I always look forward to a new Jane Harper novel and pre-ordered The Survivors (2020) so I would get my mitts on it right away.
On Kieran's first night back in town, a body is discovered on the beach near his parents' home, which disrupts the tight community as it did the day of the fateful storm. While the investigation unfolds, long-held suspicions and hard truths are revealed and deeply buried past traumas bring secrets to the surface.
The novel is filled with interesting characters. Kieran coming to terms with the grief and shame of his past while looking to the future with his young child. His mother, Verity, struggling with her husband's dementia. The outsider, author GR Barlin, who keenly observes all around him. Young Liam, growing up resentful at the absence of his father. Mrs Birch, still searching for her missing daughter.
Jane Harper is a master at portraying the Australian landscape. This new setting of a sleepy coastal town, is brilliantly described from the rugged cliffs, dank caves and sandy beach to the local shops and homes. The reader is immediately transported and immersed in the setting, which is key to this story as the place is intricately linked to those who reside there.
There is a wonderful pace to this novel. The crime happens early on and then the layers of the back story unfurl like the rolling tide. Piece-by-piece the story builds to its climax, with red herrings and diversions in the best mystery writing tradition. The Survivors is definitely an addictive page-turner, solidifying Harper's place as the Queen of Australian crime writing.