Another fantastic effort from Harper, this one in the Aaron Falk series which finds him among friends celebrating a christening at the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of a wife and mother from a festival. Her older daughter and the daughter's friend insist on keeping the investigation open as they don't believe the mom killer herself by jumping into the reservoir, as is widely believed. The young friend lost his dad a few years back in a hit and run and the boy believes something fishy happened there, too. Falk has a brief history with the man's widow which gets him more than curious as to what happened to both people. Nobody writes mysteries better than Harper right now, and her wonderfully drawn characters really help the reader become deeply involved in the plot. As usual with Harper, this one builds to surprising revelations around the concept of "sometimes we see what we want to see". The way Harper describes the different perspectives later revealed about certain incidents is truly fascinating and had me reading long and hard into the wee hours of the morning to see what actually went down. I can't recommend her books enough. If you're already a fan, you'll love this one. If you haven't read her yet, start from the beginning and enjoy. Very highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another interesting story by Jane Harper. A lovely story of life long friends and their evolving lives over the years. Two. mysteries keep you guessing. How nice to have a good read without descriptive violence. I highly recommend this book.

I have to admit this book started out kind of slow for me. I continued on and am so glad I did. Eventually I couldn’t put it down and had to get to the bottom of this mystery. I would definitely recommend this book.

Kim Gillespie vanished from a festival in her Australian hometown a year ago. They found her infant daughter in a stroller but Kim was no-place to be found.

Aaron Falk is a federal investigator that was at the festival visiting friends when Kim disappeared. He’s back in town for a christening of his friends son and is drawn back into the mystery.

As secrets emerge, Falk will start to put puzzle pieces together. Will he find out what happened to Kim?

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This one kept me guessing! Exiles by Jane Harper is a fast-paced mystery/thriller with well-developed characters and enough twists and turns to keep me turning pages late into the night! I thoroughly enjoyed the unfolding of the story and the unexpected revelations along the way. Five stars for this book. I'm looking forward to more by this author!

Jane Harper does it once again, delivering up another fantastic mystery featuring Aaron Falk.

There’s just something about Harper’s books that just hooks me into the story, and that hasn’t changed with Exiles, her third novel to feature Falk. The characters are fully realized and believable. Some readers may find the plot too slow to develop, but that never bothered me as I relished reading her slow burn of a story. The Australian setting was absolutely captivating. It was very difficult for me to put Exiles down.

Highly recommended.

My thanks ask to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing an ARC of Exiles.

I have loved the previous two books of Aaron Falk by Jane Harper and this one was no different. Thoroughly enjoyed the mystery as well as the interrelationships explored in a small close knit community. Enjoyed the little bit of romance as well. Would definitely recommend for fans of Jane Harper and Aaron Falk series

I went into this book thinking it would be one thing, and it ended up not being that. It wasn’t bad, but just not what I was expecting.

This is the third novel in the Aaron Falk series by Jane Harper. In this novel Aaron is in a small town on vacation for the christening if his goddaughter. Aaron is a detective for the financial division of the state police and can’t turn his investigative mind off. While on vacation he learns of a local woman who mysteriously disappeared a year ago leaving behind a husband and infant daughter. Aaron slowly starts to put the pieces of the puzzle of what happened over the course of his stay. And, he reconnects with a prior love interest, maybe there is more to small town living than he realized.

This was definitely a slow burn and very atmospheric. The book was about Aaron and learning more about him, with a few mysteries thrown in. The mystery was not really the main focus of the book, Aaron was. It was nice learning about him, and finding out more, but I wasn’t expecting such a character focused book. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it - in a way it was a nice change of pace. I gave this one 3.5 out of 5 stars. Huge thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for this review. This book comes out January 31, 2023 and make sure to check it out!

This was another excellent read by Jane Harper. I found it a little slow to start but then it quickly increased the pace and I found myself absolutely absorbed in this brilliant story.

This was a fantastic mystery. Would highly recommend this one as I couldn't put it down. Worth the wait.

I freely admit that Australian author Jane Harper is one of my favorites, and I devoured both of the previous installments in the Aaron Falk series (The Dry and Force of Nature). So I was more than ready to dive into Exiles, which is the newest book in the series.

The setting itself is often a character in Jane Harper’s books, and this time is no exception. In Exiles, Aaron Falk travels from his home in Melbourne to the wine country in the state of South Australia. He is there to celebrate the christening of the son of close friend Greg Raco, where he will serve as godfather. Members of the Raco family live on their vineyard and winery nestled in rolling hills and lush bushland. In the evenings they sit outside around the firepit and watch the sunset give way to twinkling stars. They wake in the morning and walk their dogs along trails around the reservoir. You can feel the connection between the community and their surroundings.

However, all is not peaceful in this vineyard paradise. In addition to the christening, the community is also celebrating the annual wine festival, where last year, new mother Kim, abandoned her baby and disappeared into the night. Kim’s former partner Charlie Raco is the proprietor of the family winery. Charlie and Kim are parents of teenager Zara, who has not accepted that her mother may have drowned in the reservoir. Zara has embarked on her own investigation into her mother’s disappearance along with her friend Joel, who is convinced that Kim’s disappearance is linked to the hit-and-run death of his father a few years prior. Aaron is plunged into the midst of this intrigue.

