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There are currently 36 member reviews
for The Lost Man
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Dona N. (San Rafael, CA)
Atmospheric Australian Mystery
Jane Harper sets her third novel deep in the Australian outback where people are separated by hundreds of kilometers. When the brother of a family is found dead, we gradually learn more about inter-family and inter-personal challenges. In a technique similar to her previous mysteries, she slowly reveals the significant backstory that each character brings to the situation. Her excellent writing gives a vivid portrayal of the country and its people.
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Eliana S. (Biltmore Lake, NC)
The Lost Man
This book took me to a place I've never been, the outback of Australia; and inside a family of interesting individuals. There are many stories where place is not particularly important to the story. That's not the case here. Place is very significant to this story, and the author provides a vivid description of the landscape and how it affects the circumstances and the fate of the characters. There is a line near the end of the book — "The funeral had opened the gates." For me,that's really what this book is about. It is about how the death of a family member can affect every living member of the family. Not only dealing with grief and missing, but it can manifest the complications of the relationships within the family members who remain. It can trickle down from the oldest member of the family to the youngest, affecting them in different ways and for different reasons. Harboring family secrets can be very stressful. Confronting them can be very healing. This is a great read and there are many opportunities for discussion in this book. I would definitely recommend it for book clubs.
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Kim L. (Park Ridge, IL)
Beautiful Setting
This book was a page-turner from the start. The author beautifully depicts the outback, her descriptions made me feel I was there. But the story moved along too slowly for me, and I was a bit disappointed with the ending.
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Sara P. (Longview, WA)
The Lost Man
I thought this was a rather slow moving mystery. The main character was very well developed so the story was mainly about him and the mystery was secondary so as a reader I got impatient with trying to figure out what the crime was really about. It did have a very satisfying ending for the main character once I got there.
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Carolyn S. (Kennesaw, GA)
The Lost Man
The Lost Man is a exciting story full of suspense and mystery. It tells the story of a family in the outback of Australia. It is so well written that you can develop a picture in your mind of the way it would look and feel. I would especially recommend this book for discussion as it has a lot of nuanced details.
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Mimi S. Rochester NY
Very readable!
After reading Ms Harper's "The Dry", I looked forward to reading "The Lost Man"... and I wasn't disappointed. I love the way the author writes! There are no loose ends. The story and the characters are sharply honed. The story took me in so I finished the book in 2 days. It's an easy but intelligent read.
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Linda S. (Tucker, GA)
An Exciting Read!
From the very first page, the suspense created in The Lost Man by Jane Harper, drew me in, and carefully crafted clues dropped like breadcrumbs kept me turning the pages. Harper is a great storyteller, so I also enjoyed her other two books, but somehow this one resonated more with me. The story is about a dead man, his family, and secrets well-kept. Told from the POV of Nathan, the titular lost man, the storyline flows just right, the characters, including the Australian Outback, are realistic, and the ending is believable and very satisfying. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a suspenseful tale, well told.
That the book would benefit from a good editor is my only caveat. Thankfully, sentences like, "It was pitch black out there now. Above, Nathan could already make out the first few stars," are few: stars do not "come out" – they are there to see when it is dark enough. Perhaps that is also true of family secrets.
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