Wednesday, June 16, 2021

The Lost Man by Jane Harper


The Lost Man 
Jane Harper  
2019  
4/5 stars

Cameron Bright is found dead outside the boundary of his large cattle ranch, having died of exposure to the elements of outback Queensland.  The entire Bright family is confused, shocked and horrified over the inexplicable nature of Cam's gruesome death -- was it suicide or murder?  The past begins to take on new shades of meaning, as his elder brother Nathan, fighting numerous demons of his own, seeks to make sense of the incident.  

Harper is a talented writer, creating characters and situations that are believable and engrossing, with the outback itself figuring largely in the plot.  The history of the family was revealed in an effective, gradual way, giving the novel an uncomfortable and atmospheric feel, and the story reached a conclusion that, though surprising, was, at the same time, not a surprise.  Overall, this slow paced and introspective book is a gripping work that, while a tightly plotted mystery, is also an intricate and detailed psychological character study of a family.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Hi there and thanks for commenting! Sometimes Blogger flags comments as spam despite my settings, so if your comment doesn't show up right away, it may be that I will have to manually approve it. I look forward to chatting with you!