The Survivors

November 2, 2020
Sydney physiotherapist Kieran Elliott, the protagonist of this elegiac suspense novel from bestseller Harper (The Lost Man), has steeled himself for an emotionally turbulent visit to his hometown of Evelyn Bay, Tasmania, where he has returned to help his mother pack up the family home before his dementia-afflicted father moves into a nursing facility. Then the murder of college student Bronte Laidler, who had been spending her summer break creating art inspired by the area’s rugged coast, upsets the town. While locals profess that Bronte’s killer must be an outsider, many start wondering—as do the police—whether there’s any connection to a tragedy involving Kieran that tore apart the community 12 years earlier. That Kieran’s father may have been wandering on the beach the night of the murder raises the stakes. The distinctively Aussie array of stoic characters who are weathered, and in some cases warped, by their uncompromising environment more than compensates for a denouement that feels psychologically false. Harper expertly weaves past guilts with present grief. She remains a writer to watch. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House.

November 1, 2020
It's been 12 years since Kieran Elliot left his hometown of Evelyn Bay under a dark cloud. Evelyn Bay, on the Tasmanian coast, is a small, quiet town where everyone knows each other and the days roll by like the waves that lap at its secluded beaches. Now, Kieran has returned with his partner, Mia, and their 3-month-old daughter, Audrey, to help his mother move house so she can be closer to his father, who has dementia and will be moving into a nursing home. Kieran is glad to see old friends Ash, Olivia, and Sean, but tensions linger. After all, there are those who still blame Kieran for a boating accident that killed his older brother, Finn, and Sean's brother, Toby. The vicious storm that raged that night also supposedly claimed the life of Olivia's 14-year-old sister, Gabby, though her body was never recovered. When the body of Olivia's housemate, art student Bronte, is found on the beach, a darkness as relentless as the tides comes pulsing to the surface, and it seems everyone has something to hide. As rumors spread on the community's web page and alarm mounts about the possibility of a killer in their midst, the town's secrets are steadily unfurled, coalescing into a few unexpected revelations. While this novel isn't quite as suspenseful as Harper's previous books, she's a master at creating atmospheric settings, and it's easy to fall under her spell. A layered and nuanced mystery.

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 1, 2021

Kieran and his girlfriend, Mia, return to their childhood hometown in Tasmania with their infant daughter to help Kieran's parents move to mainland Australia. Twelve years earlier a terrible storm left two men dead, including Kieran's brother, Finn, who died trying to rescue Kieran. A young girl also went missing in the storm's aftermath. Burdened by guilt, Kieran moved to Sydney and has not been home since. When a woman is found murdered on the beach, the police begin to question whether the previous deaths are in some way connected. Rumors begin spreading in the small town, and Kieran must face the possibility that the events of the past may not be as he remembers them. Further complicating the matter is that Kieran's father, suffering from dementia, was the last person to be seen with both the missing girl years ago and the current victim. VERDICT Harper (The Lost Man) again excels at creating atmosphere and depicting tense interpersonal relationships. But unlike her previous stand-alone, this story's suspense doesn't escalate satisfactorily. Instead, the author delivers a nuanced rumination on guilt, community, and family that's best for readers of domestic fiction or light mysteries.--Anitra Gates, Erie Cty. P.L., PA

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2021
The latest stunner from Jane Harper hinges on the same premise as her 2017 debut, The Dry, but, instead of the arid outback, readers will find themselves on the raging coast of Tasmania. Kieran Elliott, along with his partner and their infant daughter, returns to his family's home in Evelyn Bay and soon finds himself enveloped in memories of the devastating ramifications of a historic storm that ravaged the town 12 years earlier. Among the casualties was Kieran's brother, Finn, who died attempting to rescue Kieran after a foolhardy visit to caves on the shore that went underwater in a tremendous surge. A young girl Kieran knew also went missing during the storm. Only her backpack was ever found, floating offshore, a few days later. The locals still mark the dreadful date the storm hit, and many remain unable to leave the tragedy behind. Kieran has only been back one day when the body of a young waitress is found on the beach, and the trauma rekindles resentments from the past, which play out dangerously in social media. Harper's polished prose has earned her comparisons to Louise Penny. That connection is also on view here, as Harper expertly raises the reader's pulse throughout the narrative, insinuating what happened that day but only revealing the truth slowly as Kieran comes to see past and present in a new light.

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