers, Nathan and Bub, meeting at the stockman’s grave landmark where their brother, Cameron, has passed away. Was there foul play, or did Cameron intentionally allow himself to die from dehydration in the brutal outback desert?
There are several suspects (in my mind) right away even in this sparsely populated area. Was it Nathan or Bub, the competitive brothers who may have wanted Cameron’s property or possibly a need for revenge?
Was it one or both of the drifters living and working on the property?
Or was Cameron’s wife, Ilse, somehow involved? The way things transpire, the spotlight blinks on each person in time, and I never knew who the red herrings were because there were several!
Now I know why Jane Harper’s writing is first described as atmospheric. YES, it absolutely was. Suspenseful? Another big yes. Dark and gritty? Uh huh!
If you enjoy mysteries, stories of family dynamics, easy-to-read, perfectly paced slower burning suspense, this book has your name all over it.
The Lost Man is an epic, deeply emotional story that will keep you on your toes, and its slower momentum will allow you plenty of time to analyze and explore what you think happened; that is what kept me invested all the more.
I buddy read this with my friend Beth at Bibliobeth, and it was an amazing book to analyze and dissect with a dear friend. ♥️
I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
yak_nika's review against another edition
4.0
Гарний детектив, до того ж атмосфера пустель Австралії заворожує та додає сюжету своєї особливості
dugoutdug23's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting book about a family in the outback and three brothers who are struggling with their past and their future.
One brother dies under mysterious circumstances at the grave of a stockman out in the wilderness; while his vehicle is found a short distance away fully stocked and operational.
One brother dies under mysterious circumstances at the grave of a stockman out in the wilderness; while his vehicle is found a short distance away fully stocked and operational.
busher03's review against another edition
4.0
I've been recently enamored of stories from the Australian Outback, and this book was a quite enjoyable read. Jane Harper does a great job of bringing the atmosphere and isolation of this cattle station to the page. I look forward to reading more from her.
chattycathy55's review against another edition
3.0
so this is a tough review because in some ways i feel like I am reviewing it harder because I liked her other books so much. But this book doesn’t have a lot of plot and has a bit of a happy overly simplistic settled ending that did not ring true for me. At the same time it was a quick read but overall i am going with an average 3 because I think this could have been more.
cinpaw's review against another edition
5.0
Harper got me again! I never see the ending coming and it never disappoints.
Kirkus Reviews: A timely novel set in the furthest reaches of Australia by the author of The Dry (2017) and Force of Nature (2018).
The three Bright brothers are the overseers of 3,500 square kilometers of land in Queensland, with hours between each of their homes. It’s a vast, unforgiving environment, and no one ever goes far without a full complement of supplies. When 40-year-old Cameron sets out on his own, ostensibly to fix a repeater mast, he never comes home. His body is eventually spotted, via helicopter, curled up by the stockman’s grave, the source of plentiful, and persistent, local ghost stories. Cam’s older brother, Nathan, and their baby brother, Bub, are as perplexed as the cop who’s come all the way from Brisbane to investigate. What was Cam doing by the grave, and what was his Land Cruiser doing nine kilometers away, still fully stocked with supplies, with the keys left neatly on the front seat? The Brights' mother, Liz, is devastated, and Cam has also left behind his wife, Ilse, and two young daughters, Sophie and Lo. They’re pragmatic folks, though, and there’s a funeral to be planned, plus Christmas is just around the corner. Everyone seems to assume that Cam took his own life, but Nathan isn’t so sure, and there’s a strange dynamic in Cam's home that he can’t put his finger on. Cam had been acting strangely in the weeks before his death, too. But Nathan’s got his own problems. He’s eager to reconnect with his teenage son, Xander, who's visiting from Brisbane, and he has a complicated history with Ilse. In the days leading up to the funeral, family secrets begin to surface, and Nathan realizes he never really knew his brother at all. Harper’s masterful narrative places readers right in the middle of a desolate landscape that’s almost as alien as the moon’s surface, where the effects of long-term isolation are always a concern. The mystery of Cam’s death is at the dark heart of an unfolding family drama that will leave readers reeling, and the final reveal is a heartbreaker.
A twisty slow burner by an author at the top of her game.
Kirkus Reviews: A timely novel set in the furthest reaches of Australia by the author of The Dry (2017) and Force of Nature (2018).
The three Bright brothers are the overseers of 3,500 square kilometers of land in Queensland, with hours between each of their homes. It’s a vast, unforgiving environment, and no one ever goes far without a full complement of supplies. When 40-year-old Cameron sets out on his own, ostensibly to fix a repeater mast, he never comes home. His body is eventually spotted, via helicopter, curled up by the stockman’s grave, the source of plentiful, and persistent, local ghost stories. Cam’s older brother, Nathan, and their baby brother, Bub, are as perplexed as the cop who’s come all the way from Brisbane to investigate. What was Cam doing by the grave, and what was his Land Cruiser doing nine kilometers away, still fully stocked with supplies, with the keys left neatly on the front seat? The Brights' mother, Liz, is devastated, and Cam has also left behind his wife, Ilse, and two young daughters, Sophie and Lo. They’re pragmatic folks, though, and there’s a funeral to be planned, plus Christmas is just around the corner. Everyone seems to assume that Cam took his own life, but Nathan isn’t so sure, and there’s a strange dynamic in Cam's home that he can’t put his finger on. Cam had been acting strangely in the weeks before his death, too. But Nathan’s got his own problems. He’s eager to reconnect with his teenage son, Xander, who's visiting from Brisbane, and he has a complicated history with Ilse. In the days leading up to the funeral, family secrets begin to surface, and Nathan realizes he never really knew his brother at all. Harper’s masterful narrative places readers right in the middle of a desolate landscape that’s almost as alien as the moon’s surface, where the effects of long-term isolation are always a concern. The mystery of Cam’s death is at the dark heart of an unfolding family drama that will leave readers reeling, and the final reveal is a heartbreaker.
A twisty slow burner by an author at the top of her game.
hopelessandforlorn's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book. I really enjoyed The Dry but this one was a let down. I don’t know if it was rushed to print due to the success of The Dry or what but this was a long slog through the Outback without much of a payoff. The story was not suspenseful in the least. It was a family drama; and a mediocre one at that.