Another great read from this author. Different from the last 2 books , but yet again show casing a different aspect of the country.
Would highly recommend this book 5 stars

Jane Harper’s third book, The Lost Man, is of the same high standard of her first two (The Dry and Force of Nature). She has a wonderful evocative way or writing about the landscape and environment that makes you feel and visualise the surroundings without using excessive descriptive language that some authors rely on.

The Lost Man tells the story of Nathan and his family on their ranch land in a very remote outback area of Australia. Nathan is the eldest of three brothers. The middle one, Cameron, is found dead at the Stockman’s Grave – a local landmark that has given rise to many tall tales over the years. Nathan and Bub, his youngest brother by 12 years, are trying to piece together the last few days of Cameron’s life and determine if his death was suicide, an accident or something more sinister.

In the days following the discovery of Cameron’s dehydrated body we learn of many tensions and secrets in the family. The past of the family is revealed at a good pace and I did not guess where it was all leading to until almost the last page. Jane Harper is an amazing story teller and I look forward to many more of her excellent books in years to come. Her writing makes me wants to go and spend a week or so in the areas that she writes about. The harsh, arid, massive landscape and isolation of characters in The Lost Man fascinates me and I think the author captures the scenes and emotions superbly.

The writing is excellent and wholly believable given the conditions in which all these people are living which are so alien to most of us. I want to read these books in the midst of a British snowstorm as they evoke such a sense of the intense heat and vastness of the Australian outback.

With thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jane Harper wrote both The Dry and Force Of Nature which were both well written, excellent reads about Detective Aaron Falk.
The Lost Man is an equally great stand alone novel which is also set in the Australian outback, an area so well described it almost becomes another character in the book.
Nathan and his younger brother Bub meet up at the Stockman’s grave near their farms. Their brother Cam lies dead in the heat. Somehow he has become separated from his car and been unable to survive in the harsh outback environment.
However Nathan is suspicious and although the local cop suspects suicide Nathan is not sure. Cam has been brought up in this area and was not the suicidal type. He wouldn’t have left his car and chosen to die in such an awful way.
As Nathan returns to the family farm he starts to investigate although there aren’t many suspects- Cam’s widow Ilse, their mother, Liz, the 3 workers on the estate and Bub himself.
As Nathan looks into the death the claustrophobic atmosphere builds and the reader learns lots of the back history of the characters which leads to some dark revelations.
This is a well written and atmospheric novel with great characterisations and fabulous descriptions of the landscape and way of life in outback areas.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Lost Man and highly recommend it. If you liked Jane Harper’s earlier books you will love this when it’s published in February.
I shall certainly be looking out for Jane’s future novels when they appear as she is an amazing writer.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

I liked The Dry and Force of Nature. This one has a similar atmospheric setting - the Australian outback and its small community of farmers. Cam's body has been found in mysterious circumstances and his wife and brother are questioning why and how this happened. The truth is quite shocking when it comes but also satisfying as it means the family can move on to happier times. There are one or two little tricks the author over-uses to create suspense; Nathan more than once has a passing thought or idea that he can't quite grasp, and there are strange expressions on people's faces that he can't quite read...

As with her previous two books, Jane Harper has used the Australian outback location as a character in its own right along with the people in it.
From start to finish the pace is just perfect, the dialogue completely realistic and the limited cast of characters beautifully portrayed. The plot of the book is straightforward - a man is found dead in the baking heat of the outback having inexplicably abandoned a fully stocked car - but the way the story unfolds from there is anything but.
The story unfolds beautifully, told from the point of view of the dead mans brother, each new revelation a masterclass in misdirection.
The conclusion of the book is obvious after reading, leaving me wondering how I never saw it coming, such is the skill of this fantastic writer.
This is a stand-alone book, however I urge anyone to read anything by this author as this is crime fiction of the very highest order.

The Lost Man is exceptionally good, excellently flawed characters, claustrophobic small town and landscape that feels like a character in it's own right. Despite the fact that there are not a huge number of characters it is hard to predict the ending. If The Dry was one of your favourite books in recent years -it was one of mine- then I think you will be similarly wowed by this. A book that will satisfy different genre readers and give friends and book groups much to talk about. The cover and strapline are a great enticement to read and very representative of the content. Thank you very much to to the Publisher Little Brown and Netgalley for the ARC.

