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A review by katiecatbooks
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
5.0
Mystery. Australia. Desert.
Story: Nathan Bright drives with his college aged son. They meet Nathan's younger brother, Bub, in the middle of the desert. Bub is standing next to a tarp, under which is their third brother, Cameron, found dead not too long ago. Why Cameron was out there, and how he died, they don't know.
Language: Told in third person from Nathan's perspective. Set in the middle of the desert in Australia with only some stations and a small town nearby. Present day. The difficult descriptor for this book is the genre. Not a thriller or a suspense novel, it would be best classified as mystery, as the mystery of Cameron's death is the main question and clues are either sought out or given throughout the book. The writing style is very eloquent yet gritty. The characters lives revolve around the land and the weather, which are both beautiful yet harsh. Throughout the book a feeling of desolation hovers over every chapter, as if the white space surrounding the text on each page has expanded and is never ending.
Characters: Nathan Bright's life has not been easy. He lives alone on a small bit of land, that he owes more debt on than he can bring in. He lives like a hermit, and not by choice, shunned by most of the townsfolk. His son, Xander, is visiting, on a short break before he must return to the city and buckle down on his college studies. Nathan's brother Bub is the youngest of the Bright sons, and is the most thoughtful, considering his words before he speaks. Despite that, there's something lurking beneath the surface that makes him come across a bit off or strange. Cameron, the third brother, now laying dead on the desert ground, was married with children, own a large piece of land and homestead, and was successful in running and maintaining his business and home. With all of this going for him, it's unclear why he was in the middle of the desert and what killed him.
This was my first Jane Harper novel and it won't be my last. I didn't speed through this to find out the ending (and nor did I guess the ending on my own) but instead picked it up, put it down, and returned to it now and again. The book reminded me most of an Agatha Christie novel, where someone is found dead and the background histories of the characters are slowly revealed over time. Never during my reading did I feel scared as in reading suspense or thriller. The slow pace of the story allowed space to consider and think - about the death of Cameron, the clues, the relationships, the family, life on a homestead, middle of nowhere Australia and how life is led there. A new read worthy author of Australian fiction.
Story: Nathan Bright drives with his college aged son. They meet Nathan's younger brother, Bub, in the middle of the desert. Bub is standing next to a tarp, under which is their third brother, Cameron, found dead not too long ago. Why Cameron was out there, and how he died, they don't know.
Language: Told in third person from Nathan's perspective. Set in the middle of the desert in Australia with only some stations and a small town nearby. Present day. The difficult descriptor for this book is the genre. Not a thriller or a suspense novel, it would be best classified as mystery, as the mystery of Cameron's death is the main question and clues are either sought out or given throughout the book. The writing style is very eloquent yet gritty. The characters lives revolve around the land and the weather, which are both beautiful yet harsh. Throughout the book a feeling of desolation hovers over every chapter, as if the white space surrounding the text on each page has expanded and is never ending.
Characters: Nathan Bright's life has not been easy. He lives alone on a small bit of land, that he owes more debt on than he can bring in. He lives like a hermit, and not by choice, shunned by most of the townsfolk. His son, Xander, is visiting, on a short break before he must return to the city and buckle down on his college studies. Nathan's brother Bub is the youngest of the Bright sons, and is the most thoughtful, considering his words before he speaks. Despite that, there's something lurking beneath the surface that makes him come across a bit off or strange. Cameron, the third brother, now laying dead on the desert ground, was married with children, own a large piece of land and homestead, and was successful in running and maintaining his business and home. With all of this going for him, it's unclear why he was in the middle of the desert and what killed him.
This was my first Jane Harper novel and it won't be my last. I didn't speed through this to find out the ending (and nor did I guess the ending on my own) but instead picked it up, put it down, and returned to it now and again. The book reminded me most of an Agatha Christie novel, where someone is found dead and the background histories of the characters are slowly revealed over time. Never during my reading did I feel scared as in reading suspense or thriller. The slow pace of the story allowed space to consider and think - about the death of Cameron, the clues, the relationships, the family, life on a homestead, middle of nowhere Australia and how life is led there. A new read worthy author of Australian fiction.