The Lost Man Spiral-Bound | 2019-12-31
Jane Harper
★★★★☆+ from 50,001 + ratings
The Lost Man
Two brothers meet at the remote fence line separating their cattle ranches in the lonely outback. In an isolated belt of Queensland, they are each other's nearest neighbor, their homes a four hours' drive apart.
Brothers Nathan and Bub Bright meet for the first time in months at the remote fence line separating their cattle ranches in the lonely outback.
Their third brother, Cameron, lies dead at their feet.
In an isolated belt of Australia, their homes a three-hour drive apart, the brothers were one another's nearest neighbors. Cameron was the middle child, the one who ran the family homestead. But something made him head out alone under the unrelenting sun.
Nathan, Bub and Nathan's son return to Cameron's ranch and to those left behind by his passing: his wife, his daughters, and his mother, as well as their long-time employee and two recently hired seasonal workers.
While they grieve Cameron's loss, suspicion starts to take hold, and Nathan is forced to examine secrets the family would rather leave in the past. Because if someone forced Cameron to his death, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects.
A powerful and brutal story of suspense set against a formidable landscape, The Lost Man confirms Jane Harper, author of The Dry and Force of Nature, is one of the best new voices in writing today.
--Booklist
"Harper's masterful narrative places readers right in the middle of a desolate landscape that's almost as alien as the moon's surface, where the effects of long-term isolation are always a concern. The mystery of Cam's death is at the dark heart of an unfolding family drama that will leave readers reeling, and the final reveal is a heartbreaker. A twisty slow burner by an author at the top of her game."
-- Kirkus (starred review)
"I absolutely loved The Lost Man. I devoured it in a day. Her best yet!"
--Liane Moriarty
"The Lost Man is a compulsive, gripping read from start to finish with an atmosphere you can cut with a knife. I was absolutely blown away by it."
--Kate Hamer, bestselling author of The Girl in the Red Coat
"I read it in 24 hours. It's gripping, atmospheric and ultimately deeply satisfying."
--Val McDermid, internationally bestselling author of The Grave Tattoo
"I don't have words for how much I loved it. Her other two books were amazing, but this is in a different league. It totally transcends genre, and it should win all the prizes."
--Marian Keyes, internationally bestselling author of The Break
"I ask in earnest: How the hell does she do it? The Lost Man is Jane Harper's third consecutive marvel… and, against long odds, her most marvelous yet, pitting brother against brother, man against nature, reader against the clock. What an extraordinary novel: part family drama, part indelible ode to the Outback -- a thriller as forceful and atmospheric as a brewing storm. Harper works miracles. We're lucky to witness them."
--A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window
Praise for Jane Harper
"Ms. Harper is not one to drop a fact...without using it later…If you enjoy being hoodwinked…you'll love Ms. Harper's sleight of hand… A secret on every page… Ms. Harper has made her own major mark." --The New York Times
"Harper continues the intense plotting and detail for characters and setting that she established in The Dry." --Associated Press
"[Harper] is such a good storyteller… The ease with which she shifts points of view and somehow makes disagreeable people sympathetic is special. So is her skill at ratcheting up the suspense. Harper, anything but a flash in the pan, has again raised the bar for emerging crime writers." --Chicago Tribune
"Accomplished crime thriller author Jane Harper layers her story as thick as the brush in The Outback….Fans of her debut book The Dry will find Force of Nature lives up to the exciting expectations Harper is becoming known for building." --Florida Times-Union
"Harper is adept at stripping away the thin skin of civility as the characters begin to feel fear out in the wild…Satisfying and suspenseful."--St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Harper writes with precision and creates a tense atmosphere on the brink of combustion." --Real Simple