Nancy P

As I read this book, it became a letter from a dear friend who had written me a letter about her experience after getting pregnant. Her letter was about her choice and a different choice that I made when it happened to me. It felt like the path I could have taken, but that path was not the one for me. Laura and I are only a year apart in age, but I became pregnant four years later than she did. I had more freedom than she did because I was in college and living outside the home. I was lucky that abortion was legal in New York, but I had to travel there under very onerous circumstances. I was never able to let my parents know of my decision. I felt very close to Laura and felt the kinship of having to make such a major decision. I plan to write to Laura when this discussion is over. Thanks for letting me know how difficult the other choice might have been.

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.