The Survivors - out on February 2, 2021

Jane Harper is a master of weaving current day drama with buried secrets and small town gossip. Twelve years ago, there was a horrific storm in Evelyn Bay that left two guys dead and a young girl missing. Just when it seems that the town is getting past this event, there is another disappearance that brings old memories back up to the surface.

Maintaining Harper’s trademark atmospheric writing (she is able to transport readers to the setting of each novel like no one else), The Survivors also packs an emotional punch through exploring the bonds of family and friendship through grief, illness and uncertainty.

I throughly enjoyed The Survivors and thank NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the e-ARC of the novel.


Content Warnings:
Death & Grief; Dementia; Suicide

Coming home, it should be a happy time, seeing family, reminiscing with old friends, going to old hangouts....... But what if going home is a reminder of what you have lost, what you can never forget, what has haunted you, when others do not want you to forget.

Kieran Elliott, his girlfriend, Mia and their infant daughter, Audrey have returned to his hometown to help his mother pack up her home. His father is being moved to a home where he will receive proper treatment for his dementia and his mother, Verity will be able to live nearby. It should have been a nice weekend. But a young woman's body is found on the beach, and long held secrets want to be released.

The death of the young woman reminds every one of the worst storms to ever hit their small coastal town. A storm during which Kieran made a lapse of judgement, his brother Finn and his friends died, and a young teen, Gabby went missing and only her backpack was found.

The title of this book is incredibly significant, not only does it refer to statues in the book, but it can also apply to those who survived that horrible storm, those who had to move on after loss, those who have lived with grief, guilt and heartache.

This was another solid book by Harper. I enjoyed how she built her story and as the current investigation unfolded, the past came knocking and secrets demanded to see the light of day. I have to say I did not see that ending coming. I had a theory and was wrong. I love when this happens because I enjoy being surprised by a book.

This book was not only a whodunit, it is also a study on loss, pain, guilt and grief. It shows how small towns/villages have memories, how they view outsiders, and how they ban together both in good and bad ways. The characters in this town are flawed. Their reactions feel authentic and believable.

This is not a fast-paced book, but it was not slow either. I enjoyed how everything came together at the pace it did. I enjoyed how she took us back to Kieran's teenage years and we get a glimpse of some of the characters in the present and in the past. I enjoyed learning how things unfolded at the same time our narrator did. Speaking of our narrator, Kieran, he comes off as a little guarded but knowing what he has been living with, I can understand that. He, along with other characters, have been living with a burden. Of course, there were times I was hoping for a strong reaction from him.

I cannot wait to see what Harper comes up with next!

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Jane Harper does it again! I've been shouting her name from rooftops ever since THE DRY arrived in 2017. Her books, whether they're part of the Aaron Falk series or standalones, are pitch perfect small-town mysteries with a strong sense of place (a different Australian locale for each so far) and chock full of interesting characters and family secrets. Harper's lean and precise prose delivers such vivid and memorable images directly into the reader's mind. Her books are somehow both cinematic and literary. She's simply a gem. THE SURVIVORS is the first mystery I'll be recommending for 2021 and I'll be singing its praises all year.

I wrote about this on GoodReads and on my blog ... I'll provide all the details directly to the publisher in the next round of this review process.

Kieran Elliott returns to his home town, with his new family. After being back only one day a body washes up on the beach. This happening brings back memories of a tragic and awful mistake that Kieran made twelve years ago when his brother Finn and his friend Toby died. Their boat flipped over during a storm drowning both men. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and secrets and questions begin to surface again.

The dark atmospheric story with it's brooding and violent landscape only add to the tension of this thriller that is set on the Tasmanian Coast. This thriller, like Jane Harper's other mysteries, keeps you guessing, so you want to read on.

I will forever and always read everything Jane Harper writes. This is as good as her previous books, which is saying a lot!

5★
“The waves were monstrous. He was tossed upward, then pulled so deep he couldn’t tell which way to fight for the surface. He didn’t know how long he was under. Long enough that his lungs were empty in a way he had never felt before. And then, suddenly, where there had been nothing but water, there was rock. Hard and brutal, it hurtled toward him with enough force to make his teeth rattle. When the water pulled back, Kieran was still chest down, his face slick against the solid surface.”

Tasmanian sea caves, the day of ‘the storm’. Harper has taken us to the cold Tassie coast from the outback for which she’s known from The Dry and The Lost Man (not counting Force of Nature, which I think of as The Wet and didn’t like quite as much). Her sense of place in this excellent mystery is as strong as ever.

Kieran has returned to Evelyn Bay with Mia and their baby daughter, Audrey, to help his mother move. His father, Brian, has dementia, but Kieran didn’t realise how bad it had become until he saw Brian’s attempt to help with the packing.

“A browning banana peel was tucked into the pocket of a pair of trousers.”

