Exiles: The heart-pounding Aaron Falk thriller from the No. 1 bestselling author of The Dry and Force of Nature (Aaron Falk, 3)

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Once again Harper proves that she is peerless in creating an avalanche of suspense with intimate, character-driven set pieces that are as

I was eagerly loving forward to reading the third book featuring Aaron Falk, and it did not disappoint. I did not find it as impactful as ‘The Dry’ was though. Rohan was nearly as tall as Falk, and while he would only be forty-two now, he looked to have aged a fair bit over the past year.He climbed out of his car and stretched, the movement stirring the owner of the other vehicle. The man was standing a sensible distance from the lookout’s wooden safety rail. He was also staring out at the view, but his arms were crossed in a way that suggested he was taking in none of it. A child’s sippy cup dangled from one hand and, behind him, a sturdy toddler sat straight-legged on the wooden picnic table, scattering a box of sultanas across the battered surface. At the sound of Falk’s car door slamming, the man unfolded his arms and rubbed a hand over his eyes. He turned and handed the cup to the toddler. Aaron Falk has come to town for the christening of his friend, Greg's son. The missing woman was once married to Greg's brother, and he asks Aaron to investigate her disappearance.

learn about the seemingly dangerous reservoir; get depictions of the annual teen drinking party, where the kids get blotto; and more.

Jane Harper's standalone novels

As ever, Falk is introspective. With the dynamics of the cases and his romantic life combined with the constant push and pull of memories, including those of his relationship with his father, Harper highlights Falk's vulnerable side. While the first christening was abandoned because of Kim’s disappearance, given she was the former partner of Raco’s brother Charlie, with whom she also had a daughter, there is a determination that the second will go ahead. It will, however, be preceded by an appeal at the annual fair initiated by Kim’s 17-year-old daughter Zara, who can’t accept either that her mother would simply abandon her family or that she would have drowned herself in the local reservoir. Suicide is the go-to solution, although the body has never been found.

Stellar…Writing at the top of her game, Harper effectively uses whodunit tropes to explore her characters’ hidden lives. Readers interested in literate and nuanced mysteries will be eager to see more of Falk.” Aaron is such a well-developed character and I loved getting a deeper understanding of him and the way his mind works, not just in his professional life, but in his personal one as well. The author has a keen insight into human nature and is able to develop compelling characters who are believable and engage in realistic dialogue. Of special note is Zara, the missing woman’s teenage daughter, and Joel, the hit and run victim’s son, who are both likable characters (so difficult to pull off with this age group).This is a slow burn crime story. While I am quite comfortable with slow pace, it feels quite different from the earlier two as the pace for nearly 60% of the book is far slower than in the other two books. What I did not much like though is the introduction of some character behaviours in the later part of the book, which is now usual in psychological thrillers and is becoming a silly & painful pattern. The plot elements are however, very strong and I liked how the last sections closed on the two mysteries in the book. The descriptions of the locales, as in the previous books is excellent. Aaron Falk’s character, as in the previous books is very well developed, nuanced and a treat to read.

As it happens, Kim's vanishing isn't the only mystery in Marralee Valley. Six years ago a man called Dean Tozer was killed in a hit-and-run incident, but the perpetrator cleaned up the scene and was never identified.

The Aaron Falk series books in order

The kind of crime novel you move into rather than just reading it - a wholly absorbing set of mysteries, a cast of characters that feels entirely real and a setting so vivid you can practically smell the breeze through the bushland. Aaron Falk is the still center of the novel, a quiet presence like no other in crime fiction. Exceptional in every way.” Exiles is the third book in the Aaron Falk series and this new addition works really well in this series and for our main character. The police found Kim's shoe in a reservoir near the fairgrounds, and concluded the missing woman committed suicide. However Kim's body was never found, and Kim's teenage daughter Zara - from a previous relationship with Charlie Raco (Greg's brother) - refuses to believe Kim killed herself. The slow-burning, brilliantly twisty mystery from Jane Harper, the international bestselling Number One author of The Dry Tasked with trying to determine what would make Kim abandon her son, Aaron is also drawn to another woman. Not having enough on his plate, he finds another mystery to solve as well.