Best news of the year so far – Jane Harper is back! But this time it’s the sea not the outback she tackles in The Survivors.
The Survivors – the blurb
Kieran Elliott’s life changed forever on a single day when a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that haunts him still resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal town he once called home.
Kieran’s parents are struggling in a community which is bound, for better or worse, to the sea that is both a lifeline and a threat. Between them all is his absent brother Finn.
When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge in the murder investigation that follows. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away…
A change of scenery
I have read all of Harper’s previous books, The Lost Man being my absolute favorite. All of her books feature the great Australian outback/countryside in some way. Sometimes looming so large it becomes another character. So how would she fair not only on a different land mass (Tasmania) but tackling a different beast all together (the ocean)? Well pretty well actually. The differences spring out at you from the first chapter – ‘icy burn’, ‘water’, ‘numbness’ – this is no scorched earth we are dealing with. Yet just like with Harper’s previous work nature, and how it can be your livelihood AND the cause of all your demons, is forever present. The sea brings a daily reminder of the events that happened 12 years ago to the residents of Evelyn Bay. As do The Survivors, a monument to a shipwreck that locals make a living from.
In Evelyn Bay Harper also produces another small town that is closed to outsiders, protects their own and has it’s share of secrets. I have read many a paragraph bristling in rage at the attitudes and opinions of Harper’s small towns and Evelyn Bay was no different.
Drowning in guilt
One of the things I love about Harper is how she twists away from the expected. Kieran could so easily have been written as [metaphorically] drowning in guilt yet he has somehow kept it together and made a life for himself. His relationship with Mia seems to be genuinely happy and realistic. Yet the feelings and guilt Kieran has is so visceral that at times it jumps off the page at you. He is surviving, but you’re not sure he has yet survived.
As you start to read the book you don’t know what happened during the storm, but as the plot opens up so does the potential. Was it him, her? Was he involved? Is that going a boat? a body? All this yet you never feel like you are led up the garden path for no reason. Yes there are red herrings but noteworthy ones – you don’t feel like you’ve just wasted your time suspecting the vicar, he was doing something wrong too. NOTE This is not a spoiler it was a made up example! The chapters are also often cliff hangers meaning you HAVE to squeeze ‘just one more in’ several times over.
When the events 12 years ago finally reveal themselves it’s emotional and hard to read. You know the outcome yet you are glued, urgently reading the horrifying twists and turns. Then there is the ending of the current situation (I’m trying not to give anything away here). All I will say is I thought it was a perfect ending to a perfect storm.
Thanks
My thanks go to Little Brown for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I totally loved it and maHOOsively recommend you read it. Harper is a master at suspense and the only thing I have to complain about is it’s now going to be ages until I have a new one to devour.
If you are new to Harper do give her back catalog a go especially, The Lost Man.
