Exiles: The heart-pounding Aaron Falk thriller from the No. 1 bestselling author of The Dry and Force of Nature (Aaron Falk, 3)

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FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AND AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR JANE HARPER COMES EXILES , A CAPTIVATING MYSTERY ABOUT A MISSING MOTHER Jane Harper has this wonderful ability to put the reader in an Australian location that feels real, beautiful, and just let’s her characters shine. Joining the celebrations is federal investigator Aaron Falk. But as he soaks up life in the lush valley, he begins to suspect this tight-knit group may be more fractured than it seems. Between Falk's closest friend, a missing mother and a woman he's drawn to, dark questions linger as long-ago truths begin to emerge. MY THOUGHTS: Marralee is a small town in the heart of the South Australian wine country. A small, pretty Barossa Valley, altra zona vinicola dell’Australia del sud usata da Jane Harper per ambientare il romanzo.

This novel is intricately plotted, multi-layered and well written. The descriptions of the vineyards and the sunrises and sunsets are vividly described and easy to imagine! What a beautiful area this must be! The police found Kim's shoe in a reservoir near the fairgrounds, and concluded the missing woman committed suicide. However Kim's body was never found, and Kim's teenage daughter Zara - from a previous relationship with Charlie Raco (Greg's brother) - refuses to believe Kim killed herself. A year on, Kim Gillespie’s absence casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather deep in the heart of South Australian wine country to welcome a new addition to the family.The novel’s subplot is frankly more compelling than the mystery of the main plot. Falk has a romantic interlude with the festival organizer Gemma Tozer, while simultaneously solving the mystery of her late husband’s death six years prior. This narrative is more compelling than the mystery of Kim’s disappearance since its resolution actually makes sense. The love plot is utterly predictable but altogether sweet, especially the scenes where Falk bonded with Gemma’s son and helped him through his grief. In this third book in the series Aaron Falk is taking a few days leave, in the South Australian wine country, to attend the christening of his friends' small son. One person is missing from the group of friends. She disappeared a year ago leaving her baby sleeping in her pram at a wine festival, and no sign of her has been found since. Aaron Falk is in town to celebrate the christening of his godson, when the subject of Kim’s disappearance comes up. It’s a case that weighs heavily on this tight-knit community and Aaron is asked to investigate the case in an unofficial capacity.

You’re here for the christening.” The man spoke suddenly, catching Falk by surprise. He’d stopped between the two cars and looked a little relieved, like he’d worked something out. “Is that right? For the Racos’ son?” After hearing great things about award-winning Australian author Jane Harper’s writing, I’ve been keen to read her work for quite sometime. So when I saw it was available, I requested an advance copy of Exiles, immediately. It’s the third book in Harper’s Aaron Falk series. I waited a long while to get a copy, but it was well worth it. Exiles does not disappoint. Joining the celebrations on a rare break from work is federal investigator Aaron Falk, who begins to suspect that all is not as it seems.This is a softer, gentler Harper, but with the same fine writing and addictive storytelling." Ann Cleeves The investigation leads to one of Kim’s shoes being found in the dam filter of the reservoir, the drop overlooking it located within walking distance of the fairground. What happened to Kim? Was it suicide? Murder? Or did Kim simply leave of her own accord? But, why?

The contents of the bay were collected one by one over the next couple of hours, as families who'd been mixing wine, cheese and carnival rides decided they'd celebrated local produce enough for one night. By a little after 10.30 pm, only the pram and the assistant electrical technician's bike were left.

Also by Jane

Thank you to Jane Harper, Macmillan Audio with a fine narration by Stephen Shananhan, and NetGalley for the ability to listen to this story, which published on January 31, 2023. Aaron Falk has a lot of baggage, which he is also working to resolve. And I became more than a little frustrated with him over his indecision and often inept pursuit of Gemma when it seemed clear they should get together. But Falk, a mixture of subtlety and pathos, is a character I liked immediately and seems a real person. Harper also expertly fleshes out the rest of the cast who seem like people I can easily imagine might inhabit rural Australia. All are relatable and I felt like I got to know all the characters well by the end of the book. Unlike other Australian authors I’ve read, who use descriptions of the Australian landscape to establish a sense of place, Harper relies more (at least in this book) on using the Australian manner of speech in both dialogue and inner thoughts of the characters to accomplish that. It’s effective and makes the reader aware the story takes place in Australia, yet perhaps not as effectively as Australian writers, who descriptively transform the sense of place into almost a character in its own right. The Australian Mystery Road movies and television series are good examples of this. And I’ve read several novels where the authors used similar techniques in their prose. Harper’s technique isn’t necessarily bad, just different. Now, a year later, Kim's older teenage daughter, Zara, and Falk's friend Greg Raco have asked him to look into the case as they ask anyone at this year's festival with more information to come forward. As he looks into the case, questions begin to emerge. What happened to Kim Gilles? What would make a mother abandon her child?

In addition, the twist is partially revealed through chapters told from the perspective of Kim and her husband, who was involved in her disappearance, which sheds light on the story but also feels lazy on the author’s part. A mystery novel satisfies readers when the resolution is unexpected but could have been predicted with the clues given. The twist in “Exiles” comes after a string of disconnected and random clues that do not quite make sense once the final reveal is known. Exiles works on pretty much every level. The the writing is very good and evocative. Ms. Harper is a very talented writer, able to reveal character and advance the story slowly and steadily through subtle moments. The plot is well-crafted, juggling multiple mysteries in the present and the past, dispensing little clues and a fair amount of misdirection. Aaron Falk is a fully realized character (especially after two earlier books), who ends up playing the role of wise, observant outsider. But there are probably ten other significant characters and each of them is also sharply drawn. Most of the story is told from Aaron’s perspective, but there are occasional chapters from another’s perspective, and each of those is a revelatory gut punch. The book unfolds in three time frames, a week in the present, a year earlier and then three years later at the end. We get multiple points of view, but mostly that of the lead character, Aaron Falk, a seasoned Australian Federal Police (AFP) financial crimes investigator with a calm, unexcitable nature. With this book, Harper may well have given her legions of readers exactly what they have been waiting for: a beautifully observed crime novel about regional life featuring the reticent and endearing federal policeman, Aaron Falk...Quietly and inevitably, the secrets and deceptions are unraveled as Falk finds himself deftly woven into the weft of this small community. In Exiles, Falk may at last have come home.” Jane Harper has once again produced an ingenious, moving and hugely satisfying mystery. This is crime writing perfection.”

The Aaron Falk series books in order

This is a slow burn story. Harper takes her time unwinding the story. Aaron isn’t formally investigating the disappearance, just asking questions on his own. Other friends and family have all been doing their own investigations over the past year. There had also been a hit and run five years before the disappearance which has also left lots of questions. The story delves into what we do for the people we love. Though she makes a point of careful plotting and neatly tied-up threads, Harper’s books are as much about Australian society and the pressures and dangers of the country’s landscape as they are about finding missing people and solving murders...The ability to spot subtle warning signs of a troubled soul is probably Falk’s greatest gift as an investigator, leading him to look for answers about Kim’s fate very close to home.”