Harper has captured the dynamics of how relationships have been changing and the subtle ways people start to realise that their childhood memories are not necessarily accurate nor reflective of what other people remember. She’s as good with the very old as she is with the very young. Tenderness, exasperation, tolerance, frustration, respect, love. The fluctuations are so quick.

One interesting relationship is between Kieran and his partner, Mia. They both grew up in Evelyn Bay and were there during the time of the original storm tragedy. But Kieran was an 18-year-old then, who caroused around with his mates and his older brother Finn, 26, who loved the booze and the girls, while Mia was a 14-year-old schoolgirl, barely worth noticing.

Twelve years later, the age gap is nothing, but going back home takes you back in time. When a body is found on the beach while they are there, everyone remembers the tragic disappearance during “the storm”. Now Kieran is a new father himself, and tiny Audrey is in almost every scene, in a sling or in her pram, so he is suddenly really aware of how parents suffer loss.

“Haunted” is the best word for so many of these characters.

“There was something different around the eyes too. Kieran hadn’t known Trish well before the storm, but he was willing to bet the heaviness he saw there now hadn’t been there then. It looked to him a lot like grief, specifically old grief. The kind that left a permanent mark, like rings in a tree trunk. Brian and Verity had it as well.”

In some ways, the people remind me of those who waited at home on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean for their seafarers to return from the dangers of life at sea. This Tasmanian coast is a rugged part of the world, such that the big (almost only) business in town is diving to see the wreck of the SS Mary Minerva, some 35m below the surface. “The Survivors” is an art installation representing three people standing on the rocks, looking out to sea, to commemorate that tragedy where 54 people died a hundred years earlier.

Harper shows how people pull together, pull apart, become suspicious and then feel guilty if they suspect an old friend, try to protect each other but try to find the truth. A community meeting gets a bit unruly as people point fingers.

But it’s the place. The caves, the tides, the surging surf. Absolutely haunting.

“. . . all he could think of was Finn’s warning.

'If you’re in here at high tide, you are not coming out.'

. . . they’d waded through the oily blackness. The relief as they hit open air had vanished immediately when they splashed out of the cave and into daylight that was more like night. The beach had disappeared. The peak of each wave reached his chest. His skin stung in the driving rain and the sea slapped high against the rock.

The dark twin mouths of the caves inhaled huge lungfuls of water before spewing them out again, and the currents clawed at Kieran’s legs. . . Everything seemed different.”

It’s a terrific read. Thanks to Flatiron Books for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted.

A complex mystery about loss, trauma, and small town dynamics, THE SURVIVORS has some good twists, a heart wrenching backstory, and a seaside setting that comes to life on the page. If you've enjoyed Jane Harper's previous books, this one won't disappoint!

Atmospheric, moody, and gripping!

THE SURVIVORS by JANE HARPER is a dark, mysterious, and suspenseful novel that is centered around a present day murder and a mystery from the past. I was immediately hooked and it totally grabbed my attention but then, unfortunately, the grasp that the storyline had on me fizzled a little bit when we neared the ending.

What I love about JANE HARPER is that she has quite the knack for delivering extremely vivid portrayals of place and time. Her atmospheric and descriptive settings is what she does best. She slowly builds this foreboding tension that envelopes you right into the storyline that I absolutely love.

The mystery here when it all came together was totally unexpected and blindsided me which definitely left me with a different reaction that I would have normally expected of me. Instead of it being an explosive ending it was lacklustre and disappointing. Maybe if I was able to fully connect with the characters I might have been able to "feel" the ending.

Expected Publication Date: February 2, 2021

To sum it all up it was an entertaining, captivating, tense, steady-paced, and a quick read with an ending that left me feeling a little disappointed. I love JANE HARPER’S writing and will continue to read everything that she writes. This was still a very good and worthwhile read for me, it just wasn’t one of my favourites. Would recommend it!

Thank you so much to Flat Iron Books for the opportunity to read an ARC!

3.5 stars.

Chilling. Engrossing. Mysterious. Atmospheric.

Jane Harper knows how to write intensely atmospheric stories. She builds foreboding tension and suspense from the very start that keeps you captivated and hanging on until the very end. This book was no exception in that regard and it finished with a twisty, intense and unexpected ending which left me a satisfied reader.

The part that was lacking for me in this novel was the characters. I didn’t particularly like any of them which negatively affected my overall investment in the story. I was curious to see how things would come together but I didn’t truly care what happened and wasn’t rooting for anyone. It also took me a bit to understand “who was who” for the first portion of the book.

I’ve read and loved every one of this authors books. While this was a good read that I would recommend, it’s my least favourite of hers.

Thank you to Flat Iron books for the ARC! Expected publication date is Feb 2nd.

