Like every Harper book before it, The Survivors swept me up with its haunted characters and a rich sense of place. This time the setting is a seaside town on the Tasmanian coast, where tragedy struck years earlier. Our narrator is Kieran Elliott, married with a baby and returned to town to help his parents pack up house as his father's early-onset dementia necessitates his relocation to a care home.

There's a definite pattern to Harper's books, but with the unique setting and the top-notch narration, I didn't care that the unfolding mystery felt a tad formulaic. When it was ultimately revealed, the truth about the past carried an emotional weight and resolution for characters I'd come to care about. Always very happy to go along for the ride, and particularly enjoy Jane Harper's books on audio.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the Advanced Listening Copy!

I had such a hard time with this audiobook. I believe it was because I could not get into the narrator's voice. It was just ruining the story for me. When a story has a lot of red herrings it makes nothing about the plot seem important.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this!

SPOILER ALERT!!! I LOVED THIS BOOK!!

I was instantly intrigued by the synopsis of this book. This book instantly drew me in, I got to explore through the eyes of our main character and this is always my favorite way to discover these details of the story and, it was done very well in this book. I really enjoyed this book and the plot. This author did amazing. I loved the writing style.

A crime mystery that just didn’t work for me. I wanted to love this audiobook but I just couldn’t connect with the narrator nor the storyline unfortunately.

Does Harper’s writing remind anyone else of Pat Conroy’s? It might be the intensity and sensitivity of her male characters—they’re in many ways traditional, but oh so complicated. (Not a strike against her female characters—it’s just more common in other writers’ novels for them to be portrayed this way). I adored the change of setting to the sea here. It’s just as evocative as her wild, interior settings. Can’t wait for the next one!

Loved this audiobook. The story kept me completely interested and engrossed the entire time and the narrator was wonderful.

The Survivors
Jane Harper

I have read a couple books by Jane Harper. She is an absolutely fantastic writer. She effortlessly creates an atmosphere and turns foreign lands into mysterious settings.

However, her most recent books have been achingly slow.

This one is almost the slowest, but THE LOST MAN tops it.

If there were a way to spend a little less time creating a backstory and building characters, with a little more focus on action, I think I would be a solid fan.

However great the passages were, I often found myself completely bored with the material. Wanting to skip ahead and wanting to DNF.

So for this one with everything in total I'm giving this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Until someone I trust tells me her books have picked up in pace, I will probably avoid her future titles.

However if you liked THE LOST MAN and are willing to sit still for a bit, this one may appeal to you.

Fans of Tana French will appreciate Jane Harper's depth and intense way of storytelling.

Thanks to @macmillanaudio and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

Every now and then I needs me a good Australian audiobook and The Survivors definitely did not disappoint.

“At the very tip, the three life-size iron figures stood guard. The Survivors. Side by side, they gazed outward, unflinching against the elements, their sculpted faces turned forever to where the Mary Minerva lay sunk beneath the waves.”

My thanks to Macmillan Audio for a review copy, via NetGalley, of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Survivors’ by Jane Harper. It was narrated by Stephen Shanahan and has a running time of 11 hours, 57 minutes at 1x speed.

Evelyn Bay is a small Tasmanian coastal town. The Tasmanian waters are notorious and over the centuries has claimed over a thousand vessels, including the SS Mary Minerva. The Survivors of the title is a sculptural memorial sited on a rocky outcrop looking out towards its sunken wreckage.

Twelve years ago Kieran Elliott's life changed forever when a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. He is still haunted by guilt when he returns with his girlfriend and baby daughter to Evelyn Bay where he grew up.

Then a body is discovered on the beach and long-held secrets begin to emerge in the resulting murder investigation.

This was my first experience of Jane Harper’s writing. I found it quite slow to start but then Wham! I was totally hooked. She does introduce quite a few characters in its opening chapters, and I found it useful to make a few notes to keep track of who was who.

I found this a highly engaging, character-driven crime thriller with a strong plot and a very atmospheric setting. The relentless power of the sea was very evident throughout.

With respect to the audiobook, I initially found Stephen Shanahan’s Australian accent a bit distracting but I quickly became used to it and felt that he brought a real sense of its Australian/Tasmanian setting. Stephen Shanahan has served as narrator on the audiobooks for Jane Harper’s four novels.

Following my experience of this outstanding novel, I am planning to seek out her earlier books.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.

The Survivors by Jane Harper is a slow-burn story rife with tension, secrets, and lies. In a small town where everyone knows everything about everyone, things are not always what they seem.

