What readers think of The Lost Man, plus links to write your own review.

I think this book will end up being one of my year's favorites. It is a complex, tension-filled tale of a family and the Australian Outback. The land is unforgiving and so are the people; both are oppressive. The ranchers live insular lives, far from neighbors, often rarely speaking to other people and when they want do speak, it's as if they don't know how to go about it. The climax and the ending are just about perfect in their surprise and justification.
For fans of her other two books, this is a stand-alone; but an off-handed remark reminds one of the other books.

The Lost Man is the best novel yet from Australian author, Jane Harper. Her description of the desolate desert and the extreme heat of Queensland sets the stage for an unusual and fascinating family drama. As the story unwinds from a death in the desert, the family members react to reveal sharply different characters and how they live in this harsh environment. The generational effects of living in a dysfunctional family and the events of the past in the nearest town influence how each one reacts to this death. Each person is so well described that their reactions and relationships keep the mystery totally believable and intriguing to the last page. This a "must read".

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Lost Man by Jane Harper. An engrossing story of three brothers growing up and living in the Australian Outback, Harper immediately draws the reader in with a death. What follows is a satisfying journey into the family's past, rife with secrets and betrayals. Harper's descriptions of the dry, vast outback will leave you thirsty! I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy a great family drama where you are invested in each and every character and enjoy some twists and turns!

I thought The Lost Man was a wonderful book and enjoyed it even more than Jane Harper's previous two entertaining novels featuring Aaron Falk.
Very atmospherically set in the Australia outback, The Lost Man centers its story around family dynamics and how the choices we make have consequences, intended or not. Nathan Bright must come to terms with his decisions when his brother Cameron dies, under what may or may not be suspicious circumstances.
This book lingers in my mind long after I finished reading it.

The Prologue took me to the Outback that I experienced nearly twenty years ago. Descriptively, the desolation and solitude surpassed imagination. The reader could relate to the Bright family's struggle for survival.

Three brothers were dealing with normal sibling rivalry as well as the psychological tension of mysterious incidents. Nathan, the older, and Cameron, middle child, traded 6yplaces as protagonist and antagonist from day to day. Bub, much younger, did not show much of his personality.

The framework of the story included a series of interactions that inferred the basis of a mystery. Which of the brothers was really lost? How did maturing in the Bright family affect each brother's response to the family problems and pleasures?

The resolution to this mystery is one that is gourmet food for thought. It is a great basis for a stimulating book club discussion. This is a great thought-provoking read...DO IT!

Jane Harper's third novel, a stand alone, again takes place in the vast outback of Australia. Once again she focuses on a death with few possible suspects. Amazingly, she manages to turn the plot many ways without ever revealing the culprit until the very end. I read this in one sitting, forgoing dinner and sleep to find out what secrets were hidden in this rural shepherding family. Neither violent nor focuses on a damsel in distress, Harper provides a gripping plot sure to hold your attention.

A vivid picture of outback Australia is portrayed in this novel with the beauty and isolation of station life together with the secrets that bubble to the surface affecting everyone.

How refreshing! Just a really nice novel with a general fiction story line. Set in Australia, in the very outback, with minimal characters and subtle plot surrounding a family. The novel speaks of love, relationships, heredity, loss and endurance. Of how things are handed down in a family, both by nature and by nurture, or the lack thereof. Somewhat of a mystery, somewhat of a love story, but definitely a well written novel.

Well written, as expected from Jane Harper, the author of the Aaron Falk series. Harper takes you right into the story and makes you a character, as she also does the landscape. You may not have a speaking part, but you are there nonetheless. Feeling the pain, the joy and confusion of each of her characters. She writes with a freshness that eludes a lot of authors, and a straightforwardness that gives you that immediate sense of belonging. And not surprising, is that you welcome the opportunity to be swept away in her imagination and brilliant storytelling.