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There are currently 33 member reviews
for Exiles
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Janet D. (Homer Glen, IL)
Exiles by Jane Harper
Once again Harper intensely combines the curiosity of Aaron Falk and the terrain of Australia. Kim has gone missing from the local yearly festival and her 6 week-old daughter is found abandoned. No one saw her leave the festival and she was seen at various locations. Her white trainer is found in the reservoir's dam. One year later, Zara, her older daughter plans an appeal to festival goers hoping to jog a memory and help find her missing mother. As Falk moves forward he learns of another unsolved case that's six years old, an unsolved hit and run. Could the two incidents be related? They both occurred by the reservoir. Falk is plagued by pieces of information he can't quite put together. As he does, there's an ending you won't expect.
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Rosanne S. (Franklin Square, NY)
Harper Does it Again
Thank you so much for the opportunity to continue following Aaron Falk with Exiles. Jane Harper has once again done an incredible job of writing a poignant and suspenseful novel. As with all the others (The Dry, Force of Nature, etc), she has written a detective story that isn't mundane and expected.
I've become a fan of Aaron Falk and equate him a bit to Alex Cross in the Patterson novels and Cormoran Strike in the Gailbraith series. All these "detectives" have complicated lives that play into all their crime scenarios. I like it.
Falk's investigations are always different than the previous one. The common thread, of course, is Australia and his job with AFB. New and exciting characters are introduced in each book; many who enhance Falk's character.
I highly recommend diving in this series. You won't regret it and will come away feeling pretty excited about Australia mate !!!!
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Mary A. (Lake Nebagamon, WI)
Best mystery I have read this year
This Jane Harper book grabbed me from the beginning and held me and until the finish. The best mystery I have read in a year.
Harper writes very deeply into the psyche of the main characters. Small intimate descriptions have you feeling like you are there and these are your friends.
Aaron Falk visits friends wine country in South Australia to become godfather to the new child. There is a disappearance of Kim who was back visiting where she grew up. She had left the baby in her pram at the local festival and was gone.
Friends and family are puzzled as to why and what happened. We see the importance of family and friends during critical times. The plot kept me guessing until the end. I can see a sequel coming.
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Eileen C. (New York, NY)
Come for the mystery, stay for the moving portrayal of a community
While there is a mystery (or two) in this entertaining novel, it is really an exploration of community, guilt, and how relationships with others shape and change us. Jane Harper's South Australian wine country is an important character, and Aaron Falk is, as always, someone I am happy to follow around while he figures things out. The middle of the book was a little slow, but the incredibly moving ending makes up for it. Highly recommended for fans of character driven mysteries.
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Julia E. (Atlanta, GA)
Splendid Crime Novel
The fifth crime novel by multiple-awarding winning Australian, Jane Harper, will be greeted with cheers by all who loved the first four. This time set in the flourishing wine country of South Australia, she again captures small-town Australia, with its strong, hard-working community, vivid characters, and intense loyalties. A mysterious disappearance gets the plot rolling, embracing the reader in a tightly told tale that grips to the very end. A great read for all who savor finely crafted crime novels.
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Deborah C. (Seattle, WA)
Another winner from Jane Harper
I eagerly await each new book from Jane Harper, and Exiles did not disappoint! She returns to following the story of Aaron Falk, the lead character in her first two novels, The Dry and Force of Nature. You don't need to have read these books to enjoy or follow along with this one, but for those who have, the callbacks definitely add to the reading experience.
Exiles centers around the disappearance (and presumed death) of Kim Gillespie who apparently abandoned her infant daughter at an outdoor festival.
As always, Harper does an incredible job of evoking rural Australia--not only the scenery but the ins and outs of life in a small town where everyone's lives seem to be intertwined.
Although Aaron Falk is the main character, the book also looks at events from the perspective of other characters both in the present and in the past. I wouldn't characterize the book as a page-turner, with cliffhangers at the end of every chapter, but the writing and story are so compelling that I found it very difficult to put down. If you're a fan of Louise Penny or Ann Cleeves, you'll love this book!
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Laurie M. (Hampstead, NH)
Exiles - suspenseful, thought-provoking
Exiles is Jane Harper's newest suspenseful mystery featuring federal investigator Aaron Falk. I was immediately drawn into this book right from my first glance at the gorgeous cover art. As we travel to Southern Australia's wine country Jane Harper's evocative landscape seems to come alive. The novel opens with the discovery of a sleeping baby left alone at the annual Food and Wine Festival. The mother has vanished. This story unfolds at a nice pace, allowing the reader to become invested in a wonderful cast of characters. Along the way we are drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery and the secrets held within. This is a story that you'll still be thinking about long after you turn the last page.
Although this is the third novel starring Aaron Falk, enough background story is given so it can easily be read as a stand-alone. A few hints of the previous books may certainly have the reader indulging in Harper's backlist!
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