Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.
I’m a Harper fan but this was not it for me.
This was confusing and just not very good. I struggled to listen to more than half of it and frequently found myself zoning out.
The other books in the series were much better than this one was.
I understood the basic storyline of the missing mom but then suddenly a year later we have no idea what is going on.
Wasn’t for me.

My thanks to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for this arc. Unfortunately I only made it to 30% thru this and struggled a great deal to connect with the story. I thought I was going to get the story focused on a missing mom, but then so many characters came in,time jumps, a a narrator with a heavy dialect I was just lost.

3.5⭐️

#3 Aaron Falk

I have loved the other books in this series, so I had high expectations for this one.

I had the audiobook read by Steve Shanahan, I love his voice and accent. The book is a slow burn as the location and characters are developed, so I was glad to have the narrators voice to draw me in.

This time we are in South Australian wine country for this mystery. I love hearing about the different areas of Australia through the authors books. The locations are so well described and atmospheric they become an important aspect of the book.

A wine and food festival finds baby Zoe left in a stroller with no sign of her mother Kim Gillespie, with her car still on the car park.

A year on Aaron is visiting for his friend’s Greg Raco son’s Christening. While Aaron is visiting there’s a missing person appeal at the wine and food festival. Greg’s family knows Kim well and asks Aaron to investigate the cold case.

There’s a 2nd thread with what looks like a drunk driver hit and run fatality 6 years earlier.
There’s also a romantic element in this book, which was my favourite part.

You have to concentrate as Aaron flits between now and the same time last year with the same people.

It looks like there’s a lot going on, but the pace is very slow, even with a narrator who I enjoy listening to. The first festival scene is looked at from various perspectives as Falk questions people it feels like there’s a fair bit of repetition, and very little actually happening until the final reveal.

I’m very torn with my rating for this one, I absolutely loved the ending. But felt it was too drawn out, too much repetition and not enough happening until the very end. If you are a Jane Harper fan I’m sure you’ll still love this one. If you’re not, I wouldn’t make this one your first read.
I do hope that this isn’t the last of the Falk series 🤞

This is the first Jane Harper book I’ve read (thank you #NetGalley for the ARC) and did not realize it was a series until I was well into the book. So in saying that, I would also add you would not have to have read the previous two to get the most out of this book. I enjoyed the story, the mystery, the twists. Harper does a fine job of character development. Having met the main character, Aaron Falk, for the first time, I like him and will look forward to reading other books of this series.

I was so looking forward to this book. The first in the series was excellent, the second was middling, but this one was just not good.

It moves very, very slowly, and the time jumps are confusing. The way the plot is laid out removes any potential for suspense or tension, and makes for a befuddling and unenjoyable read.

I believe this is the same narrator as the first two novels. The narration was monotonous and there was no inflection for different characters or scenarios.

I can't believe that this book was such a disappointment for me. Most reviews I have seen have been very enthusiastic, and I am in a minority here. My low ratings should not deter prospective readers. The Exiles failed to engage me personally, but many others loved it. I found that it was slow-paced and lacked the energy and suspense I found in her previous thrillers. Jane Harper has been a favourite writer since her first book, The Dry. Whenever I receive a new book by her, it immediately goes to the top of the books I am reading, and I set everything else aside. I am shocked that I found this dull and boring in places.

I listened to the audiobook version of Exiles. I found it slow and tedious, and with so many characters introduced, it could become confusing. It took an effort to keep the cast members straight. Because of the audio format, it was challenging to go back to refresh my memory about a character's place in the story. Maybe I would feel different with another format where I could backtrack to refresh my memory and underline or take notes, but very annoying when this becomes necessary. It became a trial sorting out the prominent cast members, remembering their backstories, their family relationships and friendships with others, their recollections from a year ago, and their marriage or divorce status.

There are two mysteries for Aaron Falk to try to solve, but the book seemed more of a domestic/family drama and romance than a suspenseful thriller. This was a slow burn that picked up momentum toward the book's conclusion. I thought the narration of the audiobook was well done. I wish to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a chance to listen to the latest book by Jane Harper. The publication date will be January 31, 2023.

I think the things I like most about Jane Harper’s books are not the mysteries or the suspense, even though that is enjoyable, but the characters. They are always fleshed out so well and they really spring to life off the page. This book was excellent!
The narrator of this audiobook was excellent!

This was so slow. I think that it’s part of a series should be advertised somewhere on the cover. I had no idea. The narrator is fine, but there’s little emotion in the inflection and the obvious background needed and the slow pace of the story made this novel one I couldn’t finish. I had hoped to read a gripping stand-alone thriller but this wasn’t it.

This is the third book in the Aaron Falk series. I have read all them now and they were equally enjoyable. EXILES is about the disappearance of mother Kim Gillespie. She abandoned her daughter at a festival and was never seen again. It is a year later and Aaron Falk is back again trying to solve the case. I highly recommend this series and this audiobook. It is filled with a lot if mystery and I couldn't wait to get some answers.


Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for my ARC in exchange for my ARC.

This review will be shared on my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced audiobook copy.

The auto for the book was great.

Harper enthralled readers with her debt novel, The Dry, and in this book, she brinks back the central character, federal investigator, Aaron Falk. Falk is off duty when he attends the christening of a friend's baby, but the town he's visiting is an uproar over the one year anniversary of the disappearance of mother, Kim Gillespie, who simply vanished into thin air. Falk and his old friend become obsessed with the case, was Kim taken or did she walk away from her family of her own volition? As always, Harper excels in building her characters into people readers can become invested in. This is one of her best to date.

This was a Hallmark Mystery Rom-Com. Like a book out of this series I read like 22 years ago... at home in Mitford, but with a mystery.

Plus... I don't know how the hard copy is structured? But there are a multitude of flashbacks/timelines in this novel and there was absolutely no warning. It made it very jarring to figure out each chapter or within each chapter, if you were in the present or past (and if the past, how long ago).