*3.5 stars

I love Jane Harper and I'm always excited when a new book of hers is published. Her past books have all received 5 stars from me. So imagine my surprise that this book did not meet my expectations. This book is different in that its not set in the Australian outback, but in a small coastal town in Australia. What Harper is so great at is her settings. I did feel the atmosphere in this book, but not as strong as her other books. Kieran has gone back home to deal with his parents move and while there a murder has happened on the beach, practically by their front door. During the investigation, memories from 12 years ago begin to surface. What really happened all those years ago when his life changed? And what happened to this young woman who seemed to be well liked? I love Harper's writing but this one seemed to be lacking for me. I didn't really like the mystery. Both storylines (past & present) were kind of lame. By the end, I felt really let down. She's still a go to author for me but this one is definitely not a favorite.

I've enjoyed all of Jane Harper's books, and this was no exception. If I'm remembering her others correctly, this fit in the same general pattern - an old crime in a small community that somehow resurfaces in current conversation because of a new crime. I like the storytelling structure here, and I liked Kieran as a protagonist. He and his partner, Mia, who have recently had a baby, go back to their hometown to help Kieran's parents pack up to leave their beach home so that his father (who is suffering from increasingly serious dementia) can move into a care facility. Twelve years earlier, a major storm hit their beach town and Kieran's older brother and his business partner were both killed while sailing out to rescue Kieran. Kieran has been carrying that guilt, and his parents and some others in town have been carrying resentment, for twelve years. The first night that Kieran and Mia are back in town, a young women living in town for the summer is found on the beach, clearly having been drowned by another person. As this crime is investigated, more comes out about the day of the storm twelve years prior, including what happened to a teenaged girl who has been missing and presumed dead since. I liked the character development here, and I was genuinely surprised by the ending, which is always a plus for me.

It always seems that guilt is a war within in which you are the only one carrying a weapon.

The Survivors brings Kieran Elliott and his wife and daughter back to Tasmania. Kieran, Mia, and baby Audrey have been currently living in Sydney for some time. Kieran and Mia grew up on Evelyn Bay. They have come to help close up Kieran's parents' home. His father, Brian, had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Verity, his mother, wishes to live nearer to the facility where Brian will reside.

But there's always been a heaviness where Kieran's parents are concerned. .Kieran's brother, Finn, had drowned in an accident on the bay in which Kieran was involved. Kieran always felt that his parents blamed him for the loss of their older son. No words were spoken, but Kieran still carries the weight of that guilt for years. Returning to Evelyn Bay only brings it up to the surface where Kieran sees it front and center.

Kieran and Mia join up with old friends at a local restaurant. Upon walking home, they observe a white vehicle speeding past them and remark at the oddity of it. Later they come to find out that one of the wait staff of that restaurant was found dead on the beach. With tourist season over, the realization comes that the murderer has to be a local. And just who would that be?

I am a huge fan of Jane Harper and have read all of her books. She is an amazing author. But The Survivors did not have the usual rapid fire intensity that we've come to know from her. A change of pace? Possibly. But The Survivors seemed to tread water a bit too long in most places with much time spent in those caves. The characters were off-putting to say the least rating low on the likeability meter. They were numerous, in fact, and we just got nips and pieces here and there which didn't allow us a flashlight's view into the possible murderer. The plan? Possibly, again.

I kicked this one up from a 3.5 to 4 stars because it was at the hand of Jane Harper. Harper still stands far and above the multitude of writers out there. She just is........and will always be.

I received a copy of The Survivors through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Flat Iron Books and to the talented Jane Harper for the opportunity.

Jane Harper set such a high standard with her first three books that The Survivors, while still an excellent book, does not quite match them in quality. Harper excels at settings and The Survivors is no exception. The story is engaging and her use of weaving the past and present is highly effective. But it takes her a bit too long to draw the full measure of her characters. That is likely because they grow tremendously during the week of the story’s duration. Coming to grips with what happened twelve years previously spurs growth and self-understanding, and courage. Harper demonstrates the characteristics of a small town but, more importantly, shows her readers the strength of all types of love.

"Coming home dredges up deeply buried secrets in The Survivors, a thrilling mystery by New York Times bestselling author Jane Harper."

This novel of long buried secrets arisen from the grave with the discovery of murder on the beach is suspense at its best. The pacing is slow, but right for the story, as years of background and history unfold before you, like the tide on a clear day. I look forward to reading more by this powerhouse author.

This was excellent! Good pacing and suspenseful. I didn't think I would get sucked into this the way that I did but once I started I couldn't stop and I finished it about 12 hours later.

