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Who was the last to see Kim? Where? How was she? Who had been in touch with her recently? Why would she leave her baby? Where is she? Meanwhile her husband Rohan is raising little Zoe alone. L’indagine – e quindi la risoluzione del caso - avanza con lentezza – nonostante le sue storie si svolgano in archi temporali stretti, di solito pochi giorni, qualche settimana – e avanza attenta a dettagli e particolari. Harper ama entrare nell’animo dei suoi personaggi, raccontarne pensieri emozioni e reazioni, oltre che le parole pronunciate e i gesti. Scandagliare comportamenti caratteri psicologie. It was a spring night and the South Australian sky was clear and starry with no rain forecast, but the weatherproof hood had been pulled over to full stretch. A linen square normally used as a sunshield was draped over the opening between the hood and the pram. A casual glance would not now see the sleeping girl at all.
While the mystery of Kim’s disappearance might be the narrative hook on which this crime novel hangs, what renders it so engaging is Harper’s keen observation of people and place captured in swift glimpses. Meeting his godson after a year, the toddler fixes Falk with a “glassy accusing gaze”, while his little sister Eva shyly slides a glittery hairclip into Falk’s hand. This is what small children do. Falk is clearly touched by this young family and their kindness as he contemplates an alternative country lifestyle on Charlie’s vineyard miles away from his workaholic existence in Melbourne. 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. This year, as they wander around the festival, they try to remember and retrace their steps at the last festival. Some of these people are old friends of Aaron’s, while others are childhood friends of theirs, so we see the dynamics of a pretty close community in a small town. Aaron is enjoying their company, and there’s even a bit of match-making going on. The one minor gripe that I have involves two chapters told from the point of view of two additional characters. I wish Harper didn't include them--they explain what happened to one character and add insight into another, but because their chapters come near the very end, they pulled me out of the narrative and disrupted the flow of events.
Early praise for Exiles
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.
The slow-burning, brilliantly twisty mystery from Jane Harper, the international bestselling Number One author of The Dry Given that each mystery in the Aaron Falk series is different (as is the setting) you could dive into this one without having read the others, and be able to follow it no problem. However, there is an incident that occurred in The Dry that is referred to in this one that I consider a spoiler. Also, because it’s the final book in the trilogy, and as I’ve mentioned above, it does deal with a lot of Aaron’s internal and external struggles in relation to thoughts, feelings, and past and present experiences that were raised in the first two, particularly The Dry. No mystery spoilers for Force of Nature, but FYI it is the only book of Jane Harper’s I rated less than 5 stars – I gave it four. Definitely still worth reading though, and I’m very excited for the movie of it that is currently being filmed and even more excited for Exiles (which hasn’t been confirmed yet, but I’m sure they’ll commit to turning all three into movies). Harper’s skillful plotting and her ability to create fully fleshed out characters shine in Exiles.” Rohan, Kim's husband, lives in the aftermath. He is a fraction of the man he was a year ago. He must raise little Zoe alone and watch over Kim's teenage daughter, Zara, from a previous relationship. It's Zara who keeps vigil and refuses to stop searching for Kim.
What is Jane Harper's latest novel?
DISCLOSURE: I borrowed my copy of Exiles, by Jane Harper and published by Pan Macmillan Australia, from Waitomo District Library. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. Falk will have to tread carefully if he is to expose the dark fractures at its heart, but sometimes it takes an outsider to get to the truth . . . A year later, Kim Gillespie’s absence still casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather to welcome a new addition to the family. While the first christening was abandoned because of Kim’s disappearance, given she was the former partner of Raco’s brother Charlie, with whom she also had a daughter, there is a determination that the second will go ahead. It will, however, be preceded by an appeal at the annual fair initiated by Kim’s 17-year-old daughter Zara, who can’t accept either that her mother would simply abandon her family or that she would have drowned herself in the local reservoir. Suicide is the go-to solution, although the body has never been found. Dean's wife Gemma and his son Joel still hope the driver will be found, but this seems less and less likely as time passes.
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