The past seems to have something to do with the new tragedy. Years ago, a storm blew in, and people died. Kiernan's brother died trying to rescue him, and he lives with the guilt. Shortly after returning home, another tragedy occurs, and secrets are exposed. Are the events connected?

Harper superbly captures life in a small town and. She excels at character development and is known for atmospheric settings, and Evelyn Bay is a perfect example. She kept me guessing up to the end to figure out what happened then and now.

Narrator Stephen Shanahan reads the story in an almost rote manner. He does not distinguish voices between characters not does he indicate much emotion.

I switched between the e-book and audiobook to finish the novel. I enjoyed the story but thought the narrator did not make the words come alive. I moved through the e-book much faster than the audiobook.

I added The Dry, the first book in Harper's Aaron Falk series, to my want-to-read list.

This 200-word review will be published on Philomathinphila.

This is a Crime Mystery. I tried to listen to the audiobook, and the narrator was just not for me. Lucky, I found an ARC paper copy of this book in a little free library, so I finished by reading the book. I found this book just not to be for me. This is a super slow moving mystery which I like more of a fast moving mystery. I did not love the crime part of this book either. I think if I liked the characters better I would have enjoyed the book better. I was kindly provided an e-audiobook of this book by the publisher (Flatiron Books/Macmillan Audio) or author (Jane Harper) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

If you're looking for an engrossing mystery, Jane Harper delivers a pretty solid option with The Survivors.

Kieran, his partner, and their baby daughter return to his Tasmanian hometown to help his parents pack up the family home. He left years earlier, escaping grief that came with a heartbreaking loss. Shortly after coming back, though, the murder of a friend of his brings back torrents of memories, opening up fractures in his group of chums.

There are zigs, zags, and red herrings as you try to figure out whodunit. I've always been far more fascinated by the whydunit than the who, and the "why" here is interesting and works. It doesn't feel contrived (nothing in this book does). Harper lets you discover it along with Kieran, showing you his feelings and reactions that mirror yours.

I listened to the audiobook and then read the text. Stephan Shanahan's narration--even when sped up to 1.5--sometimes falls flat. He reads the book almost too drily, never permitting us to experience the book through his voice. So I'd pass on the audio, but you do not want to miss the book and Harper's story. Will you know the culprit? Maybe. I had occasional suspicions. The denouement of that person's discover, though, is harrowing and even a little heartbreaking.

This is the first Jane Harper book I've read, and I can't wait to read more.

Oh my, here is my review ... finally! It only took me 5 months lol.
I have meanwhile read Jane Harper's book The Dry. While The Survivors was a great book, it did not quite fill the big shoes The Dry left. Don't get me wrong, the character building was great, the writing fantastic, I just didn't get the thrill and heart-racingly fast-paced story I got reading The Dry.

My first Jane Harper book, but not my last. I enjoyed the slow build and the tension between characters. I listened to the audio version and the narrator was wonderful. Recommend!

I love ever book Jane Harper has ever written!

The audiobook was really good thank you!
The narrator/s were amazing and kept me engaged in the story.

I received an advanced copy of the audiobook from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

This novel focused on a small beach town that had a mysterious death many years before and as Kieran makes a visit home he feels the guilt overwhelming him for what occurred. Then a new body washes ashore and so many new questions arise and old questions may finally get answered.

This novel wasn't bad it just felt incredibly slow to me....TOO slow with the intensely slow burn that by the time we got the big reveal, well, I just didn't care any longer. I finished this more so than anything because I was listening to the audiobook, if I had been reading it, I think I would have put it aside not too far in.

Jane Harper is a great Australian author and tells fascinating stories. I enjoyed this one and listening to it was pleasurable. I gave this wonderful book a solid five stars.

The audio for this particular title is not working. I have tried multiple times to listen and I just can not keep going. I am speaking on the audio only. I still want to read this title....but I am going to pick up the physical copy.

Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences.

The guilt that still haunts him resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal community he once called home.

Kieran's parents are struggling in a town where fortunes are forged by the sea. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn.

When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away.

This was one of those slowly unwinding tales that kept me feeling a bit uncomfortable, on edge, impatient, tense, and unable to put my Kindle down without feeling annoyed at the intrusion. I was hooked from the beginning and full of nagging suspicions as at one time or another, almost every character seemed a bit off and capable of something dreadful. The writing was cleverly realistic with deeply flawed yet enticing characters while shrewdly plotted and cunningly paced to drive me mad in brain itching increments. It was brilliant.

This book was so atmospheric! It was set in Tasmania, against the background of a beach where Kerien’s brother died trying to save him during a storm. When Kerian finally returns to his hometown years later, another body shows up on the beach, and the past and it’s secrets unravel. This was amazing.