This is definitely a slow burn mystery, which works well with the late summer harvest festival setting. I could feel the sense of lazy, late summer days drifting into autumn. Additionally, there is a potential love connection for Falk, who has previously been very unlucky in love.

I don’t think it is imperative to have read the first 2 books in the series in order to enjoy this one. It definitely stands on its own, however, I have enjoyed following Falk’s character arc and recommend reading the other books, too.

This book left me shook!!! The second half of this book I could not put down. SO MANY TWISTS & TURNS . it is a little slow at the start but keep reading and you will not be sorry.

I was excited to get this book from NetGalley as I had loved previous Jane Harper books. I loved the cover and looking forward to book taking place in Australia and being transported to another place. The premise for the book intrigued me Kim Gillespie goes missing from festival without a trace and leaves her baby behind.

Now, one year later and Aaron Falk comes to town for baby christening. Something really bothers him about Kim's disappearance and he starts investigating the case.

The character development and location details were excellent. The story was a slow build and the middle was rather boring and not much a mystery. This book didn’t captivate me like other ones by Jane Harper. Overall good book just not my favorite by her.

Beautifully written, tightly plotted, with compelling characters and crisp dialogue, this was truly one of the better novels I’ve read in some time. The voice was reminiscent of Kate Atkinson's Brodie series at times. I absolutely loved this book and will now go back and read the earlier installments in the series.

The Exiles is the latest entry in Jane Harper’s Aaron Falk series, and I have to say, it is my favorite in the series. I feel like each book continues to get better and better. I absolutely love the writing and the character development. I give this a solid 5 stars and definitely recommend.

Thank you to Flatiron Books and to Netgalley for the early copy!

Another solid slow burn of great writing by Harper. Easy read, but still in depth enough to make for an enjoyable and complex storyline,. 4 stars

An enjoyable addition to the Falk series. The first is still my favorite but this one offers a great mystery.

As I embarked on "Exiles," the third installment in Jane Harper's Aaron Falk series, I was immediately reminded why I enjoy her books so much. Her descriptive prose and in-depth character description always leaves me eager for more. Many years ago after finishing Harper's first book, "The Dry," I knew I would follow her protagonist wherever she sent him, and so here I am.

Aaron Falk returns to Marralee Valley in Southern Australia to attend a christening for his friend's baby. Greg and Rita Raco have asked Aaron to be a godfather for their son. The christening had been rescheduled a year later because Kim Gillespie, who was part of the extended Raco clan, had gone missing a year ago. Her stroller was found parked, with her sleeping baby inside, in a stroller bay by the ferris wheel at The Marralee Food and Wine Festival.

After years on the job working in the financial division for the federal police in Melbourne, Falk still feels a flutter of interest in this unsolved case. Since he was at the festival a year ago, Falk tries to visualize if and where he saw Kim last. As he becomes more embroiled in Kim's family and circle of friends, Falk starts to question everyone's memory and starts to look for gaps in everyone's account of that fateful night. All the while, Falk feels like there's something that they've missed. He describes it as "a translucent shimmer of a thought hovering in the distance..."

As usual, Jane Harper delivers a well-crafted mystery leading to the final reveal that was very unexpected. Of course she leaves some breadcrumbs along the way woven into the fabric of the story. As with her other books, Harper's writing shines and elevates this story above your average mystery. Many thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I would say this is very much a character driven book, with the action definitely on the slower side, but the plot really packs a punch. Personally I like a bit more goings-on in my reads, but the author's writing is impeccable and kept me entirely engaged, with a tone that gave me the ever present feels of a dark undercurrent and a bombshell secret getting ready to drop at any moment. That feeling alone was reason enough to have enjoyed this read, but the actual plot was executed brilliantly. Twice I thought a small sentence or two had given the plot away and twice I was completely wrong. This was a total page turner.

Exiles is the latest novel in the Aaron Falk series by Jane Harper. I have loved all of the Aaron Falk novels, and this one is no different. In the newest novel, Falk has been invited by the Racos to their son’s baptism to act as Godfather. While at the family vineyard, the small town’s food and wine festival is happening, which brings thousands to its doors. Unfortunately, one of the attendees of the baptism has gone missing and has left her six-week-old daughter unattended at the festival to be found by park staff.
First of all, the setting is refreshing because it lends itself to many potential clues. Unlike some of the popular recent mysteries, this is not happening in a secluded place. How many people at the festival saw Kim that night? How did she disappear without leaving through either gate? And why didn’t any of her family directly interact with her? Or did they?
There are a large amount of red herrings in this novel, which actually really makes it as good as it is. Falk takes a very sidelined approach to investigating this as he’s not actually on the case. Though of course, we know by now he can’t leave a good mystery unsolved. I really liked how certain offhand things became clues in the end, and the way that Falk solved the case was really more about chance than anything else. It seems like cracking the case would happen a similar way in the real world.
The characters are also incredible and their relationships with each other are intertwined in a way that any small town denizen would understand. I also really enjoyed that Falk had a love interest in this novel, as he really is a lovable guy. I love Jane Harper, and I can never wait to see what she puts out next!

this is part of a series but can be read as a standalone. a mother disappears and leaves her baby, an investigation into the disappearance keeps you guessing.