Another good adventure for Aaron Falk.
The narration on this book was excellent!
I really enjoyed hearing more about Falk and the people in his life.

Jane Harper gives us a winner once again. Every work of hers is wonderful. I suggest you read them all. I am at I happy I got to listen to an advanced copy. I am already anxious for the next one.

I didn’t have a book boyfriend until I met Aaron Falk in The Dry. While I am devastated that Exiles is the last book in the series, Jane Harper knocked it out of the park with this third and final book. I was completely engrossed from page one and could not figure out the twist. Grateful she gave Aaron Falk a happy ending and he isn’t the forever bachelor! Stephen Shanahan is a first-rate narrator with a gorgeous accent and natural deliver. I could listen to him read any book all day long.

Set in Southern Australia's wine country, this book starts with a baby found abandoned in her stroller in the festival grounds after everyone has left. Her mother is nowhere to be found. A year later and the mother has still not been found, not even her body. The festival organisers and the baby's family organize an appeal at next year's festival to see if anyone remembers anything significant from a year ago. Aaron Falk, a Federal Investigator and friend of the family, gets involved in the investigation. Not everything is as it seems. Slightly slow but still enjoyable. Good narrator.

The Exiles, written by Jane Harper and narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, is an engaging and powerful audiobook that takes the listener on an unforgettable journey to the penal colony of Van Diemen's Land (modern-day Tasmania) in the 19th century.

The story follows three women - Evie, a young governess who has been wrongfully convicted of theft, and the two convicts Hazel and Mathinna - as they are transported to Van Diemen's Land to serve out their sentences. The audiobook explores the harsh conditions of the penal colony, the brutal treatment of the prisoners, and the complex relationships that develop between the three women as they struggle to survive in this new and dangerous world.

Saskia Maarleveld's narration is simply fantastic. She brings each character to life with distinct voices and accents, making it easy to follow the story and immerse oneself in the world that Jane Harper has created. Maarleveld's delivery is both captivating and emotional, making the audiobook a truly immersive experience.

The Exiles is a beautifully written and well-researched novel that sheds light on an often-overlooked period of history. Jane Harper's attention to detail and vivid descriptions of the landscape and conditions of the colony make it easy for the listener to picture themselves in the harsh and unforgiving world of Van Diemen's Land.

Overall, The Exiles is a gripping and unforgettable audiobook that combines history, drama, and powerful storytelling. Saskia Maarleveld's narration is simply superb, and I would highly recommend this audiobook to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, strong female characters, and immersive storytelling.

I had a hard time getting in to this one. Later, I realized this is the 3rd book in a series of novels featuring Federal Investigator Aaron Falk, who was a main character in the book. I think it would have been better enjoyed if I had read the other 2 previously. I loved The Survivors, so was excited to read more of her work, but found myself feeling disconnected from the characters and the town, which was absolutely not the case in The Survivors. The narrator was great, and the bones of the story were there - I just couldn't get excited and it took me forever to get through it. I kept putting it away to read something else and then coming back to it. Harper is an excellent writer with unique ideas and develops her characters well - they have a way of seeming like people you might already know. I do recommend this for fans of mysteries / investigative novels, especially if you've read the other 2 Aaron Falk books. I want to rate this higher because I think I'm a fan of Jane Harper's writing style, but it just didn't wow me.

Aaron Falk is back in the new Jane Harper book “Exiles,” and—even better—he’s reunited in this outing with Greg Raco, the state policeman he met and became friends with in “The Dry.” Falk has travelled to the charming Australian wine country town of Marralee, home of Raco and his brother, Charlie, for the christening of Raco’s son, and looks forward to a week of catching up and relaxing at Charlie’s Marralee winery. But it’s also the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of Charlie’s ex-girlfriend, Kim Gillespie, who tucked her one-year-old daughter into her stroller at the Marralee Valley Food and Wine Festival and then vanished, leaving behind only a single white tennis shoe in a nearby reservoir. Charlie and Kim shared a daughter, Zara, and the now 17-year-old is determined to use the anniversary of her mother’s disappearance to re-open the investigation, enlisting Aaron’s reluctant help to discover what really happened to Kim. As with all Harper’s previous books, the pleasure in “Exiles” comes as much from getting to know her tight-knit and fully developed community of characters and reading her vivid and evocative descriptions of the Australian landscape—a character in itself—as from solving the mystery; I actually didn’t want anyone to be guilty because I was so invested in the characters. But Harper, of course, plots an expert mystery full of red herrings and twists that I never saw coming en route to a wholly satisfying (and devastating) climax. “Exiles” is apparently Aaron Falk’s swan song, but I can only hope that Harper has planned one final twist for us and brings him back in a future book. (This review is for the audiobook version of “Exiles,” expertly narrated by Stephen Shanahan—his straightforward Australian-accented reading is perfect for the material, as it has been for Harper’s previous books.)

Many thanks to NetGalley and to Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ARC of this title in return for my honest review. Highly recommend.