Another winner from the pen of the talented Jane Harper. I have been singing her praises since reading her debut, The Dry, and the follow-up, Force of Nature, earlier this year, and this book is even better.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about the lack of Aaron Falk in this book, but the characters in the Lost Man are every bit as good. I really enjoyed the references to the events of The Dry too - very clever!

I was glad that this book is set in the baking Outback again, as Jane manages to convey the searing heat so well that you almost feel you are there. I love that she carries you along with the characters, in her books, as they discover clues along the way, and you experience every twist and turn that they do.

I absolutely adored this book and cannot wait for more, with or without Aaron Falk.

I love this author - she writes so beautifully and has a rare ability to conjure up a landscape/atmosphere so vividly that you feel like you're breathing in the heat and the dust. Her characters are always well developed and fully rounded - you really feel drawn into their lives and their circumstances. On top of that there's the mystery at the heart of this novel - how did the man come to be at the stockman's grave, in the middle of nowhere. An excellent book which I would definitely recommend - and which I preferred I think to her previous book ('Force of Nature').

Jane Harper's The Dry was the best crime debut I've read for many years, transcending the genre in many ways and functioning equally as well as literary family drama. The Lost Man does something very similar; while superficially concerned with the mystery of how outback farmer Cameron came to die of dehydration and exposure in the unforgiving Australian summer, the book is much more the story of his older brother, Nathan, returning to the family home as a result of Cameron's death. As in The Dry, Harper is more interested in the tensions of small rural communities, where a single mistake or whisper of gossip can lead to years of suffering, than in telling a simple whodunnit, and the book is all the better for it. And again, the harsh desert landscape of the outback plays a central role in the story. I loved The Lost Man, and although some may feel things are tied up too neatly at the end, I felt reassured that some good had come out of the bleakness and misery.

Excellent. I really enjoyed The Dry and this story was very good. It captured the remoteness of Australian Outback life and the characters were believable. I would recommend this book.

This is an intricate mystery thriller that slowly unravels to real how Cam really died.
The book begins with the discovery of his body, left out in the open by an old gravestone. People think he either killed himself or found himself stranded, but his family suspect there was someone else involved.
Cam’s two brothers, Nathan and Bub are helping out at the house as Cam used to run everything, and his wife and children are struggling to come to terms with what’s happened.
As the story progresses the family’s secrets are uncovered and we soon learn that all the family are struggling with their own lives.
I liked the build up to the end of the book and I really liked the way it ended.
Thanks to Little Brown Book Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is the third Jane Harper book I have read and without doubt her best, high praise when you consider the previous two books were the Wonderful 'The Dry' & the engaging 'Force of Nature '.
I hate giving away details of plots, so suffice to say the plot line of the book is a simple but engrossing detection story which will keep you guessing right to the very end.
However the the real star of the book is the magical, descriptive iconography of the Australian outback, at times in the book you believe that you're really there.
I cannot praise this book highly enough, the author just gets better and better, and I'm eagerly looking forward to her new novel.

The Lost Man. Jane Harper.

Absorbing and atmospheric this novel draws us in slowly but surely to the vortex that is the emotions and dynamics of the Bright family becoming an unputdownable read.

Cameron Bright is found dead in the desert miles from his vehicle. He had no business being alone and without water in this arid, unforgiving landscape; a fact he well knew as a Queensland stockman. So why had he walked into the unremitting heat and died there at the Stockman’s Grave? This is the mystery we have to unravel but there is much more to this book than a straightforward crime story.

Nathan, the central character is as isolated as the landscape itself. Ostracised by what little community there is for a past sin we have yet to discover, he feels something is not right about the circumstances of his brother’s death. Was it suicide or something more sinister? An engaging and sympathetic character, as he unravels the truth we are gradually exposed to the secrets of his past and the nature of his family and upbringing. Nothing is as it seems.

