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There are currently 33 member reviews
for Exiles
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Alan K. (Westport, MA)
Excellent read
This is the third book in the of Aaron Falk series by Jane Harper. It is a stand alone so reading the first two is not necessary (but you should as they are wonderful also). Both the characters and setting are well-developed. The setting is Australia's wine country. This is a very good character-driven mystery and well worth your time.
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Bill B. (Lake Oswego, OR)
Start here
This is Jane Harper's third book featuring Aaron Falk and -Good News - you don't need to read the first two to enjoy The Exiles. In fact, with all the things happening in Aaron's life this would be an excellent place to start.
I enjoyed the book. Harper has made the wine region north of Adelaide sound great. I'd like to live there and have her characters as my neighbors.
All the clues to the old hit and run and to Kim's disappearance last year are there. This is a good example of a really good crime novel that doesn't have a lot of violence.
Just one question. How did Jane and her editors come up with that title? I didn't see any Exiles.
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Charlene D. (Saugus, MA)
The Exiles
Jane Harper is one of my favorite authors and this book did not disappoint. Like her other novels, the setting took place in Australia - this time in wine country. Aaron Falk was back visiting friends and became embroiled in the mysterious disappearance of a young mother who was part of this group of friends growing up. There was an undercurrent of tension that escalated as the story progressed. She wove the events going back to the past and then returning to present day and the story was told from the point of view of the friends and family of the missing woman. This wasn't just a mystery but also a story of friendship and how well you know your friends. Interwoven with the events was a side story about career and how important a role it plays in people's lives when Aaron Falk finds himself in a position where he must decide whether the career that he loves is holding him back from living his life to the fullest. I read this book in two days. It was beautifully plotted and written. There were so many layers to this story that I think it would make a great book club selection. I can't wait for her next book.
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Karen B. (Crestwood, KY)
Slow burn mystery
The third and final installment of Jane Harper's Aaron Falk series was an enjoyable read, and can stand alone. The story builds slowly, as small town secrets are revealed. Characters and setting are well-developed.
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Pat D. (Little Rock, AR)
Exiles
My excitement level over a new Jane Harper book was raised even higher by the welcome return of federal investigator, Aaron Falk.
In "Exiles", Aaron travels to the wine country of South Australia, where he will gather with his dear friends, Rita and Greg Raco to become godfather to their baby, George. This christening which has been postponed a year will be celebrated by the Racos' extended family and close friends. The ceremony was canceled exactly a year ago when a family member disappeared suddenly, leaving her infant daughter abandoned in her pram at the community's annual festival.
A year later, there are no answers and only speculation about what happened to Kim Gillespie. Greg, a police officer, asks Aaron to take a look at the thick file he has gathered about her disappearance. Aaron goes through this information as well as talking to friends, family, and various town's people in hopes of finding out what happened to her.
Harper takes the reader along on Aaron's journey as he works his way through the file and the interviews. As he does, the reader can feel the tension and anxiety mounting ever higher on the way to discovering what really happened! I found this book to be a wonderfully, satisfying mystery!
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Betty B. (Irving, TX)
Jane Harper Is Back
I've enjoyed Jane Harper's books, especially her first book The Dry, which introduced us to Federal Investigator Aaron Falk so I was looking forward to The Exiles. I received the book on a Saturday afternoon, started it that evening, and read almost non-stop until I finished it Monday. What a great read.
Aaron Falk is back visiting a group of close friends in South Australia's wine country. A year earlier while he visiting the same friends, a young mother disappeared from a busy festival, leaving her young baby alone in her stroller. The baby is not noticed until the Festival is closing. Now a year later still no one knows what happened to the mother. Falk still wonders why a mother would leave her baby alone, and he begins to try to find out what happened to her.
Once again Harper gives us a group of interesting, likeable characters. Book Clubs will not only enjoy the mystery, but will find many threads to follow as long-buried secrets begin to emerge. And readers will find a real page-turner, and perhaps a new favorite Jane Harper mystery.
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Nancy P. (Olympia, WA)
Jane Harper Does It Again
Once again, Jane Harper has awarded us with another well-plotted mystery (actually, mysteries), with characters we like and a few we like not to like.
Her new book, Exiles, as in the first two books in the Aaron Falk series, radiates a sense of life in small-town Australia. Interpersonal relationships are complicated by past perceptions and misunderstandings. Many of the characters have preset ideas of how others will behave. Don't worry about reading the other two books beforehand; this book does not require it.
It is an ordinary day at the fair, but a baby, abandoned by her mother, is discovered. The mysterious disappearances of the two townspeople get more intriguing as Falk's investigative eyes begin exploring the mysteries. One mystery leads to another. Random recollections take on new meaning. Falk faces commitment issues.
Mysteries where endings are surprising but are reasonable when one follows the clues. Ms. Harper's writing will appeal to those who enjoy Harlan Coben, Peter May, and Dennis Lehane, evoking a similar sense of time and place. I suspect you will add her others to your reading list.
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