The Survivors by Jane Harper

Rating : 3.5/5

This is my first read of 2021 !

Jane Harper has been one of my favorite authors recently. Her books are deeply atmospheric and character driven. I am not sure how she does it, but he takes you right to the place where the plot happens. On her latest book, she takes us Evelyn Bay, a small coastal town in Tasmania. I could hear the waves, I could smell the salt in the air. Jane Harper has successfully done this since The force of nature.

Kieran Elliot, visits his parents ten years later to help his family out. On a stormy night twelve years ago, a tragic incident drove Kieran away from his home town. He lost his brother Finn and his friend. Now, coming back here, meeting his friends again brings back a lot of tragic memories. As Kieran is dealing with it, a body is discovered on the beach which brings back all those incidents from twelve years ago.

As the new case is being investigated, a lot of old discrepancies come out!

I would call this book, a slow burn. It relies heavily on the human emotions more than the mystery itself. Jane Harper introduces us to the people of Evelyn bay, the relationship they share, Kieran’s guilt and weaves a complicated story with well developed characters. As much as I enjoyed the characters, feeling the atmosphere of the Evelyn Bay, the mystery fell flat. The book started building the tension but failed to maintain it. I personally didn’t enjoy it as much as I enjoyed The Lost Man but its still a compulsive read.

I recommend it if you like character driven slow burning mysteries.