The Survivors

With The Survivors, Jane Harper proves she's unquestionably the real deal.

The Survivors is a subtle, quiet book about guilt,
grief and growing up. You may find it hard to
leave it behind.

Jane Harper’s capacity for evoking natural environments and creating characters and storylines credibly informed by these locations is on display as strongly as ever in her new novel, The Survivors.... Harper’s unsentimental evocations of how individuals deal differently with loss and shame are noteworthy. She is also alert to how small family units suffer.

...The Survivors is an atmospheric and engaging mystery with a vividly evoked coastal setting.

This is an intriguing mystery, but a deeper layer is added by the well-drawn characters and their relationships. In a small town where everyone knows each other, suspicions are easily aroused. We care as much about what happens to the characters as we do about solving the crime. Like in her previous books, the setting is so strong that it’s almost a character in itself. For fans like me, a new Harper book is a treat and this is another cracking read.

And in Harper’s proven style, the story is not only atmospheric, it delves deep intothe psyche of main character Kieran Elliott and the townsfolk, unearthing dark secrets of the past, hidden guilt and simmering social tensions.

With consummate skill, Harper steadily builds the suspense to an unexpected climax, while also taking a sharp-eyed look at the intricacies of small communities and the enduring toll of guilt. Highly recommended.

A new book from Jane Harper is always an event [...] It is the kind of set-up that Harper handles expertly

Chilling

Harper has quickly established herself as a major voice in thrillerdom, and her fourth novel confirms her seat at the top of the new Down Under crime hierarchy...An author who seldom disappoints.

Once again Harper demonstrates how good she is at portraying the fear and menace that lurk in ordinary lives

[A] compelling study of the corrosive effects of grief and guilt.

Harper goes from strength to strength.

Once again Harper demonstrates how good she is at portraying the fear and menace that lurk in ordinary lives.

Multi-layered, atmospheric and brilliantly written.

Harper has few equals in slowly building suspense as she reveals the lies festering at the heart of small communities, before delivering an unexpected ending.

Harper tempers an unrelenting feed of intrigue and information with a real emotional sensitivity. She is mindful of it being largely women at risk of brutality, is deft with red herrings, and tackles guilt, grief and fraught friendship. She also articulates the destructive impact of bravado on young men. Atmospheric and quite enthralling.

[I]n pellucid prose, Harper takes on board corrosive issues of guilt, memory and responsibility. As ever with her, the luminously described setting becomes a character in its own right, with the climax accompanied by the swell of the waves.

[Harper's] mastery of slowly revealed secrets, of the past echoing in the future, is unsurpassed. So too is her ability to create small communities through both their social and physical elements.

A beautifully written murder mystery.

When a body is discovered, old secrets start to emerge in this powerful story.

Past and present begin to overlap in this compelling, beautifully characterised mystery.