There is at times a beauty about the landscape of this novel but more often an unforgiving harshness which is reflected in the people who inhabit it. For all that this is not a bleak story. Thoughtful and powerful, The Lost Man is a gripping narrative. Another great book from Jane Harper.

From time to time you come across a book that just grabs you and when you start reading it all of a sudden your hooked and end up finishing it in one sitting.
This is one of those books.
*Fantastic writing
*A story that grips you
*You just don’t know how this book is going to end which is what I loved. So unpredictable
Thanks to both NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for my ARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

Loved Jane Harper's The Dry and Force of Nature, so could not wait to start reading The Lost Man.

What a rollercoaster
The book starts at a slow pace - introducing the characters, building up the suspense of what has happened and why, which keeps you gripped and guessing. The secrets and lies then start to emerge which then unfold with an unexpected ending.

Brilliant writing again.

Thank you netgalley, Little Brown Book group and Jane Harper for allowing me to read and review this book.

I enjoyed the last two books by Jane Harper and was pleased to receive an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher for an honest opinion of the book.It is a standalone boook,so there is no Aaron Falk this time.
This is more of a slow burner than the other books,but the author skilfully depicts the aftermath of the death of Cameron Bright,one of three brothers ,after his body is found at an isolated stockman's grave in the middle of the outback.The death seems to be suicide but gradually facts emerge and we realise that Cameron was maybe not the model son,husband and father he seemed to be. The suspense builds throughout and the reader is kept guessing as to why Cameron was found in such a remote place. and what might have caused his death.
The picture of life at a cattle farm in the Australian outback is well portrayed,and it's obvious that the author must have done a lot of research,as you really feel as if you are there..The characters are well drawn,especially Nathan ,Cameron's older brother,who might also be the lost man of the title.
If you,enjoyed. Jane Harper's last two books,I would recommend this too.

After reading and enjoying The Dry and Force of Nature, I was delighted to receive a copy of Jane Harper's new book The Lost Man.
This is a stand alone story and was every bit as good as her previous books. I was hooked from the first page and felt that I was stuck in the Australia Outback in the blistering heat. The tension just built chapter by chapter and I did not guess the ending.
Nathan brother Cameron is found dead on his ranch in the outback. Nobody knows how he got there as his jeep was found in another location. It seems like foul play but who would have wanted to hurt his brother?
A story full of secrets and lies and a family trying to come to terms with their loss.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thought Jane Harper's third book could not possibly be as good as the first two. I was wrong. There is something about the setting in the Australian outback that gives these stories a chill factor that is unique to them. Add to that lonely mix a family struggling with isolation and unfulfilled hopes,than you have an unprecedented context. The writing is excellent and the characters totally believable. This story has unexpected turns which make the ending unexpected,thrilling and just right.

I have previously read The Dry and Force of Nature by Jane Harper so, when offered the opportunity by Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley to read The Lost Man, I jumped in. And this book is different. A great family drama set against the backdrop of the Queensland outback, 1500 kms west of Brisbane, where cattle stations cover several thousand square kilometers. Like that of the Bright family. Territory where temperatures regularly reach 45⁰C and to be left stranded means certain death. As Cameron Bright was to find out. Found dead and sprawled out in front of the Stockman's grave. Since the father Carl Bright had died, three brothers had shared the responsibility of managing the spread: Nathan, Cameron and Bub - the youngest. They all knew the peril of being stranded in the outback, so just what happened to Cameron? Is this a sinister occurrence or a stupid mistake? He leaves behind his wife Ilse and two daughters...

The Bright family have many skeletons in the cupboard - not the least - Nathan, with a troubled background. And Bub is no saint. And as various truths begin to emerge the family are faced with events that hold dire consequences.

The Lost Man is a fabulous mystery/drama that gets under your skin. Slow paced and relentless with reveals that are breathtaking in scope. Highly recommended. Another ripper from Downunder!

#TheLostMan is very different to The Dry but equally compelling. Atmospheric, clever and utterly absorbing. #JaneHarper's characters are always three dimensional and you are left saddened the book has ended but sated that the right loose ends are tied up. Another great read thanks to #NetGalley