Jane Harper is one of my favorite mystery/crime writers...I thought The Lost Man was brilliant. But this latest book just did not seem to be the same caliber as her previous novels. The Survivors is set in a small coastal town in Tasmania, as opposed to the Australian Outback where her previous novels have taken place. A young man and his family return home to help his parents pack up his childhood home. He is haunted by the tragic outcome of a huge storm that had happened when he was a teenager. But when the body of a young woman is discovered on the beach, her murder calls into question the events that had happened over a decade prior.
Harper is a master at creating a sense of place, and she does that once again in this rundown tourist town, that holds little promise for the young people who decide to stay there instead of looking for work on the mainland. But the characters, especially the main protagonist, Kieran, just don't feel that believable or interesting.

4+ Stars!
This is my fourth author, Jane Harper novel. I am a fan ~ I really liked the Aaron Falk series. The Dry" ~ was great, as was "Force of Nature". Now I am adding "The Survivors" to my 'love' list.

Story stars with Kieran Elliott returning home on the Tasmanian coast, Australian with his baby daughter and his girlfriend.
His father is suffering from Alzheimer’s and need to be taken to ‘live in a care facility’. Mom is healthy but will get an apartment near the care facility. Kieran has returned to help mom move.
However, being home brings back bad memories, When Kieran was 18 he was responsible for his brother, Finn’s death as well as the dad of his friend. They were tried to rescue Kieran in a terrible storm as he sought shelter in a cave that soon got flooded. He should NOT have been in the cave. He knew the danger.

The story is a ‘then and now’.

‘Then’ goes into deeper details of what happened twelve years ago.

‘Now’ is new drowning of Bronte, a young college student working during the summer at “The Surf and Turf’ restaurant ~ the most popular restaurant on the island.
In fact, Kieran and his friends just had dinner the evening before her death.
There is a small connection to Bronte as she was on the beach earlier in the day when Kieran, Mia and their baby Audrey were also on the beach. The wind took the baby’s bonnet and Bronte tried to catch it but couldn’t. That evening at the restaurant, Bronte offered several baby bonnets that had been left by guests who were never returning so she offered that Mia take one or even more to replace the one lost earlier. This has nothing to do with her death only that they knew her and she seemed like a thoughtful sweet person!

First half is slow and detailed. Ms. Harper is giving us not only the details of the storm and how the accident happened but also how the characters as well as the atmosphere in this small village changed.
Second half much fasted paced. I had my suspicions but was wrong!!

I love mysteries and psychological thriller ~ plot driven stories. Usually not a big fan of character driven stories ~ But I oved these characters!
Jane Harper does NOT disappoint!!!!

Want to thank NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this early release granted to me in exchange for an honest professional review. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for February 2, 2021

This was my very first Jane Harper book and all I can say is-WOW! She so cleverly blends a mysterious disappearance from the past into a present day tragedy. The story takes places place in fictional Evelyn Bay, a sleepy beach community in Australia. Years ago a teen girl goes missing on the same night a storm claimed the lives of 2 homeboy boys. The community moved on but those involved have carried the baggage and guilt around for years. Kieran Elliot lost his bother that night and has blamed himself for years thus staying away from home for a long time. When Keiran finally returns home, the healing is not complete for him and the tight group of friends he had. When another unexplained death hits this beach town, old feelings surface-shame, blame, hatred, devastation. Keiran and his group of friends work through the emotions of a new death and wonder could it be connected to the events a decade ago. As the threads unravel readers do not know who to trust in the characters. The author does a fabulous job of telling the story and delivering evidence little by little so that the ending is an utter shock. I love how the title is a double meaning-the survivors meaning the landmark in the bay that tourists flock to see and those that have dealt with the unsolved mystery that crippled their beach town years ago.

Thank you to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of the book.

First off, it has to be said that Jane Harper is one of the best writers to have come out of the last decade. And I want to start by recommending this book as another contribution to her growing and impressive body of work.

Having said that, I did find this book less engaging that the others I've read by Harper. I'm not the only one to come to this conclusion, but I think part of my lack of connection with this book is simply that her others have been so off-the-charts-phenomenally-excellent. The Survivors is a good and solid book. If this had been written by an unknown author, I have a feeling I would have liked it even more; however, it's hard for writers who set the bar so high, as Harper has done before, to always maintain that magic in every single entry.

This book has a great setting; Harper takes us to Tasmania and away from the hot and arid outback or bush regions--if you've read her before, you know how effective she is at using the Australian climate in her novels. I was excited to see this new climate and location. It also has a great hook of a story. The book gives you plenty of red herrings and potential villains. However, even with all these intriguing attributes, this book just didn't keep me engaged like her others. The first 3/4 seemed a bit slow--though the last 1/4 did pick up and keep me turning the pages. The ending was satisfying and heart wrenching at the same time. So it was a really good book--just not the best of Harper's work thus far.

But to end where I began, I absolutely encourage you to read this book and this author. I'm happy to have been able to get my hands on this one early and think I'm probably being too hard on it simply because Harper has knocked my socks off three times before. But do read this. It's good and it's solid. Maybe start with this one, then move to her other works. You won't be sorry.