This audiobook was great as the narrator was perfect for the story. The writing was very atmospheric of a lush vineyard region. The mystery was solid with an in depth investigation of the disappearance of a local woman.
Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Exiles is a slow-paced mystery novel that takes its time in unraveling the story. While Aaron isn't officially investigating the disappearance of Kim, he's asking questions on his own. The other characters have been conducting their own investigations, and there are many questions surrounding a hit and run that occurred five years prior to the disappearance. The narrative explores the lengths we go to for the people we care about.

Although I listened to the audiobook, I think it would be better to read the book, given the number of characters to keep track of, and the fact that the story jumps back and forth between multiple time periods and POVs. The author's descriptive writing style makes it easy to visualize each scene and intertwines Aaron's personal life with the mystery. The ending was satisfying, as Harper wrapped up both mysteries well.

The Australian accent of the narrator, Stephen Shanahan, posed some challenges, as I sometimes struggled with words and missed sentences. Overall, I rated this story a 3 out of 5.

I only made it 47% through the audiobook. It seems like an interesting story, but it is just very long and very slow. I may like to read it physically at some point. The audio book just wasn't for me.

As with all Jane Harper books, this was a winner! Aaron Falk is back. This time he's helping his friend find a missing friend and along the way he just might find love too.

Sadly I dnfed this book. I tried my best and got just over 35% in.

I felt like this book was much slower than it needs to be and I really couldn’t figure out how all the characters connected.

When I read a mystery thriller I need something fast paced that grabs my attention right away. Unfortunately that wasn’t for me in this book. Hopefully y’all like it more then me.

This book has a decent story but I felt removed from the story for most of it. Almost as if I was observing everything and trying to piece it together myself.

Jane Harper delivers another bestseller in this captivating mystery about a missing mother.
Federal investigator, Aaron fall arrives in a small town in Southern Australia for a christening and ends up getting pulled into the one year anniversary of a the case of missing mother, Kim Gillespie. Fall gets pulled into the investigator questioning what would make a mother abandon their child.
Good read. Recommended.

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for my honest review

While I truly thank Netgalley for allowing me to listen to this one as an audio book, I only made it about 2/3 of the way through. While I lnow the story is great and in line with Jane Harper's books, I could not understand the narrator very well. He had an accent but , in my opinion, spoke very fast and not very comprehensible. I wanted to love the story but the narrator unfortunately ruined it for me. He just couldn't kept me captive to listening as he was difficult to understand.

A smart, no-nonsense crime thriller with a smart, no-nonsense protagonist. Excellent writing with powerful descriptions of the Australian landscape and richly drawn, deeply intelligent characters struggling to figure themselves out as they work to solve the crime at the center of the novel. I have since read another novel by Jane Harper and can give it the exact same review-- so I will (copying this to put as the review for the that one). Feel free to read all the Jane Harper books and trust you're in excellent hands.

I listened to "Exiles" by Jane Harper on daily walks with my dog. Even though my progress was limited to 30 minutes a day, I easily stepped back into the landscape of South Australian wine country to continue the adventure with Aaron Falk. It helped that the story is read by an Australian, who tickled my ears with slang terms. Having spent time in the Barossa and McLaren Valleys, I was a bit disappointed that I needed to rely on my memory to picture its beautiful landscape, as the author did not spend enough time describing it.
I did, however, enjoy the mystery and intrigue of the story. Federal Investigator Aaron Falk goes on a trip for a friend's christening. What seems an innocent holiday turns into a investigation into the disappearance of a young mom during a busy, local wine festival. Like Falk, the reader is easily drawn in to the strange tale of her going missing and even more determined to solve the puzzle.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for my audiobook copy!

This is another Aaron Faulk novel by Jane Harper. It is full of the questions and the suspense of the others, but I just felt it did not live up to the expectations I had as compared to the first two. I liked it but didn't find it as compelling as the first two. I rate it 3.5 stars. #NetGalleyarc #JaneHarper
#Australia #AaronFaulk

Exiles by Jane Harper is the third book in the Aaron Falk series. Set in the wine country of South Australia, Aaron is visiting friends for the christening of their son. It happens to coincide with the one-year anniversary of a missing women. Kim Gillespie disappeared from the crowded festival leaving behind her sleeping infant daughter in her stroller never to be seen again. From here, the book is a slow burn mystery and perfectly paced. Sad to see the series end.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced audio copy.

I am HERE for another Aaron Falk Australian crime thriller by Jane Harper!

In a small Aussie town, a mother's disappearance casts a long shadow on friends and family. Truths emerge when Aaron Falk joins celebrations a year later and begins to suspect the tight-knit community may be more fractured than it seems.

Once again, Jane Harper captures Australia, and I felt immersed in the community. The narrative is almost all Falk, which I appreciated, because he is an observer, hones into the little details, and doesn't need to be the center of attention.

While I have loved this Aaron Falk series, this one is a little dry, and not as compelling as...The Dry...but still overall a great follow up in the series!